Biology

• One example of an easy biology research project that seventh-grade students can complete gets them to assess public views on genetic engineering. Students can also conduct some fieldwork as part of their project by surveying members of the public about issues surrounding genetic engineering, such as the moral question of parents selecting the gender of their unborn child. Students could also think about how genetic engineering is explored in the public domain by watching television shows and films. For an alternative approach, students can look more strictly at the history of genetic engineering and make predictions on the future of engineering in society.
  
  

Chemistry

• For this chemistry project, your seventh-graders will investigate how different substances can be used to melt ice, and which are the most effective. Students should take 18 ice cubes and place three in each of six identical empty glass beakers. Have students label each beaker based on the substance they will add to it to melt the ice, leaving one beaker as a control. Students should carry out the experiment one beaker at a time, adding 250 g of the following substances: sodium chloride, calcium chloride, wood ashes, cat litter and plant fertilizer. Once the substance is added, have students start a stopwatch and measure the length of time it takes for the ice to melt completely. Have students compare the ice-melting capabilities of each of the substances and ascertain which is best.
  
  

Physics

• Seventh-grade students can gain an insight into the diffraction of light through this easy-to-complete physics project. Have students take a straight pin and prick a tiny hole 1/4 inch from the edge of an index card. Students should then fold the index card in half before unfolding it so the index card is in a 90-degree L-shape with the pinhole at the top and the bottom of the card touching the tip of their noses. Set up a desk lamp pointed directly at the student's face and have her stand roughly 6 feet away. She should look through the pinhole of the index card and record what she sees when she looks directly at the lightbulb -- she will see the diffraction of light in action, as dark bands stream across the lightbulb as witnessed through the pinhole.
  
  

Earth Science

• An idea for an earth science project that your seventh-graders will be able to complete within 30 minutes involves testing different minerals for their hardness. Students should be careful when completing this project, during which they will have to scratch rocks with a nail. Students carefully scratch the surface of minerals, such as quartz or rock salt, and recording their findings. Challenge students to think about how, while a hard mineral can scratch a soft mineral, a soft one cannot scratch a hard one, for example.