Hobbies And Interests
Asking a Question
Many technological advances across many fields have started as a simple question. Typically, there is a problem that surrounds the basic question. One possible question could be, "I wonder if there is a detergent that can take away grass stains using only cold water and not have any dyes?" This will be the basic theme of the research, which clarifies the goal as well. Brainstorming is a way to generate questions to put through the scientific method. Write down as many questions as you can think, rather than just thinking of a single question. Sometimes, another question can be answered using related data from another experiment.
Related Research
Science is a field in which everyone contributes some information for another person, purposefully or unintentionally. Perform a basic search using keywords from the question. Sometimes there may be research already performed, which can help direct which treatments to use or avoid. Basic research should be done to identify potential ingredients for a detergent. One option is to obtain an existing detergent sample and research each of the ingredients to make a hypothesis about the individual chemicals it contains.
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is the measurable aspect of the research and development of preparing a detergent. This is an educated guess of what may happen based upon previous research. For example, if an existing detergent contains salt, then a hypothesis can be made to test just the salt as an active ingredient. A good hypothesis should have a "pass" and "fail" component to be tested using experimentation. One important thing to remember when making a hypothesis is to relate it back to the original question.
Experimentation
Conducting experiments is how research is carried out to gain facts. One option for an experiment can be separating each active ingredient to use as a variable in the experiment. Another option is to use a known detergent and find out how much would be needed for a given stain. Both of these models use the treatments as variables with the stains being the constant piece between them. In any experiment, a control is always needed to compare the results to. A common control for detergent experiments can be the use of plain water as a treatment. Since water is typically a solvent in most detergents, it makes a suitable control.
Analysis
After the detergent experiments are completed, an analysis of the findings will need to be done to come to a conclusion. One way to analyze the data is to set up a table of each ingredient, from the experiments, and have a column for "worked" and "not worked." Go through the data from each experiment to fill in the rest of the table. This will give a graphic representation of which potential ingredients may be suitable for a new detergent. At this point, the hypothesis would be addressed so adjustments can be made. Preparing a detergent can be a long process, but the scientific method helps keep you on track and focused about the task at hand.