Discussion
1. In our hypothesis we stated that we would end up absorbing 80% of the oil. This was incorrect. We came to a conclusion that we absorbed 94% of the oil! We thought we would only absorb 80% of the oil because we were unsure if the sponge boom would completely work or not. Also we didn't know if the cotton balls would be the best thing to absorb the oil because they could absorb a lot of the water and not the oil.
2. We wanted to use the dish soap because it would break up the oil even more and help to contain it. This wasn't the case, the soap broke the oil up a little bit but it didn't do anything too drastic. We said that the spoon would contain and absorb the oil but it didn't. The spoon was useless for containing the oil it only absorbed it. We used one sponge and cut it up in long thin pieces then held them together to create a boom. This helped to absorb and contain the oil. While we had the oil contained with the sponge boom we used the Cotton balls to absorb the oil. Our method to containing the absorbing the oil worked very well. The reason why we decided to make a boom out of the sponges was because we new if we pushed all the oil to contain it between the wall of the washbasin and the sponge, that no oil would get through the sponge boom. This image shows how it worked.
2. We wanted to use the dish soap because it would break up the oil even more and help to contain it. This wasn't the case, the soap broke the oil up a little bit but it didn't do anything too drastic. We said that the spoon would contain and absorb the oil but it didn't. The spoon was useless for containing the oil it only absorbed it. We used one sponge and cut it up in long thin pieces then held them together to create a boom. This helped to absorb and contain the oil. While we had the oil contained with the sponge boom we used the Cotton balls to absorb the oil. Our method to containing the absorbing the oil worked very well. The reason why we decided to make a boom out of the sponges was because we new if we pushed all the oil to contain it between the wall of the washbasin and the sponge, that no oil would get through the sponge boom. This image shows how it worked.
As you can see everything at the bottom of the picture is the oil and you can see how much cleaner the water is on the top compared to the bottom. We took all of our variables into consideration and didn't overlook any of them to the best of our ability. Our independent variable was the materials we used to contain and absorb the oil. Our dependent variable was the amount of oil that was eventually absorbed. Lastly our control variable was the amount of water in the washbasin.
3. If you refer back to Table 1 you will see that the sponge was the best material used to contain the oil. It contained about 95% of the oil. Cotton balls and the spoon were the least helpful, containing 0% of the oil. However the cotton balls were the best material to absorb the oil. It absorbed about 70% of the oil. The dish soap was the worst in absorbing the oil. The dish soap absorbed 0% of the oil.
4. Our experiment was very successful because in the end about 94% of the oil was absorbed! If we could change one thing it would probably have to be using another type of soap. Maybe one that actually breaks the oil down, almost 'eating' the oil. If we repeated this experiment we could test different types of oils and how they compare to cruse oil. Overall we accomplished everything that we wanted to with this experiment.
3. If you refer back to Table 1 you will see that the sponge was the best material used to contain the oil. It contained about 95% of the oil. Cotton balls and the spoon were the least helpful, containing 0% of the oil. However the cotton balls were the best material to absorb the oil. It absorbed about 70% of the oil. The dish soap was the worst in absorbing the oil. The dish soap absorbed 0% of the oil.
4. Our experiment was very successful because in the end about 94% of the oil was absorbed! If we could change one thing it would probably have to be using another type of soap. Maybe one that actually breaks the oil down, almost 'eating' the oil. If we repeated this experiment we could test different types of oils and how they compare to cruse oil. Overall we accomplished everything that we wanted to with this experiment.