Grosse Pointe Academy fourth and fifth graders participated in the fourth annual Science Fair this winter, the culmination of which was a parent evening on Wednesday, February 13 during which attendees had the opportunity to view all the display boards in the library while the young scientists were on hand to explain their methods and procedures.

Grade 4/5 teachers Vivek Nayak and Bob Lapadot led the project during science classes. They began by teaching the scientific method (stating the problem, formulating an hypothesis, listing the materials and procedures, recording observations, and forming a conclusion). Fourth graders worked in teams under the guidance of their teacher, conducting all of the work for their projects in class. The fifth graders worked independently, completing the majority of their work at home and meeting specific deadlines throughout the process.

Special certificates of recognition were awarded to the top three fifth grade projects. Congratulations go to winning scientists Bobby Kaiser, Kaley MacLeod and McCalla Mecke.

Bobby wondered whether a raw egg dropped from a two-story building would be protected from breaking better by peanut butter or jelly. His hypothesis that “the peanut butter will protect the egg best, because it is thicker and a better insulator,” proved to be true.

Kaley’s project, ”Agein’ Apples,” addressed whether Vitamin C has an effect on the rate at which an apple ages. Manufacturers of skin care products should pay attention to Kaley’s conclusion, which confirmed her hypothesis that Vitamin C does in fact affect the rate at which an apple ages.

Finally, McCalla posed the question whether a Matchbox race car goes faster at different heights of an incline. He too proved his hypothesis that the higher the incline, the faster the race car will go.