Done by Science Freaks group at Albayan Independent school for Girls. Under supervision from AL-Bairaq

1. Al-Bayan Science Freaks
Fatma BakhamisTala Amer
Asma AlkubaisiAljazi Alammari

2. • Activity 1:Hunting for objects made of concrete.
• Activity 2:Comparing different kinds of cement.
• Activity 3:Comparing different concrete
formulations.
• Activity 4:Testing properties of concrete.
• Activity 5:Reinforcing concrete.
• Design Project
• Product Idea: Green sidewalks

3. Concrete is all around us, it is used in roads , sidewalks,
buildings, bridges and much more. It is used a lot
because it is strong , durable, formable and cheap.
Concrete is made of a mixture of
CEMENT + WATER + COARSE / FINE AGGREGATE

4. Conclusion:
Concrete is the most commonly used infrastructure
material.
We searched for objects around us made of concrete
like buildings and bridges and sidewalks and much
more.

5. Objective: To observe how long does cement take to
harden.
Procedure:
Step 1: Measuring materials (Water 100ml ,
Cement 200g , Sugar 1g , Salt (CaCl2) 6g)
Step 2: The materials were mixed.
Sample A: CEMENT + WATER
Sample B: CEMENT + WATER + SALT
Sample C: CEMENT + WATER + SUGAR
Step 3: Checking the hardness of the
samples every 3 mins

6. Column1
Beaker A water +
cement (temprature)
Beaker A water
+ cement
Beaker B water +
cement + cacl2
Beaker C water +
cement +sugar
0 min 21C _ _ _
3 min 23C a bit thicker thicker no change
6 min 24C thicker more thicker no change
9 min 24C thicker more thicker no change
12 min 24C thicker more thicker a bit thicker
15 min 24C no change more thicker a bit thicker
18 min 24C thicker more thicker no change
Results
Conclusion
1-Salt(CaCl2) acts as a positive catalyst(increased the rate of hardening
process).
2-Sugar acts as a negative catalyst(decreased the rate of hardening process).
3- The positive and negative catalyst do not change the physical properties, they
only make the reaction faster or slower.
4-This reaction is an exothermic reaction because the temperature increases
during the reaction.

7. Part A: Comparing the densities of different aggregate
ratios.
Conclusion:
The closest the coarse to fine aggregate ratio is to 50:50
the more dense the concrete becomes.

8. Part B:
Objective: Making concrete samples
with different coarse to fine
aggregate ratio’s and reinforcement.
Procedure:
Step 1: Measuring the materials and mixing them (samples
E, E+,H).
Step 2: Arranging the reinforcement
(metal nails) in sample E+.
Step 3: Putting the mixtures in the
templates.
Step 4: Leave to dry for one whole day.

9. Objective: Testing the strength of the different concrete
samples in the previous activity by
breaking the concrete.(by effecting
it with tensile strength)
Procedure:
Step 1: Setting the test tool.
Step 2: Putting the concrete sample
and marking its place.
Step 3: Pouring water in the bucket to put pressure on
the concrete, and measuring the water when concrete
breaks. The more water required to break the sample,
the stronger it is.

10. Results:
E: Broke after pouring 2.7kg of water.
Broke after pouring 6.6kg of water.E+:
H: Broke after pouring 1.8kg of water.
Conclusion:
1-E+ was very strong because of
the metal reinforcement (nails).
2-H was not strong due to the pores
and spaces in the concrete because
there was no fine aggregate to fill up the spaces.
3-E was strong because the course to fine aggregate ratio
was 50:50.

11. We chose to put in sample E+ as reinforcement metal
nails and we put them randomly in the sample.
We chose a metal reinforcement to protect the sample
from tensile strength.
Results:
Sample E+ needed 6.6kg of water to brake which is more
than sample E which needed only 2.7kg of water.
This proves that the metal
reinforcement made the
concrete stronger and resistant to
tensile force.

12. Our project is to put seeds in the concrete and then
the seeds will grow.
It is very beneficial for nature
because it will increase the plants
in Qatar. It will also make the
process of planting on
side walks much easier and faster.
We chose this idea because it is very useful for Qatar, it will
help decreasing air pollution and it will make the country
look much better.

13. How it works:
There are seeds in the concrete and the seeds will grow
through the pores of the concrete (the concrete only has
coarse aggregate).
Materials:
*Cement(60g) *Water(33ml)
*Fertilizer *Seeds(lentil)
*Coarse aggregate(120)

14. Benefits:
*It will increase the plants in Qatar.
*It will help in decreasing air pollution.
*It will make the process of planting on side walks
much easier and faster.
*It will make the country look much better.

15. Recommendations:
We recommend to apply our product in sidewalks and
gardens and parks, and get support from sponsors to
improve and spread our product.
It can be improved by adding some superabsorbent
polymer (soil moist) to utilize the rain water.

16. Al-bairaq was a mind twisting experience and opened
our eyes to things people around us don’t see and
notice.
It taught us how to do lab experiments and not to fear
public speaking which will definitely help us in 0ur
future years.
And most important of all it made us think and
brainstorm ideas to help our environment.

17. Many thanks to our school and AL-Bairaq team from Center
for Advanced Materials (CAM), Qatar University for
supporting us during our journey with a AL-Bairaq.
Also, we would like to thank the sponsors UNESCO, Qatar
National Commission, Ras Gas and Shell.