About this Daily Classroom Special: 
Science to Go provides easy yet meaningful science activities for grades k-8. Science to Go was written by Barbara Smith, Magnet Coordinator at Harvard Elementary, Houston (TX) and former Teachers Network web mentor.

Hand Soap Effectiveness

Objectives

Measurement, comparison, making observations, inferences, and conclusions.

Materials

Paper, vegetable oil, eyedropper, pencil or pen, water source, hand soaps.

Activity

Obtain a small amount of several different handsoaps. Have students make hypothesis about which brand will remove the most vegetable oil from their hands (a real-life application). As a class, determine hand motions to distribute oil and soap over their hands, rinsing procedure, and amount of rinsing time. Give each student 5 drops of vegetable oil to smear over their hands. Then, give each 2 drops of a handsoap to distribute over their oily hands.

Rinse hands using pre-determined procedure. Press one hand on a sheet of white or brown paper, and label it with the student's name and soap brand. After the papers dry, hold them up to the light to compare the amount of oil absorbed by the paper. Older students may also determine area of the oily spot.

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