Thinking about the Science Fair

Photo used with creative commons license from jshontz

We've talked a bit in class about the upcoming science fair. One of the biggest hurdles for students to clear is coming up with an idea to use as a project. It's important to distinguish between a science experiment and a science demonstration. Consider the classic baking soda and vinegar volcano we often see depicted in TV shows or movies as "science fair projects."

I'd argue that the baking soda and vinegar volcano most likely is an example of a demonstration rather than an experiment. Let's discuss this idea a bit further:

1. What are the characteristics of a science experiment?
2. How does a science demonstration fall short of an experiment?
3. Would you agree with my judgement that the volcano project is more likely a demonstration?
4. Do some searching online of "science fair projects." Can you find other examples projects that students have done that are demonstrations? If so, provide the link in your comments.

Simple? Harmonic? Motion

Graph of sine from Wolfram|Alpha

We've been talking about pendulums, spring-mass systems, and how they relate to simple harmonic motion. For this week's comments, I'd like to hear some more about simple harmonic motion... ... Why is it called "simple"? What is simple about it. Also, what does the word "harmonic" mean in this context? Is it related to music at all? What are some other examples (besides those mentioned in class) or simple harmonic motion?