Which Soaker Soaks the Most?

What you need

• Clear cups, one per item tested
• Water, about half a cup per cup
• Paper, 1 sheet for the bar chart
• Crayons or markers, 1 pencil or markers
• Paper towels, 1 sheet
• Napkins, 1
• Toilet paper, a few squares
• Sponge, 1, or a dish cloth
• Measuring cups, 1
• Plate or tray, 1 tray, or an old towel

How to do it

Grown-up prep: Set out a tray or towel, gather the items, and keep a dry cloth nearby for drips.

1. Line up your soakers and guess which one will soak up the most.
   Ask: Which one do you think will be the thirstiest, and why?
2. Put one small cup in front of each soaker.
3. Pour the same amount of water into every cup.
4. Fold the paper items so they are all the same size.
5. Dip your first item in its cup and count to ten.
6. Lift it out and let it drip back into its cup.
7. Look at all the cups. Which one has the least water left?
   Ask: Which cup looks the emptiest? Is it the one you guessed?
8. Draw a bar chart of your results, one bar for each item.
9. Show someone your chart, or test new items! What else could you try?
   Ask: What other things around the house do you think could soak up water?

Play it again

• Surprise soakers: Hunt for new items like a sock, a cotton ball, or a tissue and test them.
• Squeeze it out: Squeeze each wet item into an empty cup to see how much it held.
• Double dunk: Dip each item for twenty seconds and see if the results change.