MS-ETS1-1
Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
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Ink leads way to terminating termites
Inspired by a classroom experiment, a teen has built a way to lure troublesome termites to their death — using the power of ink.
- Earth
Fighting big farm pollution with a tiny plant
Fertilizer runoff can fuel the growth of toxic algae nearby lakes. A teen decided to harness a tiny plant to sop up that fertilizer.
- Chemistry
Concrete science
Teen researchers are exploring ways to strengthen this building material, use it for safety purposes and use its discarded rubble.
- Computing
‘Couch potatoes’ tend to be TV-energy hogs
Many government programs urge people to save electricity by using more efficient TVs. Here’s why these programs should target “couch potatoes.”
- Planets
The ultimate getaway — visiting the Red Planet
At a recent summit, experts discussed the challenges of a human mission to Mars — and how to land a crew there within 20 years.
- Animals
Common plant could help fight Zika virus
A teen discovered that extracts from leaves of the San Francisco plant (Codiaeum variegatum) kill larvae of the mosquito that helps spread the Zika and dengue fever viruses.
- Tech
Teens invent way to keep floodwaters out of subways
Two New York teens have designed an inexpensive subway grate to block floodwaters from getting into subway tunnels.
- Chemistry
Keeping samples cool without electricity
When vaccines and blood get too warm or cold, they can become useless. Two teens invented ways to keep their temperatures just right, no matter where they are.
- Materials Science
How to make window ‘glass’ from wood
Scientists have come up with a way to make wood transparent. The new material could be used in everything from windows to packaging.
- Chemistry
Olive oil untangles plastic
Vegetable oils can make plastic fibers stronger. And the process is safer and better for the environment than other detanglers.
- Physics
Boom! Sounding out the enemy
Armistice Day marked the end of the Great War. But what arguably won the war was acoustics — the science of sound. It allowed Allied troops to home in on and rout the enemy.
- Health & Medicine
Some air pollutants seep through skin
The skin is the body’s largest organ. And it can let in as much or more of certain air pollutants than enter through the lungs, a new study finds.
