Recommended for 4th graders! A collection of easy self-study ideas to try

Dent a plastic bottle without using your hands

☆Mini Science Show☆ Dent a plastic bottle without touching it!?!

Speaking of junior high school students, summer vacation assignments increase, so I think many end up prioritizing other subjects over their independent research projects.

But if you can finish an independent project in a single day, isn’t it worth a try? This time, it’s an experiment to dent a plastic bottle without using your hands.

What you need: a 500 ml plastic bottle, a measuring cup, and 150 ml of hot water.

The steps are simple, so give it a try!

Let’s look into old textbooks.

Old textbook, published in 1952 (Showa 27).

The textbook we use in our regular classes has undergone multiple revisions to reach its current form.

Let’s research the pre-revision version of the textbook, or even older editions, and explore the differences.

A smooth way to start is by checking whether older textbooks are available at libraries or local history archives.

Mysteries of the Deep Sea

Journey to the unknown deep sea: Creatures of the ocean floor

There is a mystery that no fish exist below a depth of 8,400 meters in the deep sea.

Sea cucumbers and sea anemones are said to live there, but apparently not a single fish does.

Why are there no fish below 8,400 meters? And why do other organisms live there even though fish do not? Many mysteries in the deep sea still remain unsolved.

Wouldn’t this make an ideal topic for an independent research project?

Summary of the nature observation trail

When it comes to independent research projects, many people might think of creating reports based on experiments in chemistry or physics, but preparing for those can be a lot of work, and some people simply aren’t good at that sort of thing.

If you enjoy being in nature, try finding and documenting your own nature observation trail.

Exploring places where various insects, animals, and plants live and turning them into an illustrated map will look great and make the project feel like an enjoyable outdoor activity.

There are even nature observation trail competitions, so if you put real effort into it, it can become an excellent independent research project.

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Hane Keisuke

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Survey of familiar invasive species

When I surveyed waterways with Kaneko, they were full of invasive species. [155th video]

There are cases where wild animals and plants we’ve been familiar with since childhood actually came from overseas long ago and took root here.

How about researching such nearby non-native species? It would also be good to look into what kind of impact they have had.

Let’s try making a cloud.

Fun Science Experiment: Let's Make a Cloud

You can make clouds with a plastic bottle! It only needs a few materials and is surprisingly easy to do! You’ll quickly understand what clouds really are, won’t you? I think it’s a perfect research topic for junior high school students learning about the three states of matter—liquid, solid, and gas—for their independent study!

Which condiment makes a 10-yen coin the shiniest?

Summer Science Project: Which Condiment Makes a 10-Yen Coin the Shiniest? [Research]

Many of you have probably seen videos or experiments about polishing 10-yen coins until they shine.

In this experiment, we soak 10-yen coins in various seasonings for five minutes to test which seasoning cleans them best.

Try any seasonings you have at home—soy sauce, oil, mentsuyu (noodle soup base), lemon juice, miso, and more.

Prepare some dulled 10-yen coins, soak each one in a different seasoning, then rinse them with water after five minutes.

Which seasoning will make the 10-yen coin the cleanest?

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utatane

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