Young UB
JORDAN ELHINDI, eighth grade, St. Francis of Assisi
School, Gates Mills
Steve Novak
Anyone who wants to seal cracks in their driveway might be advised
to contact eighth grader Jordan Elhindi first.
Elhindi, a student at St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School in Gates
Mills, recently won first prize at the Northeastern Ohio Science and Engineering
Fair, held at Cleveland State University.
She won the grand prize in the eighth grade category with an experiment
she called “Sealer Survivor: A Tale of Two Sealers.”
It had nothing to do with Charles Dickens.
Jordan said she wanted to show which of two concrete sealant materials—one
made of store purchased silane, and the other composed of polyurethane—would
provide the best and longest lasting protection for concrete.
Jordan said the proof of her experiment could only be done by showing
how adverse weather affects the sealers. So that is exactly what she
did.
“My hypothesis was that the polyurethane sealer would show less deterioration,”
she said. “I had to simulate weather conditions.’”
Jordan used three test groups of concrete. One had no sealant at all;
another had silane; the third had polyurethane.”
After that, Jordan’s kitchen came in handy. She put each sample in the
freezer for 12 hours at a time, and then removed them for 12 hours. “It
was the same as freezing weather outdoors,” she said.
Her research showed the concrete with no sealants showed cracks after
eight days. Then, after 22 days, the concrete with silane began to crack.
“Then, no more testing was needed because the polyurethane showed less
deterioration,” she said. “It proved my theory.”
Jordan said she visited a local polyurethane production plant, which
helped her belief that this type of sealant would last longer. Even before
starting the experiment, she was confident of the outcome. However, just
as with all science, there had to be the proof.
Jordan’s grand prize in the Northeastern Ohio Science and Engineering
Fair was one step higher than her performance last year. At the 2011
NOSE Fair, she placed second with an experiment detailing how food spoils.
Jordan’s experiment with concrete sealers also won her first prize this
year in the annual science contest held at St. Francis of Assisi School.
Jordan, now 14 years old, said she plans to attend high school at Hathaway
Brown. One of the reasons for her choice is pretty obvious.
“I had a tour there (Hathaway Brown). I want to continue my education
in science, and in their labs,” she said.