Problem Statement Which brand of paper towel is most

absorbent?

VariablesConstant Variables:WaterCupsGraduated cylinderFunnelDeli containertray

Manipulated Variable: School’s paper towelPublix paper towelBounty regularBounty DuraTowelBounty BasicBrawnyDecorator paper towelTuf paper towel

Responding Variable:Which brand of paper towel is most absorbent?

Hypothesis

If we test different brands of paper towels, then Bounty DuraTowel will be the most absorbent.

Materials

Procedures1. Fill a graduated cylinder with 50ml of water.2. Pour it into a cup.3. Put the paper towel in the cup. Make sure all of the

paper towel is underwater. Leave it for 5 seconds.4. Gently, lift the paper towel out of the cup and squeeze

the water into the deli container.5. Using the funnel, pour the water from the deli

container into the graduated cylinder.6. Measure the water in the graduated cylinder and

record the data.7. Repeat steps 1-6 two more times with the same brand

of paper towel.8. Repeat steps 1-7 with the other brands.

Data Number of milliliters of water

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average DuraTowel 36 40 41 39

Bounty Basic 36 27 30 31

School 9 21 15 15

Publix 20 15.5 10.5 15

Brawny 25 30 39 31

Decorator 20 15 21 19

Tuf 15 11 15 14 Bounty regular 32 31 30 31

Data

ResultsDuraTowel had the most absorbency

with 39ml of water. In second place there was a 3-way tie. Bounty Basic, Brawny, Bounty regular all held 31ml of water. In third place was Decorator which held 19ml of water. School and Publix tied for fourth place with 15ml. Finally, Tuf came in last with 14ml.

Conclusion

Our experiment was supported by our hypothesis. DuraTowel was the most absorbent. It had more strands or layers of paper. This was probably why it won. The second place paper towels were also much thicker than the ones in 4th and 5th place.

Application

We can tell our parents to buy DuraTowel because it absorbs more liquid than the other ones. We wonder if we tested Kirkland or Viva would our results be different? If we do the experiment again would our results change? If we put things on top of the paper towels, would DuraTowel be the strongest?

BibliographyBarnhardt, Robert A. "Linen." World Book Student.

World Book, 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.

Langley, Andrew. Paper Products. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, 2009

Abstract Which brand of paper towel is the most

absorbent? We tested different brands of paper towel by dunking them in water and squeezing it out into a cup. DuraTowel won. We learned that thicker paper towels were more absorbent.