Discussion
In my hypothesis I stated that 70% of the oil spill would be absorbed and 30% would be contained. In my results I was almost correct as 73% of the oil was absorbed and 27% was contained. I chose cleaning products that I thought would help neutralize the water in the washbasin by; first containing the oil and then absorbing it. As this is a technique used when combating actual oil spills. It was proven in my results that the materials I chose were effective in the cleaning process of the washbasin.
To start off with I used a spoon to contain the oil on the surface of the water by moving the spoon in a fluid motion to one direction. Then, I tore the paper towels in half (so that there would be more) and let them soak all the visible oil sitting around the surface. After this I decided to let the vinegar and baking soda wash over the all of the solution below, I thought it would bring the hidden oil to the surface. Watching a few bubbles rise up, I poured my remaining product (laundry soap) into the washbasin hoping it would 'swallow' the remaining oil. All the variables were considered beforehand and controlled (i.e. Volume of oil in the basin, same temperature of the water/oil/liquids used to contain and absorb, same quality/type of oil used). The independent variable I picked was chosen because of background research and my personal knowledge of oil spill clean ups. The dependent variable I chose was just an approximate estimate I thought of as part of my knowledge.
When you look at my results there is one number that is miles larger than the others. Statistics showed that on average the paper towel absorbed and contained better than most of the other materials and products. The 5 paper towels absorbed ~73% of the oil and contained ~ 5%. These numbers were much larger than the spoon's (contained: 2% and absorbed: 0%), laundry soap's (contained: 12% and absorbed: 0%), and the vinegar and baking soda's (contained: 8% and absorbed: 0%). As you can see the spoon was a little more than useless, the paper towels were the backbone to the cleaning operation, the laundry soap gave a poor effort along with the vinegar and baking soda. So, the paper towels had the greater effect, followed by the laundry soap, the vinegar and baking soda and then the spoon.
On the whole I would say my experiment was valid and successful! Obviously if I didn't have such low expectations set I would swap the spoon for either the cotton balls or another 5 paper towels. The only problems that I identified was that I couldn't always see the oil, so I didn't know where to place the paper towels when that happened. Obviously in the real world experts would use special technology made for that type of situation. Finally if I were to conduct this lab again I would use different varieties of oil, so I could get a broader knowledge of how hard oil spill are to successfully contain and absorb.
To start off with I used a spoon to contain the oil on the surface of the water by moving the spoon in a fluid motion to one direction. Then, I tore the paper towels in half (so that there would be more) and let them soak all the visible oil sitting around the surface. After this I decided to let the vinegar and baking soda wash over the all of the solution below, I thought it would bring the hidden oil to the surface. Watching a few bubbles rise up, I poured my remaining product (laundry soap) into the washbasin hoping it would 'swallow' the remaining oil. All the variables were considered beforehand and controlled (i.e. Volume of oil in the basin, same temperature of the water/oil/liquids used to contain and absorb, same quality/type of oil used). The independent variable I picked was chosen because of background research and my personal knowledge of oil spill clean ups. The dependent variable I chose was just an approximate estimate I thought of as part of my knowledge.
When you look at my results there is one number that is miles larger than the others. Statistics showed that on average the paper towel absorbed and contained better than most of the other materials and products. The 5 paper towels absorbed ~73% of the oil and contained ~ 5%. These numbers were much larger than the spoon's (contained: 2% and absorbed: 0%), laundry soap's (contained: 12% and absorbed: 0%), and the vinegar and baking soda's (contained: 8% and absorbed: 0%). As you can see the spoon was a little more than useless, the paper towels were the backbone to the cleaning operation, the laundry soap gave a poor effort along with the vinegar and baking soda. So, the paper towels had the greater effect, followed by the laundry soap, the vinegar and baking soda and then the spoon.
On the whole I would say my experiment was valid and successful! Obviously if I didn't have such low expectations set I would swap the spoon for either the cotton balls or another 5 paper towels. The only problems that I identified was that I couldn't always see the oil, so I didn't know where to place the paper towels when that happened. Obviously in the real world experts would use special technology made for that type of situation. Finally if I were to conduct this lab again I would use different varieties of oil, so I could get a broader knowledge of how hard oil spill are to successfully contain and absorb.