TOPICS - WHICH ONE SOUNDS COOL?

Every topic in science presents an opportunity to question. You probably have some interest in at least one of the topics below! Think of all the questions you may have, and follow the 4-step process under defining project to create the best possible projects!

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Personal and public health practices

• nutrition and lifestyle choices
• allergies and sensitivities
• medications and supplements
• vaccination programs
• pre-natal care
• First Peoples traditional medicines
• antibiotics
• outdoor activities (e.g., hypothermia, heat stroke, UV protection)

 
Technologies

• transportation technologies (e.g., electric and self-driving vehicles)
• health technologies (e.g., insulin pump, blood pressure monitor)
• media (e.g., smart home, gaming, computer, cell phone)

 
Personal Safety

• safe use of chemicals (e.g., bleach, antifreeze, propane)
• electrical hazards (e.g., wiring and circuits, circuit overload protection, travel adaptors)
• personal protection from electricity (e.g., working near power lines)
• interactions of medications
• safety alarms (e.g., smoke, carbon monoxide)

 
Workplace Safety:

• purpose and role of WorkSafeBC
• chemicals found in the workplace or in industrial products, including disposal methods (e.g., paint, art supplies, solvents, esthetic supplies, herbicides and insecticides, cleaners, chlorine, carbon dioxide in confined space)
• electricity (e.g., Ground Fault Interrupter [GFI] switches, lockout procedures)
• oil and gas production, transport, and use
• fire mitigation

 
Certifications:

• BC FOODSAFE and responsible disposal
• current WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System)
• MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) and other standards
• CPR, first-aid, scuba certification, pesticide applications, apprenticeships, Red Seal Program, first responders

 
Practical Applications of Science:

• circuits and electronics, hydraulic systems, fluid dynamics, pressure, torque/moment structures, dilution, fractional distillation, forensics, computer system analyses

 
Impacts of technology:

• Artificial Intelligence
• robotics and automation
• heating and cooling systems (e.g., heat pumps, water heaters, air conditioners, refrigerators)
• electromagnetic spectrum (e.g., microwaves, cell towers, radio waves, X-rays)
• communications
• forensics
• medical
• transportation

 
Applications of Materials Science:
—Metallurgy:

• austenite and martensite crystalline lattice structures/hardening metals
• tempering colour in ferrous and non-ferrous metals/alloys
• stress–strain graphical analysis (yield point, ultimate strength, breaking point)

—Welding:

• carburizing, neutralizing, and oxidizing flames in gas welding
• inert gas in MIG and TIG welding (e.g., argon, CO2)
• electrode classification in arc welding

—Carpentry, construction, and joinery:

• structures and codes
• concrete admixtures (e.g., air entrained, water reducers, retarders, accelerators)
• glue technology (e.g., epoxies, polyurethanes, cyanoacrylates, polyvinyl acetate [PVA], construction adhesives, contact cements, urea-resorcinol resins), monomers, polymers
• tangential, radial, and transverse wood grains

 —Power mechanics:

• hydraulic systems
• pressure
• quantitative analysis (e.g., horsepower and torque area under the curve, top dead center [TDC], static compression)

 —Plumbing and gas fitting:

• hydronic systems (thermodynamics: convection, conduction, and radiation)
• gas-fired systems (specific heat, specific gravity)
• pressure systems (Boyle’s law, Charles’ law, combined gas law, Bernoulli’s principle)

 —Electrical and computing:

• circuits and electronics (Ohm’s law, Kirchhoff’s law)
• integrated circuits
• solar photovoltaic (PV) modules

 
—Forensics and criminology

• Fingerprinting
• Blood analysis
• DNA evidence
• Shoe databanks
• Bug and dirt specialists
• Criminal behaviour analysis 

 
—Hairstyling and aesthetics:

• hygiene, sanitation, and disinfection practices
• chemical waving and relaxing
• hair colouring

 
—Petroleum and industrial:

• fractional distillation
• dilution

 
—Beneficial scientific innovations:

• food security (e.g., production, distribution)
• water treatment and technologies
• societal safety (e.g., infrastructure, transportation)
• energy security

 
 Natural hazards and responses: 
—Geologic events (e.g., earthquake, tsunami, avalanche, land/rock/mudslide)

—Weather events: causes and effects (e.g., flooding, wildfire, hurricane, tornado, flooding, drought)

—Disaster preparedness: survival needs, home and workplace planning and response, industrial accidents (e.g., nuclear plant accident, train derailment, oil spill)

—Natural resources: including availability (e.g., food, water, energy, minerals) and responsible development and use
 
— Effects of climate change:

• impact on food production
• impact on climate (e.g., desertification, changing range of plants and animals)
• impact on weather
• sea level rise (e.g., infrastructure changes in coastal communities)
• ocean acidification

— Actions and decisions:

• ethical, cultural, social, economic, environmental, and political implications
• waste recycling and disposal including limitations of recycling
• agriculture/aquaculture practices and processes (e.g., hydroponics, food crops, feed crops, fuel crops, animal husbandry, fish farms,
• new technologies, use of chemicals, environmental impacts)
• energy generation, use, and efficiency (e.g., production, economics, environmental