Science Fair Project Example
Directions: Use this example to help guide your project.
Research: What are some facts about your topic that relate to your experiment?

Paper towels absorb water when the water fills up into tiny air pockets in the paper towel.

Once you get one part of the paper towel wet it absorb into the rest of the paper towel in
approximately 50 seconds or less.

Paper towels are one of the most used absorbent items used in households in the U.S.

A paper towel is a disposable product made of paper. It serves the same general purposes as
conventional towels, such as drying hands, wiping windows and dusting. Because paper towels
are disposable, they are often chosen to avoid the contamination of germs.

Paper towels were invented by Arthur Scott in Philadelphia, USA, in around 1900 and from
humble beginnings have become a billion dollar industry.

The first widely distributed rolled form of the paper towel was manufactured in Champaign,
Illinois by the M.F. Wittler Corporation which went out of business in 1963.

Paper towels are often made from recycled paper, requiring fewer trees being cut down and
using up to 50% less energy.

On the internet the most common brand mentioned for absorbency was Bounty.
Problem or Question: What are you trying to figure out?
Which brand of paper towel is the most absorbent out of Bounty, Scott, Sparkle, and Western Family
brands?
Purpose: Why is your topic worth investigating? Why does it interest you?
The purpose of this experiment was to see which brand of paper towel most absorbent for consumers.
The information I gain from this experiment can help consumers know which paper towel will absorb
the greatest amount of their everyday spills. By buying the most absorbent paper towel, I can use fewer
paper towels and save money.
Hypothesis: What do you think is going to happen? Make a prediction. Support your prediction with
logical reasoning.
My hypothesis is that Bounty Paper Towel brand will absorb the most liquid compared to four other
brands of paper towel. I based my hypothesis on the research that I did on the Internet that said that
Bounty paper towel is 20% more absorbent than other leading paper towels.
Materials needed: List everything someone would need to do your experiment.

200 milliliters of water (measurement tool)

Beaker

Funnel

Graduated cylinder

Stopwatch/timer

At least 4 sheets of the following paper towel brands: Bounty, Scott, Sparkle, and Western
Family
Procedure: List every single step needed to complete your experiment. Be precise and accurate with
words and directions.
1. First, gather all of the materials that you need.
2. Then pour 200 milliliters of water in the beaker.
3. Place a round funnel on top of the graduated cylinder.
4. Then take the first brand of paper towel on your list and place it in the beaker.
5. Time for 15 seconds.
6. After 15 seconds, take the paper towel out of the beaker.
7. Squeeze all the water out of the paper towel into the funnel which is inside the graduated
cylinder. Make sure that the water doesn’t spill in any of the tests, or you will have to restart
the tests over.
8.
After you have squeezed out as much water as possible, record how much water is in the
graduated cylinder.
9. Take the amount of water that was poured into the graduated cylinder and subtract that
from 200 milliliters.
10. Refill the beaker to exactly 200 milliliters each time you try a new paper towel brand.
11. Next, try the test with the other brands of paper towels.
12. Each paper towel needs to be tested 4 times (trials), but you need to record your data for
each paper towel on your data table.
Brand
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Trial 4
Average
Trials added
together and
divided by the
number of trials.
Bounty
44.75 ml
Scott
33 ml
Sparkle
50 ml
Western Family
34 ml
Also include any tables or graphs so your audience can fully picture what you did and what your
results were.
Conclusion: What did you find out? Summarize your data. Bring it all together: How does this
experiment affect the greater world? Does it?
The original purpose of this experiment was to see which paper towel brand would be the most
absorbent for consumers’ needs. The results of the experiment were that the Sparkle brand paper
towels were the most absorbent. It absorbed on average, 50 ml of water, when the Bounty brand paper
towels absorbed only 44.75 ml of water. Western Family brand paper towels absorbed 34 ml of water
on average, and Scott brand paper towels only absorbed 33 ml of water. My hypothesis was that
Bounty paper towel would be the most absorbent. The results show that my hypothesis is incorrect
because Sparkle paper towel was the most absorbent out of the four test groups.
My findings should be useful to consumers because now they can use my information to know which
brand of paper towel will absorb the most moisture. If they use a more absorbent paper towel, they can
use fewer paper towels. This will save them money and save paper or trees.
Final Step – Making your display:
Now take all this information and put it on your board in a neat and organized way.
Lay everything you need to put on your display first before gluing anything!
Does it work for your display to have a theme?
Are there particular colors or pictures you should use?
Is your work neat?
Does your display include proper grammar and punctuation?
Is your display visually appealing, organized, and interesting to your audience?
Research:
Paper towels absorb
water when water
fills up into tiny air
pockets in the paper
towel.
Which Brand of Paper Towel
is the Most Absorbent?
Hypothesis:
I predict that Bounty
brand paper towels
will be the most
absorbent.
Conclusion:
Sparkle paper towel was the most absorbent
out of the four test groups. My findings will
help people save money and save paper.
Purpose:
Data Collected:
To find which paper
Include tables, charts
with data collected.
towel is more
absorbent, save
money, and save
paper