Name ___________________________________________
Date________________
Period_______
What’s the Best Way to Clean Up an Oil Spill?
In this investigation, you will be learning why oil is difficult to clean up. You will then test your own ideas on
how to best clean up marine oil spills. You and your team will be responsible for choosing and testing various
methods of removing oil from water.
Pre-Lab Questions: (Please answer in complete sentences)
1. What do you know about how well oil and water mix? Use an example to explain your answer.
2. Of the methods described in the PowerPoint for this lab, which do you think will be most effective in
cleaning up an oil spill? Explain why you chose this method.
3. Describe the difference between skimming and absorbing methods of oil removal.
The following materials will be provided to use as you test your methods of oil removal.
Circle 2 choices that you feel would be the most effective materials to test.
1. Paper towel
2. Cotton balls
3. Cloth rag
4. Sponge
5. Dish detergent
6. Dry cereal
Based on the background information that you have learned, make a prediction of what material will best help
remove oil from water. Why do you think this material will work better than the others? (State this in the
“because” portion of your hypothesis).
Hypothesis: If_____________________________________________________________, then
_____________________________________________________________________________,
because_______________________________________________________________________.
Data Table: Record your data using as much detail as possible.
Material
Method Used
Describe how you used the item to
remove or contain the oil.
String
Boom:
Spoon
Skimming:
Effectiveness
Describe what happened. Explain
whether or not the material helped
remove or contain the oil.
Rating
(A-F)
Questions: (Please answer in complete sentences)
1. What method worked best for your group? Why do you think this method was better than the others
you tried?
2. What method worked worst for your group? Why do you think it was less effective than the others you
tried?
3. Do you think that the method that worked best for you would also work the best on a real oil spill?
Explain why or why not.
4. How do you think oil spills can be prevented in the future?
5. After performing this lab, explain why it is so hard to separate oil from water.
Oil Spill Lab
Procedures:
1. Collect the materials that you and your lab group have decided to test and bring them to
your designated lab station.
2. To begin creating your mini oil spill, fill the plastic container half way with water.
3. Next, measure out 1 teaspoon (tsp.) of oil and gently add it to one area of your
container. You have now created your mini oil spill!
4. To create your “boom”, estimate the diameter of your oil spill and cut a piece a yarn
twice the size of the diameter of the spill. Tie the ends of the yarn together so that you
form a loop.
5. Gently place your boom over the entire area of the oil spill to prevent it from spreading
over a larger area.
6. In the data table, record what is happening to the oil and how effective the boom is at
containing the oil.
7. Now use a spoon to try and remove the oil from the water. This is called “skimming.”
8. In the data table, record what is happening to the oil and how effective the spoon is at
removing the oil.
9. Attempt to clean up the remaining oil spill using the materials your team chose. Use one
material at a time in a logical order using any safe method you can think of to clean up
the spill. Materials can be used in a variety of ways. There is no “one right way” to
accomplish this task, so be sure to agree on the method your team will use.
10. After each method, record how you used each of the items and the effectiveness of
each method in the data table.
11. After you have tested all chosen methods, rate each method using the A-F scale.
12. Remember to clean up your lab area when you are finished. During the experiment,
you should be careful about disposing the oily materials in a way that will keep the
room clean (such as putting oily rags, liquids, sponges, cereal, etc. into paper towels
and throwing them into the garbage).