Discussion
In our hypothesis we stated that the cotton balls would soak up the most oil off the water. We were incorrect, the cut up sponges soaked up the most oil off the water. We thought cotton balls would soak up the oil because they are generally very absorbent. We didn't think the sponges would work very well because the oil would seep in faster into the spaces between the fibers and it would sink to the bottom and no longer soak up oil. The cotton balls would stay afloat longer because they have smaller spaces between fibers and would there for have more time to absorb oil. We didn't think the hay would do very well because hay is very dry and for example like dry ground it is very hard for the cracked, dry ground to absorb water, so we thought that the hay would not be able to absorb the oil as well. Also cotton is a very absorbent material. However the sponges worked the best because they are made from cellulose wood fibers that soak up the oil. The liquid goes into the tiny wholes in the sponge until it is full of liquid and can no longer soak up liquid.
We tested cotton balls, hay and sponges to see which one would absorb the most oil off water in a time period of 5 minutes. We tested this because we wanted to find an efficient way to clean up oil spills that wouldn't effect the ocean as much as some chemicals do. All of our variables were identified and controlled. We did the experiment in a room temperature environment. All of our tests were the same weight (10 grams) and we used the same amount of oil for each test (2 cups each). Water (from a water jug) was the same for each test and the same amount was used (6 cups each). Our independent variables were the hay, cotton balls and sponges. Our dependent variable was the amount of oil soaked up by the tested materials. We tested a control which had only water and oil in it to make sure nothing went wrong in the experiment.
At the end, sponges soaked up the most oil off of the water (see Figure 1).
In Figure 1 you will see which tests soaked up the most oil and the least oil. Table 1 is the data that we gathered to support the results of figure 1. Table 2 is an observation table that shows what we stated in our analysis of the qualitative and quantitative observations. We thought the cotton balls would soak up the most oil. However they did not. The sponges soaked up 3/4 cups of oil and the cotton balls soaked up 2/3 cups of oil. The hay soaked up 1/2 cups of oil.
Our experiment was valid and successful however it proved our hypothesis wrong. If we had to change anything we might change the time to simulate a more realistic ocean oil spill. Also changing hay to a more practical test material would identify other possibilities to our experiment. A possible source of error was the amount of oil we took off of the water in each bin. Also in our experiment we moved the tested materials around with our hands for approx 5 seconds for each test. We did this because we wanted to simulate ocean currents. Although we didn't move them around the exact same for each test, neither would the ocean. We couldn't test if we had taken all of the oil off, however we tried our best. If we repeated the project we would test hair because from our back ground research hair has been used in booms to help soak up oil in spills. From what we gathered, the hair worked well.
We tested cotton balls, hay and sponges to see which one would absorb the most oil off water in a time period of 5 minutes. We tested this because we wanted to find an efficient way to clean up oil spills that wouldn't effect the ocean as much as some chemicals do. All of our variables were identified and controlled. We did the experiment in a room temperature environment. All of our tests were the same weight (10 grams) and we used the same amount of oil for each test (2 cups each). Water (from a water jug) was the same for each test and the same amount was used (6 cups each). Our independent variables were the hay, cotton balls and sponges. Our dependent variable was the amount of oil soaked up by the tested materials. We tested a control which had only water and oil in it to make sure nothing went wrong in the experiment.
At the end, sponges soaked up the most oil off of the water (see Figure 1).
In Figure 1 you will see which tests soaked up the most oil and the least oil. Table 1 is the data that we gathered to support the results of figure 1. Table 2 is an observation table that shows what we stated in our analysis of the qualitative and quantitative observations. We thought the cotton balls would soak up the most oil. However they did not. The sponges soaked up 3/4 cups of oil and the cotton balls soaked up 2/3 cups of oil. The hay soaked up 1/2 cups of oil.
Our experiment was valid and successful however it proved our hypothesis wrong. If we had to change anything we might change the time to simulate a more realistic ocean oil spill. Also changing hay to a more practical test material would identify other possibilities to our experiment. A possible source of error was the amount of oil we took off of the water in each bin. Also in our experiment we moved the tested materials around with our hands for approx 5 seconds for each test. We did this because we wanted to simulate ocean currents. Although we didn't move them around the exact same for each test, neither would the ocean. We couldn't test if we had taken all of the oil off, however we tried our best. If we repeated the project we would test hair because from our back ground research hair has been used in booms to help soak up oil in spills. From what we gathered, the hair worked well.