15. Sanitary Items Investigation

Tampons and sanitary towels are essential items that allow women to enjoy an active lifestyle even when they are experiencing menstrual bleeding (‘having their period’). Tampons are especially useful as they enable women to swim and enjoy other sports even if they would otherwise be bleeding heavily. You are going to complete an investigation comparing the absorbency of tampons, sanitary towels and panty liners.

In this investigation you will try to answer the scientific question:

“Which of the available sanitary items is the most absorbent?”

Materials available

• • Tampons

  • Sanitary Towels

  • Panty Liners

  • Electronic Balance

  • Beaker

  • Measuring Cylinder

  • Stop Clocks

  • Coloured Water

Method

• 1. Weigh the unpackaged sanitary item you are going to test and record the dry mass.

  2. Measure 50 cm3 of coloured water in a measuring cylinder.

  3. Place the sanitary item into the empty, dry beaker.

  4. Slowly pour the coloured water onto the sanitary item, when you have added all the water, start the stopwatch.

  5. After 2 minutes, lift the sanitary item out of the water and allow any excess water to drip off.

  6. Weigh the wet sanitary item and record the wet mass. (Clean the electronic balance afterwards).

  7. Make a record of any observations you make about how well the sanitary item absorbs the water.

Repeat for the other sanitary items.

Calculate the amount of water absorbed for each sanitary item.

Use this information to produce a chart and make a decision about which sanitary item is the most absorbent.