Toilet Paper Strength Lab
Sixth Grade Science has completed their first lab of the year on the strength of toilet paper. In the “Toilet Paper Strength Lab,” students tested three brands of toilet paper to see which one could hold the largest mass of beans while wet. Students worked in groups of three or four and each person had a designated role in the lab. The job titles were as follows:
- Doer: person pouring the beans
- Gopher: person getting supplies
- Recorder: person finding and recording the mass or results on data table
- Observer/Water Dropper: person that drops the water on the toilet paper and that gets eye level w/ cup to see when toilet paper tears.
Once the lab results were recorded and studied, students had to follow a template that we will be using all year to type up a lab report as a group on the computer. As the year goes on students will be responsible for typing the lab report up on their own.
There were several skills that students had to learn about before we could begin the lab process. We spent several days learning the Scientific Method, independent and dependent variable, how to ask a testable question, how to write a testable hypothesis, and how to write a detailed conclusion. Students also had to learn how to properly use a triple beam balance so they could find the mass of beans that each toilet paper brand could hold while wet.
The lab reports entailed each step of the Scientific Method in detail for this particular experiment. Students had to create a data table and a graph on the computer along with typing their report on Microsoft Word.
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