In my hypothesis I stated that if we use dish soap, vinegar and baking soda, 1 spoon, and 10 cotton balls then we will be able to contain and absorb 99% of the oil. My hypothesis was partly correct. We were able to absorb 95% of the oil. I made my hypothesis by taking the clean up materials into context and I was confident that they would work. In the videos that we watched before we did the lab, we saw that the oil sits on top of the water so it would be easier to skim off the surface. Secondly we had prior knowledge of how dish soap works with water and oil or grease and it tends to propel the grease and oil towards the outwards edges of the container. There for we thought that the dish soap would be a good choice to use for containing the oil.
For the procedure we started with the containment of the oil. We figured that if we did that we could remove the oil faster with less work. We then thought we should start removing the oil. We went ahead with the cotton balls. We tried a few different techniques to absorb the oil but we found that the method that worked the best was when the cotton balls just skimmed the surface taking just the oil as a coating on the outside of the cotton balls. After we had used some of the cotton balls, the oil had started to separate so we added the dish soap to push the soap to the outer edges of the basin for containment. Following the dish soap, we used a stretched out cotton ball to push the oil into one space so it once again could be easier to remove and make the process faster. Then we removed the final bits of oil with the spoon with the spoon and cotton balls. Some of the controlled variables that we took into consideration were the amount of oil in the water, the materials that we used to contain the oil and the materials used to absorb the oil. The independent variable was the materials in use and the dependent variable was the percent of oil contained and absorbed.
In the graph it just explains how each of the materials did with clean up and containment of the oil. In the pie graphs it explains what percent of the containment per clean up material or the amount of absorption per clean up material. The final result was a success. We were able to clean up 95% of the oil with the given materials. The only material that did nothing was a vinegar and baking soda that simply sunk to the bottom with no effect on the clean up or absorption of the oil. The outcome was what was expected and it was what was theorized in our hypothesis.
I think that the experiment was a valid and successful experiment. If I were to change anything I would not have used the baking soda because of the little effect it had. I also think that going in I would like to have a clearer plan on the steps that were going to have been taken. If I were going to test another part o would test in which way would you get the least amount of water along with the water. I would also test the speed and success for each clean up and absorption items on a more individual scale.
For the procedure we started with the containment of the oil. We figured that if we did that we could remove the oil faster with less work. We then thought we should start removing the oil. We went ahead with the cotton balls. We tried a few different techniques to absorb the oil but we found that the method that worked the best was when the cotton balls just skimmed the surface taking just the oil as a coating on the outside of the cotton balls. After we had used some of the cotton balls, the oil had started to separate so we added the dish soap to push the soap to the outer edges of the basin for containment. Following the dish soap, we used a stretched out cotton ball to push the oil into one space so it once again could be easier to remove and make the process faster. Then we removed the final bits of oil with the spoon with the spoon and cotton balls. Some of the controlled variables that we took into consideration were the amount of oil in the water, the materials that we used to contain the oil and the materials used to absorb the oil. The independent variable was the materials in use and the dependent variable was the percent of oil contained and absorbed.
In the graph it just explains how each of the materials did with clean up and containment of the oil. In the pie graphs it explains what percent of the containment per clean up material or the amount of absorption per clean up material. The final result was a success. We were able to clean up 95% of the oil with the given materials. The only material that did nothing was a vinegar and baking soda that simply sunk to the bottom with no effect on the clean up or absorption of the oil. The outcome was what was expected and it was what was theorized in our hypothesis.
I think that the experiment was a valid and successful experiment. If I were to change anything I would not have used the baking soda because of the little effect it had. I also think that going in I would like to have a clearer plan on the steps that were going to have been taken. If I were going to test another part o would test in which way would you get the least amount of water along with the water. I would also test the speed and success for each clean up and absorption items on a more individual scale.
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