Hello,
I have a science fair competition coming up, and my project is to figure out which one is more effective: foaming hand soap, liquid hand soap, or gel hand sanitizer. I have two questions that I hope to be answered.
1) Even though I did this experiment multiple times and got foaming hand soap, online it says liquid hand soap. I think it has to do with the amount of water needed, because I didn't use any water, but I might be wrong. Why is that?
2) I am competing with someone who is doing a really really really good topic, about environmental impacts of cancer growth, how am I going to beat this topic? Are there any tips you have for me?
Thank you for your time!
Help for Science Fair Competition
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chloemkohl
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Re: Help for Science Fair Competition
Do not worry about your experiment - I'm sure your competition will be great, and it is completely normal to get results that may differ from what is expected/accepted.
1) A 2017 study (https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN ... %20washing.) found that liquid soap may be more effective because it requires more scrubbing to form a soapy lather and releases more soap in a singular pump. However, different temperatures or even different types of water can also affect the efficiency of soap. Different brands may also be more effective than others. It is great that you've done your research and know why some studies have concluded that liquid soap is more efficient. Every science experiment has its limitations or flaws, and it's great that you are able to identify factors in your own experiment that could have impacted your results. It is more important that you are able to identify your limitations rather than perform the "perfect" experiment - no experiment will be perfect. Even the most successful of scientists have limitations in their papers!
2) All experiments are important, even those without awards attached to the paper. With that said, you should be proud of your work regardless of the results - it is already impressive that you took the time to perform this project! However, my number one piece of advice would be to highlight the applications of this project. Explain how information from this experiment can be used in the real world. For example, using the most efficient type of soap can help prevent the spread of viruses, which has become increasingly more important with the pandemic. Highlighting these factors may help your presentation.
1) A 2017 study (https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN ... %20washing.) found that liquid soap may be more effective because it requires more scrubbing to form a soapy lather and releases more soap in a singular pump. However, different temperatures or even different types of water can also affect the efficiency of soap. Different brands may also be more effective than others. It is great that you've done your research and know why some studies have concluded that liquid soap is more efficient. Every science experiment has its limitations or flaws, and it's great that you are able to identify factors in your own experiment that could have impacted your results. It is more important that you are able to identify your limitations rather than perform the "perfect" experiment - no experiment will be perfect. Even the most successful of scientists have limitations in their papers!
2) All experiments are important, even those without awards attached to the paper. With that said, you should be proud of your work regardless of the results - it is already impressive that you took the time to perform this project! However, my number one piece of advice would be to highlight the applications of this project. Explain how information from this experiment can be used in the real world. For example, using the most efficient type of soap can help prevent the spread of viruses, which has become increasingly more important with the pandemic. Highlighting these factors may help your presentation.
Re: Help for Science Fair Competition
Thank you so much!
So for the regional science fair, my teacher told me to try using advanced software to help me collect data. I couldn't find anything online, and I was wondering if you have an idea?
Thanks again
So for the regional science fair, my teacher told me to try using advanced software to help me collect data. I couldn't find anything online, and I was wondering if you have an idea?
Thanks again
Re: Help for Science Fair Competition
Hi there!
Just adding on to this thread!
What variables are you using to assess effectiveness of your different treatments?
If you are using a culturing approach to test how well each treatment kills bacterial colonies, I would suggest open-source platforms like OpenCFU. Here is a paper that gives background as to how the platform works and its different capabilities: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3574151/. You can utilize it as a quantitative measurement – to count how many bacterial colonies were killed by your treatment.
If you plan on conducting another repetition of your experiment, another approach I would recommend is the Kirby-Bauer method, using treatment discs. Essentially, when culturing your bacterial colonies, you would add a small disc soaked in your treatment (i.e. soap, hand sanitizer, etc.) on the center of the agar surface. After the growing period, if the treatment successfully kills colonies, you will see a ring around the disc without any colonies – this is the “zone of inhibition,” where the colonies were killed. You can measure the diameter of the zone of inhibition as a measurement of how well the treatment kills the colonies. Here is a resource that outlines the approach in more detail: https://biolabtests.com/antimicrobial-t ... 0organisms.
Hope this helps!
Just adding on to this thread!
What variables are you using to assess effectiveness of your different treatments?
If you are using a culturing approach to test how well each treatment kills bacterial colonies, I would suggest open-source platforms like OpenCFU. Here is a paper that gives background as to how the platform works and its different capabilities: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3574151/. You can utilize it as a quantitative measurement – to count how many bacterial colonies were killed by your treatment.
If you plan on conducting another repetition of your experiment, another approach I would recommend is the Kirby-Bauer method, using treatment discs. Essentially, when culturing your bacterial colonies, you would add a small disc soaked in your treatment (i.e. soap, hand sanitizer, etc.) on the center of the agar surface. After the growing period, if the treatment successfully kills colonies, you will see a ring around the disc without any colonies – this is the “zone of inhibition,” where the colonies were killed. You can measure the diameter of the zone of inhibition as a measurement of how well the treatment kills the colonies. Here is a resource that outlines the approach in more detail: https://biolabtests.com/antimicrobial-t ... 0organisms.
Hope this helps!