The appliance of science

Multiple births and the circulatory system were on display at Providence High School's science and math fair Tuesday night.

Students spent about two months formulating, studying and making presentations of scientific and mathematical experiments in nine categories, for the fair, which boasted 122 projects.

Nearly 300 students, teachers and family members attended the fifth year of the annual event.

Judges from other schools surveyed and viewed three-to-five-minute presentations from the students from all four grades.

"I'm enjoying the experiments here," judge Danny Pezzotta said. "Really, the understanding, that they can answer questions and have thought things out."

Some student's visual representations of their projects came in the form of a flat, stand-up display on cardboard while others went for a more 3-D effect.

One project featured a model of the solar system with brightly painted orbs as planets and paper loops around the sun to signify their orbits.

"It was really interesting to see how orbits apply to mathematics," said Ramir Vega, 16, of his and his partner Karen Devadoss' project.

"Most people just think they're circles that go around the sun, and they are more than that," he said.

Over the course of two weekends and about eight to nine hours of combined efforts, the students used the Johannes Kepler law of planetary motion to develop an idea of how the planet's orbits are actually shaped.

Realizing the reality of things off and on the planet, especially those common to everyday life, was the focus of most of the projects.

Coronary artery blockage was the subject of Stella Kim, Michelle Ricciuti and David Oganesyan's project. The trio constructed two hearts — one healthy, one blocked — with clay and Styrofoam.

The display also featured a model of an artery, blocked with yellow chunks of cholesterol plaque.

"It's the ugly truth," 15-year-old David said. "It's fatty substances from high cholesterol."

It took the team four days and 12 to 15 hours to research, conduct and construct their experiment for presentation to the judges, they said.

Teams consisted of up to four members and their work was worth a grade for whichever class they did the project. Those who won the contest or were picked to participate in the science and math fair received extra credit for their efforts.

AND THE WINNERS ARE…

Biology: Testing the Oral Ecosystem — Anna Ter-Zakarian and Erica Usi

Geometry: Uni-Formular — Michelle Shahnazarians

Physics: Electric Generator — Matthew Whitehead and Shannon McShane

Health: How Much More Proof Do You Need? — Patrick Bergin

Calculus and Statistics: Volume of a Shape — Douglas Moacanin and Samantha Esguerra

Pre-Calculus: Why Casinos Always Win — Patrick Baghdasaryan and Aren Ebrahini

Anatomy: How Well Do You Remember? — Gohar Koshkarian and Araksi Oganesyan

Algebra: The Eleventh Variation — Courtney McShane, Audra Lyndon, Marianne Menesses and Sharon Torres

Chemistry: Alternative Energy — Shy Sujanani, Michael Conty, Carissa Cruz, Jonathan DeClaro