The Great Paper Towel Race.
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| Title: | The Great Paper Towel Race. |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Burrows, Wayne R. |
| Source: | Science Activities. Fall 1997 34(3):32-37. |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 6 |
| Publication Date: | 1997 |
| Document Type: | Guides - Classroom - Teacher Journal Articles |
| Descriptors: | Data Collection, Educational Games, Elementary Secondary Education, Learning Strategies, Research Design, Science Activities, Science Instruction, Scientific Methodology |
| ISSN: | 0036-8121 |
| Abstract: | Outlines a class project in which students explore characteristics of paper towels and paper towel advertising. Students design a variety of experiments related to paper towels and their claims. Provides four activities. (DDR) |
| Journal Code: | CIJSEP1998 |
| Entry Date: | 1998 |
| Accession Number: | EJ561859 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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| FullText | Text: Availability: 1 Value: <anid>AN0000340470;SAC01FAL.97;1998Mar20.10:28;v2.3</anid> <title id="AN0000340470-1">THE GREAT PAPER TOWEL RACE </title> <p>One of the most difficult tasks in teaching any kind of science is teaching the scientific method itself. Rather than providing a series of steps to be memorized, teachers can show students how scientific techniques can be used in everyday life. Once such concepts are made clear by example, theoretical discussions of these methods become more sensible to the students. </p> <p>To interest students in the practical applications of the scientific method, a teacher should design an investigation that allows general participation. It must also be inexpensive, use readily available materials, be safe to perform--and be fun! One such investigation is a paper towel "race." Because there is an intuitive tendency to assume that such an event is physically impossible, it will generate much student interest. After all, what could be more enticing than the opportunity to prove the teacher wrong? </p> <p>With minor variations, the project described below can be used in classes from the fourth through the ninth grades. </p> <hd id="AN0000340470-2"> PREPARATION </hd> <hd id="AN0000340470-3"> Preliminary Discussion </hd> <p>1. The introduction to the project involves asking the class to describe the perfect paper towel. Students may or may not realize that there is actually no one perfect towel for all possible uses; you may need to lead the discussion to this point. Then have the class suggest the characteristics of the "ideal" paper towel anyway. </p> <ulist> <item>2. Next is to build the background for the "race" itself. Manufacturers of paper towels all seem to claim that their own product is the best on the market in some respect: One may be touted as the fastest, another as the most absorbent, still another as easiest on the environment, and so on. Students will almost certainly be able to report many such claims; have them compare them to the ideal towel they have just described. </item> <item>3. Now ask students to report on all the paper towel advertising they can find. Have them scout television, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, and even packaging for the claims being made about the various brands; then have them record the claims in a journal kept over a weekend, or perhaps a whole week. You may want them to consider the language used, the situations depicted, the gender and race of speakers, and so on, depending on your objectives. What is convincing? Who is convincing? Are all advertisements directed at the same audience? See Figure 1 for a sample journal format. </item> <item>4. As a companion project, assign each student to interview three or more adults about their paper towel choices, in person or by telephone. Figure 2 shows a brief questionnaire that can be used for this purpose. </item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0000340470-4"> Reviewing the Data </hd> <p>The adults interviewed by your students will indicate preferences for different towels, for varying reasons. Students will uncover different manufacturers' assertions of superiority for their towels, also for varying reasons. The problem remains: How can students determine which is the best towel? For that matter, which is the best towel for each of several purposes (e.g., large spills, spills that must be stopped rapidly, spills of thicker liquids)? </p> <p>1. At the end of the data collection period, your students will have established a rather large database of background information on why manufacturers say people should buy their products and why people choose one paper towel over another. You may want to display these data graphically, as side-by-side pie or bar charts, during class discussions. They can provide the basis for suggesting the race. </p> <p>2. Now is the time to lead your students to proposing a contest to measure the various brands' strengths and costs, and to make comparisons against the "ideal" towel. Through the course of this contest, they will gain an appreciation for the seemingly trivial details that are so important to the scientific method. </p> <hd id="AN0000340470-5"> Designing Experiments </hd> <p>The experimental phase of this activity must be discussed in advance. For example, ask your students, Is it sufficient to compare the price per roll of different brands in deciding which is least expensive? No, because a more expensive brand may have a higher number of sheets on the roll and thus be cheaper per sheet. (For the purposes of this activity, you and your students should assume that the price of a particular brand is the same in every store--which of course is not the case in real life. To control for variability between stores, if possible you should purchase all brands to be tested at the same location. If one or more brands are on sale, of course, you should record their full, rather than sale, prices.) </p> <p>In addition, comparing different towels' features necessitates defining these features; this is the reason the details of the comparison process must be established in advance. </p> <p>How can different towels be compared for how much liquid they absorb? For the experiment to be fair, two towels being compared for absorbency must be of equal size, be tested on similar surfaces, and, of course, be tested with the same type of liquid. The same sort of controls must be imposed on comparisons of speed of absorption or any other features of interest to the class. </p> <p>1. Have your students propose specific experiments to test the various features of the paper towels. The background information is available to them in the form of their own journals and surveys; they can mine these data sources in designing their activities. To illustrate the relevance of the scientific method, have the children explain each of their proposed activities to the rest of the class in terms of a research question or hypothesis. </p> <ulist> <item>2. Lead the discussion to a further consideration of experimental methods and controls. For example, to eliminate minor measurement errors, students should make each comparison more than once, preferably many times. (This is a good opportunity to bring up the concept of averages or, for more advanced students, means, medians, and modes.) </item> <item>3. Have students design data recording sheets for each of their proposed activities. </item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0000340470-6"> THE ACTIVITIES </hd> <p>Below are a few examples of activities that allow for the comparisons your students may want to make; any number of others can be designed on the basis of the data the students have collected and their research questions and hypotheses. (Although the students will have designed their own activities, these steps are written for your convenience in supervising them.) Full class participation should be your goal; you will probably want to have students work in small groups. </p> <p>A key feature in the success of these activities is publicizing them. When students in other classes begin approaching your students and asking about how paper towels can "race," your students' interest will be piqued. </p> <hd id="AN0000340470-7"> Materials </hd> <p>Paper towels of various brands, preferably both name brand and generic (as many as possible). You may find local merchants willing to provide donations; if so, make sure you have an accurate record of the various brands' prices. </p> <p>Water </p> <p>Measuring cup sets (at least 1 per group) </p> <p>Measuring spoon sets (at least 1 per group) </p> <p>Plastic cutting boards or other smooth, waterproof surfaces (several per group) </p> <p>Identically shaped 1-cup containers, preferably with calibration markings on the sides (several per group) </p> <p>Balances (1 per group) </p> <p>Stopwatch or clock with second hand (1 per group) </p> <p>Calculators (optional) </p> <p>Student-designed data sheets (1 per student per activity) </p> <hd id="AN0000340470-8"> Activity 1: Cost Analysis </hd> <p>1. To compare the relative costs of different brands, have students calculate price per square foot. (Alternatively, they may determine price per sheet, but for ease of comparison in the activities below, because not all sheets are the same size, it is better to stick with a simple measure of area.) Have them compare at least one generic and several brand-name towels. They may find that the information regarding area and number of sheets is presented differently on the different labels; if so, they will need to convert the numbers so that they are directly comparable. </p> <ulist> <item>2. Have students record their observations on their data sheets. </item> <item>3. Have students share their results with the class; this is another opportunity for the use of graphs. </item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0000340470-9"> Activity 2: The Quickest Picker-Upper </hd> <p>One manufacturer's claim that students are sure to want to examine is the relative speed of absorption of one brand over another. One way for students to make this comparison is to use side-by-side cutting boards on which equal volumes of water have been placed. </p> <p>1. Have students measure equal amounts of water and place them carefully on several cutting boards. (If space or materials are limited, they can conduct these experiments in series, taking care to dry the cutting boards between uses.) </p> <ulist> <item>2. Have students measure one towel segment of equal size of each brand and determine the mass of each, recording the masses on their data sheets. </item> <item>3. Have students simultaneously place the towel segments into the pools of water for 2 sec., then quickly raise the segments over the pools, allowing any excess water (i.e., water that has not been absorbed) to drip back into the pools. </item> <item>4. Have them reweigh the towel segments and record the masses on their data sheets. </item> <item>5. Have them repeat Steps 1 through 4 several times, varying the length of time the towels are dipped if necessary. You may choose to have them take turns performing the various functions--weighing the dry towels, dipping the towels, timing the dip' and weighing the wet towels. </item> <item>6. Have students record their findings and share them with the rest of the class. Have them average the results from all of the brands to determine the fastest towel. </item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0000340470-10"> Activity 3: Volume of Absorption </hd> <p>Advertising also suggests that absorption volume is a critical determinant of brand preference. Students can easily make this comparison by measuring before and after volumes of water in a cup. </p> <p>1. Have students measure 1/2 cup of water into as many 1-cup containers as are available. (Glass measuring cups with increments marked on the sides are best for this activity. If the number of containers is limited, students can conduct these experiments in series.) </p> <ulist> <item>2. Have students measure one towel segment of equal size of each brand. </item> <item>3. Have students dunk the paper towel segments into separate 1-cup containers, then hold them over the containers until they stop dripping. </item> <item>4. Have students measure the remaining volume of water in the cups. </item> <item>5. Have students repeat this activity several times. </item> <item>6. Have students record their findings and share them with the rest of the class. Have them average the results from all of the brands to determine the most absorbent towel. </item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0000340470-11"> Activity 4: Comparing Cost-Effectiveness </hd> <p>At this point, students will have determined cost per square foot, speed of absorption, and volume of absorption for each brand. Now is the time to introduce the concept of cost-effectiveness. </p> <p>Why might speed of absorption be important in selecting a brand of paper towel? If a student spills a drink near his computer, the future of the computer may depend on the absorption speed of the towel. Why is absorption volume an important factor? If one towel requires twice as many square feet as another to pick up the same volume of spill, the first towel's cost per square foot must be multiplied by 2 to be compared with that of the second. </p> <p>1. Have a student make a table (Table 1) on the board that shows the various brands of paper towel the class has tested in the first column and their cost per square foot in the second. </p> <ulist> <item>2. Have another student create a third column and enter the brands' rank in terms of absorption speed. </item> <item>3. Have a third student create a fourth column and enter the brands' average absorption volumes per square foot. </item> <item>4. Together as a class, make the calculations to factor the various brands' absorption capabilities into their costs to come up with a relative cost for each brand. For example, if Brand A costs $.0153 per square foot and requires 3 sq. ft. to pick up a spill, Brand B costs $.0190 per square foot and requires 1.5 sq. ft. to pick up the same size spill, and Brand C costs $.0194 per square foot but requires only I sq. ft. to pick up the same spill, then their costs per spill can be calculated as follows: </item> </ulist> <p>Brand A: ($.0153/ sq. ft.) (3 sq. ft./ spill) = $.0459/ spill </p> <p>Brand B: ($.0190/ sq. ft.) (1.5 sq. ft./spill) = $.0285/ spill </p> <p>Brand C: ($.0194/ sq. ft.) (1 sq. ft./ spill) = $.0194/ spill </p> <p>Students will thus be able to prove to themselves that, although one brand may be the most expensive per square foot, by virtue of its absorbency it may actually be the least expensive per spill. </p> <ulist> <item>5. Now have students take into account the brands' relative speeds of absorbency from the rankings in Column 3. (They should closely parallel the absorption capability ranks.) Through this means, lead students into a discussion of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. </item> <item>6. Now have students each explain which brand of paper towel they would purchase, justifying their selection on the basis of which of the tested characteristics they consider most important. For example, a student might reasonably argue that the entire sheet of the brand that most efficiently absorbs a spill must be thrown out, even when part or most of the sheet remains unused; this student would logically select price over efficiency as the most important criterion. </item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0000340470-12"> EXTENSIONS </hd> <hd id="AN0000340470-13"> Metrics </hd> <p>This activity works nicely as an exercise of students' metric conversion skills. Have students calculate cost per square meter, rather than square foot, and use metric rather than English measurements of mass and volume. </p> <hd id="AN0000340470-14"> Physical Concepts </hd> <p>The absorption activities allow for some ancillary topics of discussion to be introduced. For example, students may observe capillary action in the way the towels soak up moisture; you can relate this phenomenon to the capillary attraction observed within glass tubes and to the biological concept from which the name derives. </p> <p>Also, if you have them vary the liquids used in the absorption activities, students may observe that similar volumes of different liquids have different masses. You can use this as an opportunity to introduce the topic of density. Are different densities of liquid absorbed with equal speed and efficiency? </p> <hd id="AN0000340470-15"> SUMMARY </hd> <p>These simple, enjoyable explorations show how the procedures of science can be used in students' daily activities to assist in logical decision making. By the end of the lesson, students will have answered the following questions: </p> <p>Which paper towel brand is least expensive? </p> <p>Which brand is fastest at absorbing spills? </p> <p>Which has the greatest absorption capability? </p> <p>Which is the best overall? </p> <p>They will have made fair comparisons of the available brands, expending great effort to achieve fairness and repeating as necessary to ensure reliability of the data. They will also have drawn logical conclusions on the basis of these results. In effect, students will have applied the scientific method to everyday life. </p> <hd id="AN0000340470-16">Which Is Greener?</hd> <p>An additional consideration is important to students' evaluations of consumer goods: the environment. Along with their other activities in the Great Paper Towel Race? students can determine which brands of paper towel use recycled paper. Assuming there are several offered by local merchants, they can compare these different "green" brands. For instance, what. percentage of each such brand is made from recycled material? What does each cost? How do these brands compare with nonrecycled brands with regard to cost? Is there a quality difference between the various types of recycled paper? </p> <p>In general, paper towels containing recycled fibers are neither the most expensive nor the least expensive brands on the market. Students can compare the green brands to the not-so-green brands in terms of cost per square foot (or square meter). Determine what the students believe is the absolute monetary value of a more environmentally friendly brand. Is a 10% increase in cost reasonable? How about a 50% increase? </p> <p>There are certain consumer debates that will probably never be resolved. Cloth diapers are biodegradable at the end of their use, but require great energy expenditures for periodic cleaning. Are they more, or less? environmentally friendly than plastic diapers, which do not decompose? Similar arguments can be made for electric razors versus disposable razors (or blades). </p> <p>The most publicized argument of this type is undoubtedly the debate between paper and plastic grocery bags. To teach environmental consciousness and consumer education with this problem, you may want to assign a student debate. Two teams of 4 or 5 students each can present the different points of view to the rest of the class. (You may choose to assign students to the different sides or ask for volunteers. The audience members can vote on the outcome. </p> <p>You may need to guide the debate groups in obtaining and presenting relevant data. For example, suggest that they call local merchants to determine cost per bag of paper versus plastic. Then they may want to determine how each type can be recycled at the store or in the home. For example, how many times can each bag be reused for groceries before being discarded? </p> <p>Students may also want to contact bag manufacturers. Do the manufacturers have data on the amount of energy required to make each variety of hag? Which type weighs more and therefore costs more (in money and energy) to ship to its use site? </p> <p>Make sure both debate groups--and the whole class--learn presentation methods. Graphs and charts should be visually enticing, not boring. Explanations should convince, not confuse. </p> <p>Meanwhile, have the audience members determine which specific factors about the bags are important and which data they wish to learn from the presentations. After the debaters present their positions, have the audience members subject the information they have gathered from the debate to the same type of analysis they used earlier, in the discussion of how much of an increase of cost is reasonable to pay for a more environmentally friendly product. </p> <p>Finally, if your students have not done so in the course of the debate, you can point out a third option for grocery hauling: canvas bags! </p> <p>PHOTO (BLACK &amp; WHITE): Table 1. Class Paper Towel Data </p> <p>PHOTO (BLACK &amp; WHITE): Figure 1. Sample student advertising journal. </p> <p>PHOTO (BLACK &amp; WHITE): Figure 2. Interview sheet for student use. </p> <aug> <p>By WAYNE R. BURROWS </p> <p></p> <p>WAYNE R. BURROWS, having given up on the possibility of teaching in academic medicine, decided to extend his audience and teach by using his writing skills instead. Science and teaching are his favorite activities. </p> </aug> |
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