Question:
HOW PERMANENT ARE
PERMANENT MARKERS?
Purpose
 The purpose of this investigation is to determine
which solvents will remove permanent marker the
best. This is important because if you need to remove
permanent marker you will know what to use.
HYPOTHESIS
 We hypothesize that the detergent will remover the
most marker first.
Procedure
Materials:
20 -10 cm x 10 cm cloth pieces
Quarter
Sharpie permanent marker
4 jars
100 mL of water
100 mL of alcohol
100 mL of hair spray
100 mL of detergent
Variables
Manipulated variable-solvents
Responding variables- the amount of permanent
marker removed
Constant variables-size of cloth, amount of marker used,
and the size of cups
Step-By-Step Directions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Cut pieces of cloth into 20 – 10 cm x10 cm pieces.
Trace a quarter on each cloth piece.
Color it in with a Sharpie.
Fill a cup with 100 mL with water. Label cup.
Fill a cup with 100 mL with alcohol. Label cup.
Fill a cup with 100 mL with dish detergent. Label cup.
Directions continued
7. Fill a cup with 100 mL with hair spray. Label cup.
8. Place one cloth piece into each cup.
9. Let it soak for 24 hours.
10. Remove from cups and rate amount of ink removed
using rating scale 0 to 10 with 0 being completely
removed and 10 being no change.
11.Repeat step 4 – 10 for 4 more trials.
Conclusion
 Our hypothesis was incorrect. Hair spray,
winning, by only one tenth, is the best solvent for
removing permanent marker. The average stain
removal rate for hair spray was 9.7, alcohol was 9.6,
detergent was 4.0, and water was 3.8. If we had to
do this investigation again, we might try to shake
the jars instead of letting it soak overnight.