Consumer Product Testing

Consumer product tests focus on some aspect of a product, comparing different brands to find out which is the best. An important step is to figure out what you mean by "best" in your project. For example, you might compare paper towels to see which absorbs the most water, OR you might compare paper towels to find out which can hold the most weight when wet.

You should design your project so that you conduct a fair test of the products. For example, it would not be fair to compare how far wind up toys travel if you wind one up just a little and the other alot! To make your test fair you should test both products in the same way.

Just like other investigations, you want to try to answer a question - but there are specific ways scientists ask questions.

• "Is this brand better than that brand?" -- The answer to this could be 'yes' or 'no'. Scientists want to learn more than yes/not-- they want to learn why or how!

• "What makes some paper towels more absorbent than others?" -- this question involves not only testing how much water different paper towels soak up, but how the differences between them explains why.

You can test any kind of product that you use in your everyday life. This means that the product you're testing can be makeup, batteries, food, erasers, or even a different product that you find around your house!*

For example:

• You could compare whether a regular sponge or magic eraser works best to clean a bathtub (Be careful- your parents/guardians might ask you to do this project over and over!)

• You could test which kind of toilet paper can absorb the most liquid: one ply (layer) toilet paper or two ply (layer) toilet paper.

• You could test whether the battery in a handheld game console (PSP, Switch, Etc) lasts as long as the commercials claim it does.

*Make sure to ask permission from a parent or guardian before testing a product especially if you want to test something like cleaning supplies or food!