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Paper Towel Science Project

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Does Price Indicate How Absorbent Paper Towels Are?

Problem statement:
The purpose of this experiment is to determine if the price of paper towels reflects the absorbency of the paper towels.
Relevance:
I became interested in this idea while trying to save money on my grocery bill. If the cheaper paper towels work just as well or better, I can save money by purchasing them.
The information gained from this experiment can help consumers get the best absorbency for the lowest price.
Literature Review:
While doing research on how to best design my paper towel experiment, I came across two other experiments that were relevant to mine. The first was a diaper absorbency experiment conducted by Vanessa W. in 1999 to determine which …show more content…

After recording that amount, I repeated all the steps for each brand of paper towel. Then emptied and dried out all for measuring cups and started all over again until I had five sets of results.
Amount of water left in measuring cups: Paper Towel Brand | Test 1 | Test 2 | Test 3 | Test 4 | Test 5 | Sparkle | 95 ml | 98 ml | 98 ml | 99 ml | 100 ml | Dollar General Brand | 95 ml | 99 ml | 98 ml | 98 ml | 99 ml | Bounty | 77 ml | 80 ml | 80 ml | 81 ml | 79 ml | Viva | 75 ml | 77 ml | 78 ml | 77 ml | 80 ml |

Amount of water absorbed by paper towels determined by subtracting above amounts from 120 ml: PT Brand | Test 1 | Test 2 | Test 3 | Test 4 | Test 5 | Average | Sparkle | 25 ml | 22 ml | 22 ml | 21 ml | 20 ml | 22 ml | DG Brand | 25 ml | 21 ml | 22 ml | 22 ml | 21 ml | 22.2 ml | Bounty | 43 ml | 40 ml | 40 ml | 39 ml | 41 ml | 40.6 ml | Viva | 45 ml | 43 ml | 42 ml | 43 ml | 40 ml | 42.6 ml |

Results:
The results of the experiment were that the Viva brand paper towels were the most absorbent. Viva absorbed an average of 42.6 milliliters. The Sparkle brand was the least absorbent with an average absorbency of only 22 milliliters.

Conclusion:
My hypothesis was that the more expensive paper towel brands would be the most absorbent. Unfortunately, my hypothesis was confirmed. Viva brand, $2 per roll, had the best average absorbency at 42.6 ml. Bounty brand,

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