Problem Statement
Which paper towel is
the most absorbent?
Variables
Constant Variables:
Manipulated Variable:
Water
Sparkle, Bounty, Publix,
Brawny, Bounty
Basic, and school
paper towels
Tray
Cups
Graduated cylinders
Funnels
Responding Variable:
Amount of water each
paper towel holds
Hypothesis
If we test which paper
towel is the most
absorbent, then
Bounty will be the most
absorbent.
Materials
Sparkle
cups
Bounty
graduated cylinder
Publix
funnel
Brawny
Bounty Basic
school paper towels
Water
tray
Procedures
1. Pour water into the tray.
2. Place the paper towel in the water.
3. Pick up the paper towel, then
squeeze the water into the cup.
4. Pour the water from the cup into the
funnel that is sitting on top of the
graduated cylinder.
5. Record the number of milliliters that
the paper towel absorbs.
6. Repeat the experiment 2 more times
and find the average.
Data
Number of Milliliters of water
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Average
Bounty
Basic
28
26
53
36
Sparkle
28
8
51
21
45
21
18
60
21
25
27
24
49
31
40
17
17
53
24
37
School
Bounty
Publix
Brawny
70
60
Milliliters of water
50
40
30
20
10
0
Bounty Basic
Sparkle
School
Bounty
Brands of Paper Towels
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Brawny
Publix
Results
Our average results in order from
least amount of water to greatest
amount was school, and Sparkle were
tied with 17ml of water. Publix had
24ml and Bounty Basic had 36ml.
Brawny had 37ml and Bounty had
53ml.
Conclusion
Our hypothesis was supported by this
experiment. Bounty absorbed the most
water by far. Surprisingly, Sparkle and
school were tied, we thought Sparkle
would be better. Maybe Bounty
absorbed the most because of its
design and layers. It was very thick so
maybe that’s why it was more
absorbent.
Application
This experiment is helpful if you spill
any liquid. Now we know that Bounty
is the best paper towel to absorb
spills. In the future we could repeat
the experiment with different brands
such as Scott, Kirkland, or Great
Value. We wonder what brand will
win in that experiment.
Bibliography
Shuttleworth, Martyn. "Paper Towel Experiment." - Which Is
the Most Absorbent? Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
"Consumer Reports: Best Paper Towels." YouTube. YouTube,
n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2015.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igM7iFV5Q5g>.
"Consumer Reports Magazine: December 2009." Paper
Towel Test: Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports
Magazine, Dec. 2009. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazinearchive/december-2009/home-garden/papertowels/overview/paper-towels-ov.htm>.
Abstract
The purpose of our project was to learn which
paper towel was the most absorbent. We
thought that Bounty would absorb the most
water. We put the paper towels in water and
then squeezed the water from the paper towel
into a graduated cylinder and measured it.
Bounty was the most absorbent. Sparkle and
school were the least absorbent. Our hypothesis
was supported by this experiment. When we spill
something that is liquid, we now know to use
Bounty because it’s the most absorbent. Our
project could be improved if we repeated it using
different paper towels or different liquids.