Science Fair Experiments With Solar Panels for Junior High

Experiment with the angle of light that hits a solar panel...

Earth Science Environmental Science Renewable Energy Global Warming
Alternative Energy Sun Renewable Energy

Science fair experiments with solar panels for junior high students come in several varieties. You can explore how a solar panel works, you can determine if solar energy output varies depending on the season you use the solar panel or you can experiment with the angle of light that hits a solar panel. If you are looking for an intermediate science fair project then consider developing one around solar panel angles.

The first step you need to take when developing environmental projects to do throughout school that deal with the angle of a solar panel is to learn how a solar panel works. For example, you will need to know what the different types of solar panels exist, how each panel design works and what each design is used for. After you have learned about solar panels you will be in a great position to develop science fair experiments with solar panels for junior high students.

The second step in developing your science fair experiments with solar panels for junior high students is to select a solar panel design to work with. After you select a panel design you will next need to determine if you will be making your own solar panel or if you will be buying the panel. If you are working with a tight budget then you can build a very simple solar panel using nothing more than a box, some paint, a piece of plastic and a little aluminum foil. At this point, you can conduct a little more research on how your particular solar panel works so that you can design a unique solar panel experiment.

Step three is to formulate your hypothesis and to design your experiments for your projects. Your hypothesis needs to be very specific and address only one question that you would like to answer. For example, your hypothesis can be "the angle of the solar panel in relation to the sun will impact the amount of energy that the panel is capable of producing." After you formulate your hypothesis you need to develop your experiment. In this case you would want to set up your experiment to measure the amount of solar energy your panel is able to produce based on the angle the sun hits the panel. You can experiment with the angle of your solar panel by keeping it stationary and simply making observations over the duration of a day, or you can collect data over several days, making observations at the same time each day and manually changing the angle of the solar panel.

Next you will want to make your observations and collect your data. When you make your observations and collect data you need to record enough information that you can write a very detailed and meaningful science report. For example, simply writing down a single number in a notepad is not enough information. You need to document when the data was collected, what solar conditions were present during the time when you collected the data, notes about your general observations about the data collection sessions and a temperature or energy reading. After you have collected all of the data that you need for your project, you will need to organize it for analysis. Spreadsheet programs can be very helpful at this stage of the project.

The final step is to draw your conclusions. The first conclusion that you will want to draw is whether or not your data supports your hypothesis. Other conclusions that you can draw include: (1) why you think your data supports or negates your hypothesis, (2) if your project had design flaws, (3) if your data was corrupted by a confound (contaminant) and (5) what further research is needed on your experiment's topic.