Name ________________________________ Period _______________ Date ____________________
Tide-to-Go or Shout it Out?
Directions: After watching commercials for laundry detergents, Mike wants to determine which detergent works better, Tide or
Shout. Because Tide is more expensive in the store, he thinks that it will work better than Shout. In order to determine
which detergent removes stains better, Mike decides set up an experiment using the scientific method. Using the chart
below, please identify each of the steps that Mike followed while designing his experiment to determine which
detergent is better at removing stains.
2
Mike took three, equally sized stained handkerchiefs (25 cm ) and soaked them in grape juice for ten minutes and then let the
handkerchiefs dry for ten hours. Mike then filled three buckets with one liter of equal temperature water. He added 2 ounces of
Tide to Bucket #1, he added 2 ounces of Shout to Bucket #2, and he added 2 ounces of water to Bucket #3. He then placed a rag in
each of the buckets for one hour. To measure the effectiveness of the detergent, Mike decided to measure the area of the stain
remaining on the rag. After completing three trials, Sandy found the following results:
Table 1. Area of stain remaining on handkerchiefs after soaking for one hour in Tide, Shout, or plain water.
Bucket # Detergent Added Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average
2 2 2 2
1 Tide 9 cm 15 cm 12 cm 12 cm
2 2 2 2
2 Shout 20 cm 21 cm 22 cm 21 cm
2 2 2 2
3 Water 25 cm 25 cm 25 cm 25 cm
Drawing:
Bucket #1 Handkerchief #1 Bucket #2 Handkerchief #2 Bucket #3 Handkerchief #3
Step Mike’s Experiment
Problem
Information
Hypothesis If , then
Independent Variable: ______________________________
Dependent Variable: _______________________________
Experiment Control: ___________________________
Constants: ___________________ ______________________
___________________ _______________________
Data **See above**
Conclusions