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Paper Towel Experiment

Which is the most absorbent.

The Paper Towel Experiment is a project about which type of paper can absorb more water.

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paper towel absorbency research

In every store, big or small, there are numerous brands of paper towels available, each claiming to be the best, the most absorbent or the cheapest. How do we prove or disprove these claims? How do we work out which paper towels are truly great and which are almost entirely useless?

We have all seen advertisements where two brands of paper towels are compared by observing how quickly or thoroughly they suck up a mysterious blue liquid or by wiping up some muddy footprints from their kitchen floor.

This, as we know, is not very scientific - there are no figures, no proof and little truth.

Here we are going to show you how to conduct an experiment to test one of these claims: the absorbency of paper towels.

paper towel absorbency research

Some Facts About Kitchen Towel

  • Paper towels were invented by Arthur Scott in Philadelphia, USA, in around 1900. From humble beginnings, paper kitchen towels have become a billion dollar industry.
  • Paper towels are often made from post consumer recycled paper fiber, requiring fewer trees being cut down and using up to 50% less energy.

paper towel absorbency research

Performing the Paper Towel Experiment

“More expensive brands of paper towel are more absorbent.”

What You Will Need for the Paper Towel Experiment

  • At least four brands of absorbent paper towel
  • A stopwatch
  • A graduated cylinder
  • Fill the beaker up with exactly 200 ml of water
  • Take a sheet of the first brand of towel.
  • Fold and insert into the water. As you dip the towel into the water, start your stopwatch.
  • After 20 seconds, remove the towel from the beaker and squeeze as much water as you can out of the towel in to the graduated cylinder using the funnel. Make a note of the volume extracted
  • Repeat 5 times for each brand and note the results in your data table. You must make sure that each sheet is folded in exactly the same way for the experiment to be constant and correct.
  • Write down the results for each brand in your notebook.

Work out an average for each result and write down in a table.

Plot all of your results onto a simple bar graph like the one below; you can do this on a computer or you can use graph paper and pencils.

This will allow you to show which brand of paper towel is the most absorbent and which is truly awful.

Problems and Further Experimentation

Of course, this is a very simple experiment and it does have some limitations; you are testing only one reason why people choose a certain brand.

Some brands might be excellent at soaking up spills but are very expensive. Maybe some brands are not as good at soaking up water but are better at soaking up other liquids like milk or cooking oil.

When a consumer buys paper towels, they are not just looking for absorbency. Price, softness, availability, number of sheets on a roll, and strength are all important factors when buying a roll of kitchen towel.

Perhaps you could design an experiment to rate the strength and softness, or try and calculate how much each towel costs per sheet.

Paper towel manufacturers spend millions of dollars every year but, with a few simple experiments, you can find out which brands truly are the best.

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Martyn Shuttleworth (Sep 21, 2008). Paper Towel Experiment. Retrieved May 15, 2024 from Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/paper-towel-experiment

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December 10, 2015

Folded or Flat Paper Towel: Which One Absorbs More Water?

A soggy project from Science Buddies

By Science Buddies

paper towel absorbency research

A little science can help you save an important resource you probably use every day: paper towels. Try this activity and see what simple trick can help you--and the environment! 

George Retseck

Key concepts Absorption Paper Water Molecules

Introduction We all know that washing hands throughout the day can help keep colds and flu at bay. So several times a day we lather up, scrub, rinse and then use a paper towel—then another one, maybe even three or four to dry them off. Because who wants wet hands?

But could there be a way to conserve some of that paper by getting a paper towel to go the extra mile, allowing you to dry your hands with just one single sheet? This activity just might help you find the answer.

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If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing . By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

Background To understand how paper towels absorb water, we need to know a little about how they are made.

Paper towels are made of ground-up plant material. If you look through a microscope at a torn-up piece of paper (or look up some images on the Internet), you will see a web of tiny plant fibers. Magnifying your paper further will reveal that the fibers are made of long chains of linked sugar molecules, called cellulose. Water is attracted to cellulose and likes to be soaked up and stick to the cellulose in paper.

When you looked through your microscope, did you also see the spaces between the fibers? These empty spaces affect the absorbency of the paper: Water likes to stick together and fill these spaces as it follows the water attracted to the cellulose. More spaces allow more water to be absorbed. But what would happen if you add a tiny space between sheets of paper towels? Would the empty space between the sheets help to hold more water?

Five or more identical paper towels—preferably the type in public restrooms (In case you would like to test different types of paper towels, choose at least five identical towels of each type. Do not worry about wasting a few towels—this activity might help save paper in the long run!)

Place to hang a paper towel to drip

Kitchen scale, one-gram precision or better

Paper and pen or pencil (for recording weights)

A workspace that can get a little wet

Scissors to make towels smaller for small hands (optional)

Preparation

Assemble all of your materials at your workspace.

Unfold the first paper towel (if you have the prefolded type). Wet it thoroughly and hang it so all of the excess water drips out.

When the towel no longer drips, weigh it on a kitchen scale. You can heap up the towel on the scale rather than neatly folding it. Record the mass on a piece of paper.

Fold an identical paper towel in three (if it was not already prefolded) and fold it one more time so six layers of towel are on top of one another. Wet it thoroughly and hang it—still folded—so all of the excess water drips out. Do you think this folded paper towel holds more, less or just as much water as the unfolded paper towel?

When the folded towel stops dripping, weigh it on a kitchen scale. Do not unfold it; place it on the scale then read and record its mass. Does it weigh more, less or exactly the same as the wet unfolded paper towel? If there is a difference, why do you think the mass is different?

Now that you measured how much water the folded and unfolded paper towels can hold, and maybe found a difference, which do you think would dry your hands better?

Place a fresh, unfolded paper towel and an identical fresh paper towel folded in three in a dry spot on your workspace.

Wet your hands, shake them three times to remove most of the water and then dry them off with the unfolded paper towel. Do your hands feel completely dry, somewhat dry or still quite wet?

Repeat wetting and shaking your hands. Try to shake your hands in the same way you did the first time then dry them with the folded paper towel. How do your hands feel now? Do they feel dryer, wetter or just as dry as when you used the unfolded paper towel?

If your hands feel very dry with both the folded and unfolded paper towels, try again with half a paper towel, as follows: Cut a paper towel in half and dry your hands with an unfolded half-towel and with a folded half-towel. Do you feel a difference now?

How can your findings help you use fewer paper towels for the same job?

Extra: If you have more paper towels of the same type, repeat the tests; perform each step exactly the same way and notice the variations in the outcomes. Does the measured difference in mass vary a lot or just a bit? Is it always the folded or always the unfolded paper towel that weighs more? Do your hands always feel drier when using the folded or the unfolded paper towel ? Scientists repeat tests to verify the outcome. Scientists also like to have their studies repeated by a different researcher utilizing different instrumentation (such as the scale). If the independent tests reveal the same results, the test is called reproducible . Such repeated tests by other experimenters have more scientific value. Can you find a friend to help you make your tests reproducible?

Extra: If you have different types of paper towels available, repeat the tests with them. Do you expect similar results? What did you find after testing them all?

Extra : Test other paper products that are used to absorb liquids, such as kitchen paper towels, toilet paper, paper napkins or tissues. Do these absorb more water when folded than when used single-layered? Which type of paper product gains most by folding? Can you explain why?

Observations and results Did you measure a higher mass for the folded wet paper towel and did your hands feel drier when you used it? This is expected, as the tiny space between paper towel layers helps hold more water.

Paper is made of cellulose, which water molecules like to cling to. As a result, paper readily absorbs water. Paper towels are especially absorbent because their cellulose fibers have empty spaces—tiny air bubbles—between them. Water molecules, which like to stay together, follow the one another as they are absorbed by the cellulose and fill the empty spaces. Layering the paper towel creates more spaces for water to fill, which explains why your layered paper towel could hold more water and was more efficient at drying your hands.

The next time you reach for the paper towels, remember to fold! You might feel good knowing you just saved an extra paper towel from being used.

Cleanup Let your wet paper towels dry, then recycle them if possible.

This activity was inspired by the TEDx talk, " How to Use One Paper Towel ," by Joe Smith.

More to explore How Do Paper Towels Absorb Water? from A Moment of Science, Indiana Public Media How to Use One Paper Towel , from Joe Smith, TEDxConcordiaUPortland Paper Chromatography , from Flashbang Science Chromatography: Be a Color Detective , from Scientific American

This activity brought to you in partnership with Science Buddies

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paper towel absorbency research

How Do Paper Towels Absorb Water?

By -->danit brown -->, posted february 28, 2017.

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a close-up image of the design on a roll of paper towel. Circles made of smaller circles made of dots. The paper towel is white.

Paper towels are made up of cellulose fibers, which also make up cotton, wood, and most other plants. These cellulose fibers are actually giant molecules that consist of many small molecules linked together.

Key To Absorption

The small molecules that combine to make up cellulose are sugar molecules; that's the key to the absorbency of paper towels.

Think how easily sugar dissolves in water. When you get a paper towel wet, the water molecules rush in and cling to the cellulose fibers. That's why paper towels are great at picking up spills.

Inedible Sugar

Although cellulose contains sugar molecules, that doesn't mean paper towels are edible. We humans don't have any of the enzymes necessary to split the cellulose molecule apart into the individual sugar molecules. That's why paper towels have no nutritional value for us.

Sources and Further Reading:

Bloomfield, Louis A. "How Things Work" at http://howthingswork.virginia.edu/. Accessed June 29, 2002.

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One more paper towel, longer protection

Nianzhou yu.

a Hunan Engineering Research Center of Skin Health and Disease, Hunan, China

b Hunan Key Laboratory of Skin Cancer and Psoriasis, Hunan, China

c Dermatology Department, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Hunan, China

Shuang Zhao

Therapeutic challenge.

COVID-19 is currently wreaking havoc all over the world. Owing to the shortage of surgical mask resources, the life-saving use of surgical masks has become a prominent topic of the public. The life cycle of a surgical mask is usually approximately 4 hours.

One of the factors that limits the effective useful life of the surgical mask is the high humidity of the wearer's expired air and the splutter that lead to moisture being trapped in the masks. 1 This not only leads to growth of bacteria but also irritates the delicate facial skin.

The solution

Paper towels, which are daily necessities, are highly absorbent and low priced. The surgical mask with a paper towel significantly reduces the amount of water vapor and the splutter exhaled from the mouth. To ensure the ability of the paper towel to absorb water vapor, the paper towel may be properly folded in half (about 1-2 times, moderate thickness), forming a rectangle. The size of paper towel should be adjusted according to the mouth position and within the range of the mask. Then the folded paper towel is placed on the inside and middle of the mask ( Fig 1 ).

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is gr1_lrg.jpg

Descriptions of steps: ( A ) paper towel, ( B ) surgical mask, ( C ) the folded paper towel is placed on the inside and middle of the mask.

Finally, put on the mask. The paper towel can be changed when you feel uncomfortable or at 30-minute intervals. Through our practice, the mask with a paper towel is more moisture resistant than without it and skin friendly. We hope this idea will be conducive to the prevention and control of COVID-19.

Funding sources: None.

Conflicts of interest: None disclosed.

IRB approval status: None.

Paper Towel Facts and FAQ's

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A kid doing Experiments

In this Article:

It’s the moment every parent dreads – you’re going about your day when your child mentions that he or she has to do a science project. If you’re one of the lucky ones, your kid will let it slip a few days after it was assigned. But if you’re like most parents, you’ll find out about it the night before it’s due. Either way, we’ve got you covered with a few science fair project ideas to make sure your child scores a top grade (or at least stays out of summer school). Best of all, these science experiments for kids can be completed with common household items you most likely already have on hand.

Testing the Strength of Paper Towels

If you find yourself short on time, testing which paper towel brand is the strongest, makes for a simple yet fun paper towel science project.

Time Needed: 2 Hours

Materials Needed:

An assortment of supplies to test paper towel strength: Bounty paper towel roll, three generic paper towel rolls, coins, water jug, container, note pad and graph paper

1 roll of Bounty paper towels 3 rolls of paper towels made by 3 separate brands. 1 large plastic tub 2 cups of water Notebook or journal Graph paper 125 quarters A partner

  • Detach one towel from each roll of paper towels and label each one with the corresponding brand’s name.

One sheet of Bounty paper towel alongside three sheets of generic paper towels laid out, labeled by brand

  • Have the partner hold one of the detached sheets over the plastic tub.

Hands holding a Bounty paper towel sheet over a plastic tub

  • Pour exactly ½ a cup of water onto the paper towel.

A hand pouring water onto a Bounty sheet being held above a plastic tub

  • Place the quarters (one at a time) onto the paper towel until it breaks.

A hand placing quarters on top of a wet Bounty paper towel held above a plastic tub

  • Record the results of which paper towel is the strongest.

A notebook recording the results of each papaer towel brand

  • Repeat steps 1 through 5 for each brand of paper towels.
  • Create a graph to illustrate the results.

A graph showing paper towel brands and number of quarters each sheet could hold

Paper Towel Absorbency Experiment

If you liked the previous idea, but don’t have over thirty dollars in quarters laying around the house, your child can always test what brand of paper towel is most absorbent.

An assortment of supplies to test paper towel absorbency: Bounty paper towel roll, three generic paper towel rolls, coins, water jug, container, note pad and graph paper

1 roll of Bounty paper towels 3 rolls of paper towels made by 3 separate brands. 1 cup of water An even wooden or plastic table Notebook or journal Graph paper

Under your supervision, have your child complete the following steps:

  • Tear off one towel from each roll of paper towels and label each one with the corresponding brand’s name.

A sheet of Bounty paper towel next to three sheets of different paper towel brands

  • Pour the water onto the table in four different sections. Each section should contain exactly ¼ of a cup of water. (Make sure to give yourself some room, sothe pools of water don’t overlap.)

Pouring 1/4 cup of water onto a table

  • Place one paper towel over one pool of water.

A sheet of paper towel absorbing water spill on table

  • Wait ten seconds.
  • Remove the paper towel, and record your findings of the paper towel absorbency in the notebook.
  • Repeat steps 3 through 5 for each paper towel brand.
  • Create a graph to illustrate the results of which paper towel absorbs the most water.

A bar graph showing the amount of water absorbed by each paper towel brand

Seed Germination with Paper Towels

Supposing your child has a few days to complete the project, a seed germination experiment is relatively hassle-free, and usually goes over well with teachers and students alike. It’s a great paper towel science fair project because it only takes a few minutes to prepare. However, it does take a few days for the seeds to grow.

An assortment of supplies for seed germination experiment: a Bounty paper towel roll, plates, three cups, potting soil, water, note pad, graph paper

3 plastic cups Bounty paper towels (Bounty is highly absorbent, so results should be seen faster) 3 plastic (or regular) plates 1 gallon of distilled water Potting soil Journal or notebook 6 bean seeds (Bean seeds are pretty big, sprout quickly and are easy to work with) Graph paper

  • Place the soil into the plastic cups.

Hand pouring soil into three cups

  • Plant a bean about ¼ inch deep in each cup containing the soil.

A finger pushing 1/4 deep through a cup of soil

  • Take three sheets of Bounty paper towels and fold each in half.

Three sheets of Bounty paper towel folded in half

  • Place each of the remaining seeds inside its own folded paper towel, then place each of the paper towels on its own plate.

Seeds inserted inside three folded sheets of Bounty paper towel and placed on plates

  • Water the paper towels and soil cups until wet (not soaking) and place all the seeds in a warm, dark room.

Water poured onto a folded paper towel sheet on a plate

  • Monitor the seeds daily and water the soil cups or wet the paper towels again when they start to dry out.

An illustration of an eye watching water pouring onto a folded paper towel on a plate

  • Note which seeds germinated when, and chart your results on graph paper. Explain which process worked better, and which seeds produced the longest, thickest sprouts.

Paper Towels Color Bridge

Paper Towel Color BridgeHere’s an idea with lots of color and wow factor. Best of all, it’s fairly simple, quick and inexpensive.

Supplies needed to make a paper towel bridge: Roll of Bounty paper towel, three clear plastic cups, measuring cup, silver spoon, yellow and blue food coloring

3 clear plastic cups 2 cups of water Yellow food coloring Blue food coloring Spoon 1 roll of Bounty paper towels (Using Bounty will cut down on the time it takes to see results. The channels in the towels will dispense water faster than other brands.) Under your supervision, have your child complete the following steps:

  • Fill two of the cups with 1 cup of water each.

Pouring water from a measuring cup into two cups clear plastic cups

  • Add yellow food coloring to one and the blue to the other.

Two cups of water and a hand dropping food coloring into each

  • Stir (remember to clean the spoon so you won't mix the colors).

A hand mixing colored dye into a cup of water

  • Arrange the cups so that the empty cup is in the middle.

An empty cup in the middle of two cups of water: one with blue food coloring and one with yellow food coloring

  • Tear off paper towels and roll them into tight tubes.

Two rolled up sheets of Bounty paper towel

  • Stick one end of each into one of the colored waters, and the other end into the empty middle cup.

A cup of blue liquid, an empty cup, a cup of yellow liquid. The ends of two rolled up Bounty paper towels are folded into each cups, connecting them like an arched bridge

  • Observe the colored water as it travels up the paper towel.
  • Document your findings.

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Paper Towel Absorbency Experiment

Summer science fun

This post is part of the DIY Summer Camp Activities series. Find more fun things for kids of all ages there .

I coach a homeschool Science Olympiad team and one of the events is Experimental Design. For the event, students use various provided materials to design and conduct an experiment on a specific topic.

For one of our practice sessions last year, I gave them different brands of paper towel and asked them to conduct an experiment on absorbency.

The result – for me – was that I changed my brand of paper towel!! Yes, the results were that dramatic.

So the DIY summer camp activity will not only be educational and fun for your children but should also be beneficial for you!

Here is a step by step walkthrough of the experiment. You can use more water and more paper towels if you are using a bigger glass. Just adapt to make it work with the equipment you are using.

Get your children to come up with a hypothesis as to what they expect to happen and why eg. We believe brand A will be the most absorbent, brand B then next absorbent and brand C the least absorbent because …..

Materials needed

  • 3 (or more) different brands of paper towels (Note how much they cost)
  • graduated cylinder (if you don’t have one use a skinny glass and measure the water you pour in and what is left using a measuring jug)
  • aluminum pie dish or a tray to prevent a mess 🙂

1. Gather needed materials

2. Lay all paper towels on top of each other and use scissors to trim so they are all the same size (this way you’re testing how the absorbency of the towels differs and size isn’t a variable). You will need 3 pieces of each brand.

Cutting the paper towel

3. Take 1 paper towel from brand A and roll lengthwise so its diameter can fit in the graduated cylinder

4. Fill the graduated cylinder with lukewarm tap water to a volume of 30ml. (Note: we use metric measurements as that is standard in the scientific community).

Pour water into cylinder

5. Put a rolled paper towel in the cylinder so 3cm of the towel is submerged in the water

Absorbency experiment - dipping in the paper towel

6. Hold the towel in water for 10 seconds, then lift it up out of the cylinder and allow to drip into the cylinder for 5 seconds. (The purpose for doing this was to make sure the test showed what the paper towels were absorbing AND keeping in. After all, you don’t want towels that drip out everything you’ve just cleaned up!)

7. Either dispose of paper towel in a waste bin OR place in pie pan and throw them all away at once when you finish

8. Record the volume of water remaining in the cylinder and subtract from the original 30ml to see how much water the towel absorbed

9. Repeat steps 3-8 two more times with the same brand of paper towel.

10. Now take the next brand of paper towel and do steps 3 – 9.

Record your data as you do the experiment. Once you are finished, calculate the average amount of water left for the 3 trials of each brand of paper towel.

IMG_0280 (2)_LI

Draw a bar graph of the average of the tests for each brand of paper towel. It will look something like this:

Graph

The independent variable in this experiment is the brand of paper towel i.e. it is the one the tester is changing. The independent variable is always on the X-axis.

The average amount of water (over the 3 trials) left in the cylinder is the dependent variable and the bar should be drawn to this height.

Now that you have the data, and the graph, students can reach a conclusion. They need to decide if their hypothesis was supported by the data or not (NOTE: scientists never say their hypothesis was ‘true’ or ‘false’ but only whether the result of their experiment supported the hypothesis or not)

The Science Behind It

Paper towel is made of plant fibers. Capillary action in the fibers draws the water into the paper towels. If you have a microscope, put a piece of paper towel under it for your children to look at. The fibers are made up of tiny linked sugar molecules called cellulose. Cellulose attracts water. If you look at paper towel under a microscope you will also see that there are spaces between the fibers – and those will hold water too.

To take this one step further, take a look at how much each roll of paper towel cost and try to calculate the cost of one “test strip” for each. Relate the cost to how absorbent the brand was and that should help you select what to buy in the future.

And your children can see a practical use for science!

Don’t forget to take a look at other DIY Summer Camp ideas to do with your children.

Absorbency experiment / Summer science fun #sciencefun #summerscience #DIYScience

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How to Do a Science Fair Project on Paper Towels

paper towel absorbency research

Science Projects on Which Paper Towel Is the Strongest

Science fair projects require a hypothesis, some amount of experimentation, and a final report and presentation that explain your findings. It is important to start planning your project early, as you will need time to complete each step of the project, and you cannot usually do this the night before the due date. If you want to do a science fair project about paper towels, one that centers on testing their strength when wet is a relatively easy way to go.

Create a chart for measuring the results of your experiment. This chart should have a row for each paper towel brand, with a column for brand name, number of coins, and rank.

Pull a sheet off each paper towel roll. Cut all of the sheets down to the same size.

Hold the first paper towel over the bowl of water. Have a couple of friends or family members hold each corner of the paper towel. The bowl catches any excess water and prevents a mess.

Add five teaspoons of water to the paper towel, and then start placing coins on top of it, one at a time. Place all of the water in the center of the towel.

Add quarters to the paper towel until it breaks. Record the number of coins on your data sheet. Once you have done this with all of the paper towels, you can rank them from strongest to weakest. Add quarters one at a time.

Write a report that uses the question, “Which brand of paper towels is the strongest when wet?” Describe the goals of your project, what occurred during your experiment, and the conclusions you drew. Your hypothesis can be an educated guess based on personal experience or advertising. For instance, if one brand of paper towel advertises itself as the strongest, your hypothesis could read, "Brand X is the strongest wet paper towel."

Create a backboard that has some examples of the paper towels, pictures from the experiment, and the most important parts of the report, like hypothesis, conclusion, and important data, such as the number of quarters each brand handled. (Your chart will work well here.) Use this backboard as a visual aid when describing your project.

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Paper Towel Absorbency Characteristics Report

Introduction.

Arranging and replicating experiments is regarded as a precious managing experience, as the performer learns to utilize the resources available, as well as rule the entire replication process. Therefore, the aim o this paper is to describe the process of an experiment dedicated to studying paper towels, and their absorbency characteristics. The results of the experiment will be recorded in accordance with the aims and principles of scientific research, and requirements of the scientific inquiry.

Project Plan

The project is aimed at confirming the statement that more expensive paper towels absorb larger amounts of water. The independent variable is the weight of water that will be absorbed by the different towels, and the dependent variable is associated with the number of samples and the price of the towels. The experiment will be aimed at measuring the volumes of the water absorbed by each towel. This is needed for defining the reasonability of purchasing more brandy and expensive paper towels.

Literature Review

As it is stated in most researches dedicated to studying the origins of the paper tissues, as well as technologies, the more porous structures are featured with better absorbency. These structures are achieved by more complicated technologies (Kalil 2008; Sasser, 2007). However, some kitchen towels may be also impregnated with special capillary active substances that will decrease the absorbency. (McMurry, 2003).

Experimental Design

First, at least four brands of paper towels will be taken (five equal samples each for decreasing the error rate). Each sample will be weighted, as the samples may be of different densities and mass. Then, each sample will be placed into the water for 25 seconds, and then weighted. This will help to remove the squeeze force factor, as samples may be squeezed with various forces that will cause the distortion of the results.

The second stage of the experiment may be arranged. The only difference is that the samples will be placed on the scales in 30 seconds after taking them off the water. This will make some water flow down, and new characteristics will be discovered.

In comparison with the generally accepted absorbency measuring method, when water is squeezed out of the samples, this method will not consider the squeezing power; hence, it is more accurate. The method was taken from the biology experiments experience when the samples are weighted after the reaction. Moreover, the porous structure of the towels will not let the experimenter squeeze all the water, which will cause sufficient distortion of the experiment results.

Sequence of Events

The quantitative data will be collected with a ruler and scales. The ruler will be needed for cutting equal pieces of the towels, and scales will be needed for weighting dry samples, and then for weighting samples after immersion into the water.

  • Four brands of paper towels (5 samples for each brand, and 5 samples for the second stage if needed)
  • A stopwatch
  • Terry towel
  • The Independent variable – is the weight of the samples before and after immersion.
  • Dependent variable – the weight of the water absorbed is the dependent variable that is defined by the absorbency characteristics of each paper towel sample.
  • Controlled variable – the amount of samples, and time of immersion (time of flowing down in the second part of the experiment)

Threat Reduction

The cause-effect relations between dependent and independent variables are defined by the amount of water absorbed by the towels. This will be controlled with the stopwatch, and the outside influence is closely associated with the matters of the inaccuracy of the experimenter’s assistants, hence, terry towels are needed for increasing the safety of the experiment, and reducing the threat that may be caused by water spill.

The more expensive brands of paper towels will absorb more water, and the weight difference between the initial weight, and weight after immersion will be different for different brands. The second stage will involve measuring the porous characteristics of the towel samples, while the flowed down water will be helpful for considering the absorbency characteristics of the cellulose structure.

Additionally, more brandy samples may be impregnated with capillary active substances that will improve the absorbency characteristics. However, these may be intended for cleaning, and grease removing purposes, while their absorbency features will be lower in comparison with cheaper samples. Such a presumption was achieved after study of the chemical composition of various cellulose structures, as well as capillary active substances that are used for dishwashing, or laundry.

In accordance with the findings and results of the experiment, the absorbency level of paper towels is defined by the structure and impregnation, if any, of the paper. The brands were ranged in accordance with the price, while the results did not confirm the hypothesis. Therefore, brand 3 that is a bit more expensive in comparison with brand 2, absorbed less water, and brand 4 absorbed the largest amount. However, in accordance with the hypothesis correlation presumed, the brand three was impregnated with capillary active substance. Hence, these samples are more suitable for grease removal, while the water absorbency level is decreased slightly.

The experiment was performed in accordance with the stated hypothesis, and the results that were achieved, confirmed the general statement of the key aim. Therefore, it is stated that more expensive brands of paper towels are featured with higher absorbency characteristics, while some deviation is possible. This deviation was found and confirmed by weighting samples of paper towels after immersion into water.

Kalil, B. (2008). Tissue market continues to grow. Tech Channel :Papermaking . Web.

McMurry, John (2003). Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry . Agnus McDonald.

Sasser, S., L. (2007) Paper Towels . The Texas A&M.

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IvyPanda. (2022, January 9). Paper Towel Absorbency Characteristics. https://ivypanda.com/essays/paper-towel-absorbency/

"Paper Towel Absorbency Characteristics." IvyPanda , 9 Jan. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/paper-towel-absorbency/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'Paper Towel Absorbency Characteristics'. 9 January.

IvyPanda . 2022. "Paper Towel Absorbency Characteristics." January 9, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/paper-towel-absorbency/.

1. IvyPanda . "Paper Towel Absorbency Characteristics." January 9, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/paper-towel-absorbency/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Paper Towel Absorbency Characteristics." January 9, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/paper-towel-absorbency/.

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IMAGES

  1. Paper Towel Absorbency Experiment

    paper towel absorbency research

  2. 39 paper towel absorbency experiments

    paper towel absorbency research

  3. Paper Towel Absorbency Experiment

    paper towel absorbency research

  4. Paper Towel Absorbency Experiment Report

    paper towel absorbency research

  5. The Paper Towel Absorbency Lab

    paper towel absorbency research

  6. 5 Science Experiments with Paper Towels

    paper towel absorbency research

VIDEO

  1. Avoid Using Tissue Papers

COMMENTS

  1. Paper Towel Experiment

    Method. Fill the beaker up with exactly 200 ml of water. Take a sheet of the first brand of towel. Fold and insert into the water. As you dip the towel into the water, start your stopwatch. After 20 seconds, remove the towel from the beaker and squeeze as much water as you can out of the towel in to the graduated cylinder using the funnel.

  2. Folded or Flat Paper Towel: Which One Absorbs More Water?

    This is expected, as the tiny space between paper towel layers helps hold more water. Paper is made of cellulose, which water molecules like to cling to. As a result, paper readily absorbs water ...

  3. (PDF) Paper Towel Absorptive Properties and Measurement using a

    g/sec) w as the same as that seen from 2 seconds up to 15 seconds in the 1-ply TAD (0.06 g/sec) and 2 -ply CWP. samples (0.07 g/sec). This suggests that towel samples ca n indeed be measured to ...

  4. Folded or Flat Paper Towel: Which One Absorbs Most?

    Paper towels are especially absorbent. Their cellulose fibers have empty spaces, like tiny air bubbles, between them. Water molecules, which like to stay together, follow the water absorbed by the cellulose and fill up the empty spaces. Layering the paper towel creates more empty spaces for water to fill, which explains why your layered paper ...

  5. How Do Paper Towels Absorb Water?

    Key To Absorption. The small molecules that combine to make up cellulose are sugar molecules; that's the key to the absorbency of paper towels. Think how easily sugar dissolves in water. When you ...

  6. PDF ABSORBENCY OF PAPER TOWELS

    1. Select a paper towel and fold it twice, to one-fourth its original size. 2. Put the dry paper towel in the dry bowl, put the bowl on the balance, and record the total weight. The combined weight of the bowl and the dry sheet will be called the dry weight. 3. Holding the sheet in the tongs, immerse the sheet completely in the bucket

  7. Wetting of Paper Towels: A Method to Determine the Two‐Dimensional

    1 Introduction. Prior to the introduction of paper towels in 1907 by Scott Paper Company 1, cloth products were used for cleaning purposes, such as wiping off a spilled liquid from a surface.Over time, tissues replaced cloth towels due to better sanitation 2, 3, ease of disposal, competitive cost, faster liquid absorption, and higher absorption capacity 4.

  8. Absorbency of Paper Towels Across Different Brands

    Make five 10cm by 20cm rectangles for each brand of paper towels (Bounty, Viva, Kirkland, Sparkle). Fill the beaker with 250 mL tap water and use that water to fill the large cake pan. Put the rectangles of paper towels into the cake pan and start the timer. The rectangles of paper towels will stay in the water-filled cake pan for 15 seconds.

  9. PDF ABSORBENCY OF PAPER TOWELS

    2. Selection of Factors. Absorbency is one of the most important characteristics of good quality paper towels. It shows how much fluid a particular brand of paper towel holds. In order to obtain reliable conclusions, we have to design the experiment very carefully. In this section we identify the factors that might affect the absorbency of ...

  10. PDF Paper Towel Absorptive Properties and Measurement using ...

    In this report, in order to measure absorbency rate over a longer period of time, absorbency rate data was calculated by taking the slope of the uptake data vs. the square root of time between 2 ...

  11. Statistically Analyzing the Effect of Various Factors on the Absorbency

    Though there have been many studies on the characteristics of various paper towels, relatively little research has been performed on how different types of liquid, different fat concentrations, and different properties of paper towels impact their absorbency. In this study, we examined the effect of these factors using samples of the Bounty ...

  12. Paper Towel Science Project: Capillarity

    The water is being absorbed, or soaked up, by the paper towel material through a process called capillary action. Capillary action, also known as capillarity, is the rising or absorption of liquids through small gaps and holes certain materials. Paper towels are permeable and porous, meaning that they contain small spaces that both liquid and ...

  13. One more paper towel, longer protection

    Descriptions of steps: ( A) paper towel, ( B) surgical mask, ( C) the folded paper towel is placed on the inside and middle of the mask. Finally, put on the mask. The paper towel can be changed when you feel uncomfortable or at 30-minute intervals. Through our practice, the mask with a paper towel is more moisture resistant than without it and ...

  14. Paper Towel Experiments

    Learn how to test the strength and absorbency of paper towels with simple and fun science experiments. Find out which brand of paper towel is the strongest, which one absorbs the most water, and how to grow seeds with paper towels. Use Bounty paper towels for faster results and more absorbency.

  15. KS2 Science: Which is the most absorbent paper towel?

    We're trying to find out which paper towel absorbs the most water. For this experiment, we're going to use: three trays. One sheet of paper per tray, cut to equal sizes. A beaker, we'll add 30 ...

  16. Paper Towel Absorbency Experiment

    Research Question: Which brand of paper towel has the greatest absorbency? Age: Middle school and up: Safety Concerns: None: Time: 45 minutes: Independent Variable: Brand of paper towel

  17. Statistically Analyzing the Effect of Various Factors on the Absorbency

    The central tendency analysis showed that a paper towel tended to absorb approximately 27.60 mL of water and approximately 31.60 mL of milk on average (Table 1). Therefore, the central tendency for the absorption for the milk was greater than water. In fact, 14.50% more milk than water could be absorbed into a paper towel on average.

  18. PDF Paper Towel Absorptive Properties and Measurement using a ...

    report regarding the development of absorbency rate methods for towel and tissue products [1]. In that report, two proposed absorbency methods were compared across labs using two different substrates (a TAD and a conventional wet pressed (CWP) product), the two av ailable absorbency instruments (the "ATS" and the "GATS"), and three

  19. Paper Towel Absorbency Experiment

    Pour water into the cylinder. 5. Put a rolled paper towel in the cylinder so 3cm of the towel is submerged in the water. Dip the paper towel in. 6. Hold the towel in water for 10 seconds, then lift it up out of the cylinder and allow to drip into the cylinder for 5 seconds.

  20. Wetting of Paper Towels: A Method to Determine the Two‐Dimensional

    The Klemm method (ISO 8787:1986 ''Paper and board - Determination of capillary rise - Klemm method'') was among the first techniques to study the liquid absorption of papers. This method measures the vertical liquid rise in paper and board to determine the absorption rate. Another well-known method is the basket-immersion test (ISO ...

  21. How Do Paper Towels Absorb?

    Looking at the way in which water is held inside a rigid, hard container such as a bowl or a cup, it can be baffling to try to figure out how a porous, soft object like a sponge, cloth or disposable paper towel, can absorb and hold water. A paper towel manages to hold water based on a different scientific principle than those that hold water in ...

  22. How to Do a Science Fair Project on Paper Towels

    Have a couple of friends or family members hold each corner of the paper towel. The bowl catches any excess water and prevents a mess. Add five teaspoons of water to the paper towel, and then start placing coins on top of it, one at a time. Place all of the water in the center of the towel. Add quarters to the paper towel until it breaks.

  23. Paper Towel Absorbency Characteristics

    In accordance with the findings and results of the experiment, the absorbency level of paper towels is defined by the structure and impregnation, if any, of the paper. The brands were ranged in accordance with the price, while the results did not confirm the hypothesis. Therefore, brand 3 that is a bit more expensive in comparison with brand 2 ...