12 Award Winning Science Projects for 10th Graders

Here we are to find out which some award winning science projects for 10th graders are. If you’re out of ideas, we hope that you’ll pick something of the interest for you from the list.

So, you are a fresh high-schooler with huge ambitions, and science is the field you want to try yourself out. That’s great. But before considering award winning science fair projects for high school, you should first get some guidelines for conducting your project.

But if you already have experience from before, with award winning science fair projects for 9^th grade, then you can skip this introduction, because you are probably familiar with the topic. But, nevertheless, as the ancient Romans used to say – repetitio est mater studiorum (repetition is the mother of learning) it is not bad idea to go through it once more.

Anyway, starting any science fair projects means thinking about it in general, and the first thing is, of course, choosing your field of interest, whether it is any particular field of biology, physics, earth sciences or whatever else. For a winning science project, you should also pay attention to current hot topics in science (if, you are not a genius which can think of something revolutionary, which is not impossible either). Such topics include environmental issues, health issues, resolving problems of pollution, food, but also some things that would make everyday life easier. Now when you have gotten your topic the first thing you should think about is making of a hypothesis: why you are doing this particular thing, why is it important, in which way does it help the science? A good and cogent hypothesis actually helps a lot; both with making your task clear to yourself and making it interesting and clear to the audience.

Next steps include (depending on the topic of course) preparing and making the experiment and/or gathering the data, analysis, and a conclusion or a resulting product in the end. Sounds easy, but it does not necessarily need to be (once again depending on the subject you have chosen). But, no need to worry, that’s why you have here examples of the award  winning science projects for 10^th graders that will be your guide for a good experimentation procedure and other steps of your project.

Anyway, from this very short introduction on the basics of scientific research, we go closer to our list. There were plenty of places where we got really interesting ideas on science projects, and the info on which the award winning science fair projects for 10^th graders are. These were, among others, Education, Science Project Resources, Julian’s Science Fair, All Science Projects, and  Home Science Tools (psst, if you are too lazy there are some last-minute fair project ideas you can check out on this website). It was a hard choice, in the end, making a proper list for the award winning science projects for 10^th graders, but from all the suggestions we have tried to pick the best ones and cover as much scientific fields as possible. But in the end, if you are going to win an award with your project or not, depends mostly on your effort. You can also check 10 Winning Science Fair Projects for High School for high school in general, not only for 10^th graders, including 11th grade science fair projects or science fair projects grade 12 for example.

And in the end just one more thing. These 10th grade science fair projects are project examples of already existing ones. Instead of copying them, you should rather use them as guidelines and ideas for something of your own and original. Think about them as an inspiration, and let’s see which those award winning science projects for 10^th graders are:

12. What is the better method of learning: reading or listening?

Field: psychology

This is an interesting topic that people often are puzzled about. And in the end, there are opinions that some people are just better at reading and observing while others are better learners by listening. Well, in this project you are going to debunk some myths.

11. Impact of irradiation on vegetables

Field: biology

This project is oriented towards observing and recording how irradiated plant seeds (in this case the vegetables, namely tomatoes) grow compared to non-treated seeds. This project can show a method of seed treatment and what effect it has on seed germination, plant growth and health in the end. That is why for this project you will need around a month to complete.

10. Building magnetometer

Field: engineering, applied science

A magnetometer is a device that measures the direction of magnetic field and is used in many applied engineering branches like surveying and “seeing” submerged anomalies. Well, in this project you will simply try to build one.

9. Examining the efficacy of bioethanol fuel

Field: physics, chemistry

This project is oriented towards examining and comparing the efficiency of bioethanol which is a fuel produced from plants with other fuels used. The experiment includes energy produced as well as temperature and burning time of various fuels.

8. Endangered species

Field: biology, zoology

In the case of the presented project, it concerned polar bears (and won 1^st place on one of the Canada Wide Virtual Science Fairs). The reasons for the vulnerability of the polar bears was examined, and the attention was pointed out towards these factors as the result of the project. This can help many other endangered species, so it’s a great choice for an award winning project for 10^th graders.

7. Effect of electricity on plant growth

Field: biology, botany

Now, this is an interesting title on our list of award winning science projects for 10th graders. And that is how the project is, as well. In short, electrical power of different strength is used as stimulation for plant growing. In this case, radish was used as an example.

6. Flashlight powered by the heat of the human hand

Field: electrical engineering

This one was a winning one at Google Science Fair. The point of the projects was finding out the best power converter that could power a LED. Apart from being useful in everyday activities, this project seems to be promising as the award winning science project for 10^th graders.

5. Cell Phone Dead Zones

Field: physical science, engineering

This project might be interesting as an award winning science project for 10^th graders since it is a common problem happening in many places. What is the deal with the dead zones? Dead zones are those parts of the cities (or any other place) where your mobile signal stops. The first thing that comes to one’s mind is subways or tunnels, but there are other places as well. In this project, you will be doing a lot of mapping, and computational work, so if you like doing stuff such as GIS or other spatial and environmental analysis this is a perfect project perfect for you. It will lead you from determining causes of dead zones to giving alternatives and solutions for preventing them.

4. CO₂ and global warming

Field: environmental science

This project is oriented towards the topic that is always interesting and being debated a lot – the global warming of course. Now we know that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising and it is one of the major causes of rising of the temperature on the Earth. This project consists of preparing the experiment, observation and analysis of data and, in the end, the conclusion, which makes it one full circle of serious scientific research.

3. Effect of Rain on Dissolved Oxygen concentration

Field: Earth sciences

In this project, the goal is set to see how the dissolved oxygen is related to acidic rain, which is, as we know, a very dangerous thing since it is one of the deadly pollutants which endangers the whole ecosystem. This is also a long-term project, meaning you will need up to 5 weeks to finish it, but the results might get very interesting, making this project one of the award winning science projects for 10^th graders.

2. Best Detergent for More DNA Extraction

Field: biochemistry

This is one interesting experiment that can be easily (and cheaply) done, yet having impressive results. The point of the project is determining which of the ordinary household detergents show best for distracting DNA from, in this case, a kiwi plant. This was a first place winning project on one of the Canada Wide Virtual Fairs, and if you don’t want to be a copycat, you can alter the hypothesis or use different substances and DNA source.

1. Determining alternative energy sources

Field: environmental science, renewable energy

This project idea was a winning one, getting the first place at Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair, so therefore it also tops our list of the award winning science projects for 10^th graders as well. And another reason is that this topic is always a hot one since renewable energy is a sustainable solution for some of the future (and present as well) environmental problems. Anyway, the point of the project is trying to compare nonrenewable (coal, gas, oil) to renewable energy sources (geothermal, wind, solar power, etc.) and see what are advantages and disadvantages of both, and in which way reusable energy can be used for maximum usage.

This wraps it up for our list of award winning science projects for 10th graders.