Environment
Environment projects for class 11 and 12: 23 ideas.
Each project below opens to its own page with what it shows, the science behind it, the materials, safety, step-by-step instructions, what you should see and viva questions. Many can be made from things at home; where a kit helps, the page links one.
Other subjects for class 11 and 12: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Maths, Earth and space, Electronics and robotics, Computing and coding.
How much rain your roof can catch: a measured roof yield study
The water a roof can harvest equals roof area times rainfall times a runoff factor. Measuring a real roof and using the local annual rainfall shows that even a small house in a 800 millimetre rainfall town can collect tens of thousands of litres a year, often more than the family drinks.
Home energy audit using the meter, appliance labels and a week of logs
Reading the electricity meter daily and logging how long each appliance runs shows which ones use most of the units. In most homes a few items, such as the geyser, air conditioner, old refrigerator and ceiling fans running all day, account for most of the bill, and small changes cut it without any discomfort.
Carbon footprint of the journey to school: petrol, bus, bicycle and walking
Burning fuel makes carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. By linking distance, mileage and fuel type you can estimate how much CO2 each way of getting to school sends into the air.
Urban heat island: temperatures on road, roof, grass and under a tree
Dark paved surfaces absorb more sunlight and warm up more than grass or shade. Mapping temperatures across a school or street shows how towns become hotter than the countryside.
Dissolved solids in ten water sources measured with a TDS meter
Water carries dissolved salts that conduct electricity. A TDS meter reads the conductivity and converts it into parts per million, so different sources can be compared.
How fast does rain soak in? Infiltration rate with a tin-can ring
Soil takes in water at a certain speed, called its infiltration rate. Measuring it in the playground, a field and a forest floor shows why some ground floods while other ground soaks up the monsoon.
How much carbon does the school’s biggest tree store? Girth and height
A tree stores carbon taken from the air in its wood. Measuring its girth and height gives a rough estimate of its wood volume, mass and the carbon dioxide it has removed from the air.
How strong is sunshine? Watts per square metre from a blackened can
Sunlight carries energy. By measuring how fast the sunshine warms a known mass of water, you can estimate the power per square metre that reaches the ground, which is a guide to solar energy.
Evaporation from pans in sun, shade and wind: millimetres a day
Water leaves open surfaces at a rate set by heat, wind and humidity. Daily readings from identical pans show how much water a field or a tank loses and why crops need irrigation in summer.
Weighing a fortnight of food waste: what we throw away and why
Food thrown away takes land, water and energy to produce, and it makes methane when it rots in a landfill. Weighing waste every day shows how much is wasted and where it comes from.
Falling head permeability test on sand, silt and clay mixes
How fast water moves through soil decides whether a field drains, a recharge pit works or an earth dam leaks. A simple falling head permeameter measures the coefficient of permeability k for sand, silt and clay mixes using Darcy’s law.
First flush diverter model that discards the dirty first rain from a roof
The first rain after a dry spell washes dust, bird droppings and leaves off a roof. A first flush diverter fills a side pipe with that dirty water before clean water reaches the tank. The project builds one and tests turbidity before and after to show how it protects stored water.
Solar still yield study with three cover angles and two basin colours
In coastal and desert regions with salty groundwater, solar stills give drinking-quality distilled water without fuel. The project builds a basin-type still, measures the daily yield of distilled water from salty water and compares cover angles and basin colours.
Solar dryer cabinet against open-air drying of chilli and fruit
A covered, ventilated box dries food faster and cleaner than open-air drying. Weighing equal slices each day shows how quickly water leaves in each method.
Paper and sawdust briquettes: how long do they burn compared with wood?
Waste paper, sawdust and crop leaves can be pressed into fuel blocks. Burning equal masses under adult supervision and timing a water boil shows the energy in each fuel.
Tin-can rocket stove model that boils water with a handful of twigs
A rocket stove has an insulated chimney and a small fuel feed so the fuel burns hot and clean. Comparing the boil time against a three-stone fire shows how a design change saves fuel.
Classroom lighting audit: lux readings and how much LEDs would save
Measuring light levels and counting lamp hours shows where electricity is wasted. Comparing old tube lights with LED tubes on paper gives the units and rupees saved per year.
Greywater reuse: rice-wash, soapy and tap water on bean seedlings
Water used in the kitchen can sometimes be reused on plants, but soap can harm them. Growing seedlings with different kinds of used water shows which can be safely reused.
Polyhouse tunnel against open bed: temperature, humidity and seedling growth
A plastic tunnel holds warmth and moisture and protects plants from wind and rain. Comparing a covered bed with an open bed shows how polyhouses extend the growing season.
Sunlight bottle disinfection model: temperature in clear, black-backed and shaded bottles
The solar disinfection (SODIS) method leaves clear water in sunlight for hours so heat and ultraviolet light weaken germs. Measuring temperature in different bottle set-ups shows how to make it work better.
Recharge pit model that refills a borewell tube from roof water
Roof rain can be led through a filter pit into the ground to raise the water table. The model shows how a recharge pit with gravel and sand layers refills a borewell.
Cutting pond evaporation with shade, floating balls and an oil film
Open ponds and tanks lose a lot of water by evaporation in summer. Testing four covers on trays of water shows which method saves the most water.
Litres per kilo of rice, wheat and vegetables: a virtual water table
Growing food uses a lot of water. Collecting published figures and farm data for crops shows which foods use the most water and how a family’s diet affects its water footprint.