SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT
Hydrophobic Sand
Keegan Musaalo| Carleen McNees| Syracuse Juinor High
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
• Which waterproof spray is the most effective when applied to sand?
RESEARCH
– When a water repellant spray is added to an object, the object is turned into hydrophobic
material.
– Hydrophobic materials will avoid water as much as possible.
– Sand is denser than water, so it naturally sinks.
– When sand is effectively hydrophobic, it clumps at the bottom of the container. It takes
anything less dense than itself to the bottom of the container with it.
Citations
Sen, Nina. “Hydrophobic Sand Underwater [Video].” www.livescience.com. Nov. 1, 2012.
Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
Zyga, Lisa. “Hydrophobic Sand Could Combat Desert Water Shortages.” www.phys.org.
Feb 16, 2009. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
HYPOTHESIS
• If I test which waterproof spray works the best, then ScotchGard
Water Shield will be the best, because it has Silicone.
PROCEDURE: MATERIALS
• Get 3 different types of waterproof spray, vegetable/canola oil (any
cooking type will do), 3 wide containers (preferrably pans), a jar of
water, 4 cups of sand, an oven, and a good, positive attitude!
I used ScotchGard™ Outdoor Silicone Water Shield,
ScotchGard™ Auto Fabric and Carpet Protector,
And Rain·X® Original.
PROCEDURE: STEPS
• 1. Obtain all materials
• 2. Put 1 cup of sand on tray and spread out.
• 3. Put in oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour
• 4. Wait until sand gets to room temperature.
• 5. Spray sand with the brand of waterproof spray that you are currently experimenting with.
• 6. Shake sand up and wait to dry.
• 7. Pour about 10 drops of oil onto the surface of the water in the jar.
• 8. Pour sand onto oil and record results.
• 9. Repeat steps 2-7 for each brand.
• 10. When using no spray as a control, do not proceed to spraying the sand and shaking up/
waiting for it to dry. Simply pour the plain sand onto the oil. Record Results.
VARIABLES
• Constants: Size of Jar, Amount of sand in each test
• Controlled variables: Plain Sand w/ no spray
• Independent (manipulated) variable: The brand of waterproof spray
• Dependent (measured) variable: Effectiveness of the spray (how much
oil escaped)
DATA/OBSERVATIONS
• Before I conducted the actual experiment, I pre-tested the sprays by
taking a spoonful of sprayed sand and putting a drop of water on the
top to see if the sand can maintain the water on its surface. The Water
Shield Spray seemed to maintain the drop pretty well. For about 15
seconds, the drop of water was on the surface of the sand. The next
best was the Fabric and Carpet protector. It lasted for a solid 12
seconds. Rain·X came second to last. It lasted for about 5 seconds.
And lastly, plain sand came in last with 0 seconds. It absorbed the
water.
DATA/OBSERVATIONS (CONTINUED)
ScotchGard Water Shield was the
first spray that I used. As I spooned
the sand and put the water droplet
on, I noticed that it was very
effective in repelling the water. As I
poured the sand onto the oil, it
clustered up on the bottom, encasing
about 7/8 of the oil. The oil didn’t
escape.
DATA/OBSERVATIONS (CONTINUED)
ScotchGard Fabric and Carpet
Protector was the next spray
that I used. When I tested the
sprayed sand on a spoon, I got
a medium result. The sand
didn’t sustain the water like
the water shield did. When I
poured it onto the oil, it
clustered at the bottom and
got about 5/8 of the oil. A bit
of the oil escaped, however.
OBSERVATIONS/DATA (CONTINUED)
I tested the Rain·X Protector
and found it not as effective as
some if the other sprays. As I
tested the sprayed sand on the
spoon, the water didn’t stay for
long. After a couple of seconds,
the water was absorbed into
the sand. When I poured it onto
the oil, it only took about ¼ of
it down. All of the oil escaped.
It did not cluster on the bottom.
OBSERVATIONS/DATA (CONTINUED)
• The last and final spray that I used was oxygen.(Dumb pun by the way)
I tested plain sand as a control. I found that when putting the sand on
a spoon and applying a drop of water to it, that the sand immediately
absorbed the water, as I predicted. When I poured it onto the oil, it
went right through it and sunk to the bottom of the container.
OBSERVATIONS/DATA (CONTINUED)
Duration of
Water on Spoon
(seconds)
Amount of Oil
Sunk
ScotchGard Outdoor
Water Shield
15 Seconds
7/8
ScotchGard Auto
Fabric & Carpet
Protector
12 Seconds
5/8
Rain·X Original
Protector
5 Seconds
1/4
Plain Sand
0 Seconds
Clustered at the Oil Escaped?
Bottom?( / ) ( / )
Did not take oil
down at all.
CONCLUSION
• The results weren’t too surprising to me. The silicone in the water
shield spray helped the spray repel the water more effectively than
the other sprays. There was no silicon in the other sprays, so the
water shield spray had the best result.
• My hypothesis was proven. The silicone is the active ingredient in the
spray, making it more effective when repelling water. If there wasn’t
silicone, then the spray wouldn’t be the most effective. It may have
been equal to the fabric protector.
APPLICATION
• Environmentally, this can be applied to getting rid of oil spills. Oil
spills happen every now and then, and there is a way to clean up the
mess. The answer is waterproof solids. For instance, if we had tons
and tons of sand, and we coated all of it in a Silicone waterproof
spray, then we could sink the oil to the bottom. This would separate
the oil from the water and help the environment. Silicone could be a
great asset for many countries around the world to be used with other
chemicals and in making a waterproof coating.