Science



☒ Not achieved ☑Achieved☑☑Advanced
 * Science Fair Marking Term 2 2011**

☑Clear aim/hypothesis carried through ☑Method, accurate experimentation ☑Accurate experimentation, controls, variables, repetitions ☑Results clear, accurate, include appropriate data ☑Conclusions are in line with aim/hypothesis ☑Results are interpreted and discussed (conclusion)
 * Scientific Process and Background:**

☑Design of the experiment ☑Use of apparatus and materials
 * Technical Skill:**

☑Imaginative/creative ideas ☑New/Unusual application in science
 * Originality:**

☑Colour/form/clarity/graphics ☑Innovative appeal
 * Presentation of Display:**

☑Authentic ongoing record with raw data included ☒Has supporting documentation, bibliography, acknowledgements
 * Log Book:**

Excellent Science Fair Curtis, you have made a great discovery with your experiment. It was good to see that you did some further research to explain why some markers rubbed off e.g. because they were alcohol based etc. A simple way to improve what you have done is to keep a list of books or web sites you used and create a bibliography to show where you found your information.
 * Teacher Comment:**


 * Student Comment:**
 * I didn't think I done very well this year for science fair. I forgot to collect a lot of the data and I took shortcuts from my original plan as I would have had to do the experiment loads of times, we ended up realising that I would have to do the test at least 50 times. the tests we did do almost took a whole day and by then my thumb began to hurt from rubbing. I also didn't find the topic interesting as I wanted something easier.**

How Permanent Are Permanent Markers

Aim:

My aim is to discover what brand of permanent marker is the most durable and what removes it the best. I am doing this experiment because my Mum is always naming my clothing because the writing keeps fading, because the permanent marker isn’t durable enough.

Hypothesis:

I don’t think that there will be much difference between the different brands of permanent markers. I think the most expensive brand will be better than the cheapest brand, but not by much.

**Equipment:**


 * 1) Bic Stephens Vivid $3.80
 * 2) Artline Clix Permanent Marker $7.50
 * 3) Sharpy Permanent Marker $5.50
 * 4) Deskmaster Permanent Marker $1.50
 * 5) Partical board
 * 6) plastic
 * 7) flannelette matierial
 * 8) wallpaper
 * 9) lino
 * 10) vinegar
 * 11) <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 19px;">detergent solution
 * 12) <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 19px;">water
 * 13) <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 19px;">alcahol wipes
 * 14) <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 19px;">bar of soap

Method

<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px;">I bought 4 brands of permanent markers ( a budget one, a top quality one and three average ones). I got some different surfaces and materials to write on( flannelette pillowcase, wallpaper, lino, plastc and a partical board). On each different surface I drew and coloured in a 1cm x 1cm square. I left each of the squares for 30 seconds to dry before I cleaned them. I got the things that were meant to remove permanent marker (water, alcahol wipes, vinegar, detergent mixture and a bar of soap) I used them to clean the square. Making sure I done the same amount of wipes (10 times). I examined the remains of the squares and decided which one had the least permanent marker left on it, and which one had the most. I done the test 5 times and rated the squares out of 1 to 4. 1 being the worst and five being the best. After the five tests I added the scores of each one and the one with the highest total score was the winner.

**//Excellent Aim, Method & Hypothesis. Curtis did you take photos while doing the experiment? and remember to keep all the bits of fabric as you can add them to your Science board.//** <span style="font-family: Helvetica,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 24px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> __**//About The Graphs//**__

<span style="font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> The graph shows that Vivid was the superior brand, winning with a total of 18 points. Second was Sharpie which had a total of 16 points. Third was Artline which had ten points, with Deskmaster being the cheapest brand had a total of 7 points putting it in last place. The brands with the highest averages were the same as the brands with the highest totals. With Vivid’s average being 3.6, Sharpies being 3.2, Artline having an averge score of 2 and Deskmaster being on an average of 1.4.

<span style="font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 24px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> __**//Results://**__

<span style="font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> The permanent markers we used were smudged on the particale boards after being erased, flaky bits from the wood got pulled up to the surface. When we repeated the experiment on lino Artline brand almost came off completely when rubbed with alcohol. Vivid was the best it smudged and turned purple, but only faded a little bit. The Deskmaster brand was the worst as it was almost invisible. Alcohol on wallpaper got rid of most of the ink and it completely got rid of Deskmaster. Alcahol on plastic was the best remover it almost completely removed the marker, once again Deskmaster was the worst, with Artline being the best. Nothing removed the marker on flannelette material, everything smudged it.



<span style="font: normal normal normal 24px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">__**//Application://**__

<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">This experiment is relevant because small children often write on walls and floors and other various surfaces with permanent marker and parents struggle to get it off. Also naming clothing for school can be a big hassel for parents as it eventually fades away.

<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">

<span style="font: normal normal normal 24px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">__**//Winners://**__


 * 1) <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">Bic Stephens Vivid ($3.80)
 * 2) <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">Sharpie ($5.50)
 * 3) <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">Artline ($7.50)
 * 4) <span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px;">Deskmaster ($1.50)

<span style="font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">__**//Conclusion://**__

<span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">Even though the permanent marker on each of the materials wasn’t completely removed, we learned that the alcohol wipes were the most effective. This is because permanent markers are alcohol based and the alcohol in the wipes dissolves the marker. We discovered that smooth surfaces like plastic had more noticeable results. Alcohol is also found in most cleaning products. Soap and vinegar had no effect on the permanent marker, it would make them smudge depending on the material but I think it was just from the constant rubbing. Water wasn’t able to alter the permanent ink at all. As most of the markers were water resistant. Detergent had no effect on any of the samples except for the Deskmaster brand, which smudged every time. My hypothesis was mainly correct, because the most expensive brand was better than the cheapest brand but not by much. Although I expected it to be one of the best brands, it only came second to last. We also concluded that permanent markers weren’t really permanent as they can be somewhat removed using alcohol. Next time to avoid variables we could dip the squares into the liquid to remove the variable of different pressure when rubbing to remove the ink. I also believe that getting a second or third opinion on what rating the markers should be given is required to eliminate another variable.

**Well done Curtis, you have been very organised and gotten off to a great start with Science fair. I am surprised that the 2nd cheapest permanent marker was the most effective! You can put your board together at school, there is class time for this.**