Hi,
For the control part of the experiment "Can Nanotechnology Help Clean Up Oil Spills?", what absorbent material should I use, and how much of it?
Thank you!
Can Nanotechnology Help Clean Up Oil Spills?
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ididntchoosemyname
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EricBebenov24
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Re: Can Nanotechnology Help Clean Up Oil Spills?
Hello and thank you for reaching out,
Your control group should not have any absorbent material (ferrofluid) mixing in with the mineral oil. In the petri dish for your control group, you only need 14 mL of the colored water, 2.5 mL of mineral oil, and NO ferrofluid or other absorbent substance should be added to the oil. Your independent variable is the ferrofluid because this variable is being changed. Your dependent variable would be the amount of mineral oil left over after you clean up the oil spill with a magnet. Hence, your control group will allow you to see the effect ferrofluid (independent variable) has on the amount of oil left over after cleaning up the oil spill (dependent variable) by not adding any of it in the control petri dish.
I hope this answers your question and feel free to reach out for any clarification or questions you might have regarding your experiment!
Your control group should not have any absorbent material (ferrofluid) mixing in with the mineral oil. In the petri dish for your control group, you only need 14 mL of the colored water, 2.5 mL of mineral oil, and NO ferrofluid or other absorbent substance should be added to the oil. Your independent variable is the ferrofluid because this variable is being changed. Your dependent variable would be the amount of mineral oil left over after you clean up the oil spill with a magnet. Hence, your control group will allow you to see the effect ferrofluid (independent variable) has on the amount of oil left over after cleaning up the oil spill (dependent variable) by not adding any of it in the control petri dish.
I hope this answers your question and feel free to reach out for any clarification or questions you might have regarding your experiment!
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cnoonan180
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Re: Can Nanotechnology Help Clean Up Oil Spills?
Hello!
In addition to the advice provided by a fellow mentor, your control group will be the results you collect from going through the procedure of the experiment without adding the ferrofluid to the mineral oil mixture. The mineral oil represents the oil spill, so the control group is testing how much oil is left in the water if you were not using nanotechnology to clean it. Assuming there will be less oil in the water after using the nanotechnology (ferrofluid) and the neodymium magnet to clean it, the control will help prove that nanotechnology is effective to clean up an oil spill.
In other words, skip step number 9 of this experiment for the trials you run for your control:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... #procedure
Here's some for information about variables such as the definition of a controlled variable and it's purpose to help you with your experiment:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... /variables
Hope this helps and feel free to ask more questions!
-cnoonan180
In addition to the advice provided by a fellow mentor, your control group will be the results you collect from going through the procedure of the experiment without adding the ferrofluid to the mineral oil mixture. The mineral oil represents the oil spill, so the control group is testing how much oil is left in the water if you were not using nanotechnology to clean it. Assuming there will be less oil in the water after using the nanotechnology (ferrofluid) and the neodymium magnet to clean it, the control will help prove that nanotechnology is effective to clean up an oil spill.
In other words, skip step number 9 of this experiment for the trials you run for your control:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... #procedure
Here's some for information about variables such as the definition of a controlled variable and it's purpose to help you with your experiment:
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... /variables
Hope this helps and feel free to ask more questions!
-cnoonan180