Consider experimenting with the effect of music on plant growth. Plant seeds of your choice in two identical pots with equal amounts of soil, then water the seeds. Place both plants in an area where they receive the same amount of sunlight; label one pot with "music." Each day play music of your choice to the "music" plant for several hours. Use a ruler to measure the growth of each plant every day for two weeks, then observe your data to determine if music affected the growth of the plants.
Many businesses and stores play background music. Pick five different types of businesses, such as doctors offices, grocery stores, electronics stores, gyms and restaurants, and hypothesize about which type of establishment plays the fastest tempo songs and which plays the slowest. Visit a few of each store type and measure the beats per minute of the background music playing. To do this, clap your hands to the beat of the song for 10 seconds, then multiply the number by six. Record and organize your data to determine if your hypothesis was correct.
Some people say that listening to classical music results in performing cognitive tasks quicker. Create a simple test, such as a series of math problems or a word scramble, then gather at least 10 volunteers to take the test. Ask half of your volunteers to take your simple test and record the time it takes them to finish. Ask the other half of your volunteers to take the test while listening to classical music and record the time it takes them to complete the test. Organize your data and find the average finish time for each group to determine if the volunteers listening to classical music were able to finish the test faster than the control group.
Those who play stringed instruments must exert a great deal of stress on the fingers of their left hand; you might hypothesize that this could cause the finger bones on that hand to grow longer. Gather a group of volunteers. You need about 25 who have played a stringed instrument for at least five years and another 25 who have never played a stringed instrument. Measure the length of the left and right fingers of each volunteer and record your data. Calculate the difference in finger length (if any) for each group to determine if the stringed instrument players' left-hand finger bones are longer than the bones on their right hand.