The Magic Eraser

How permanent are permanent markers? Question How permanent are permanent markers?

Purpose The purpose of this investigation is to determine if a permanent marker is in fact permanent. If someone buys a permanent marker, they’re going to want it to be permanent.

Hypothesis We hypothesize that permanent markers are not always permanent. We believe this, because our teacher wrote something on her hand using a permanent marker and it came off in the shower.

Procedures

Materials Permanent marker 4 pairs of tweezers Five plastic containers 1.125 liters of water , vinegar , rubbing alcohol, and all purpose cleaner. Scissors T-shirt Zip-lock bag. 20 fabric squares cut from the t-shirt Tray Folder Work papers

Responding/ Dependent: How much permanent marker is removed Variables Responding/ Dependent: How much permanent marker is removed Manipulated/ Independent: Solvent Constant: How much liquid is put into the cups, the size of the squares, the size of permanent marker drawn on the square, and the method of rating.

Directions Draw a quarter sized circled on each of the fabric squares. Repeat for next 19 squares. 2. Color in each circle using colored permanent markers. 3. Fill one cup with 125 ML`s of water. 4. Fill another cup with 125 ML of vinegar. 5 . Fill one cup with 125 of all purpose cleaner. [Do the same for 125 ML of rubbing alcohol.

Directions continued 7. Place one fabric square in each cup. 8. Let soak for 24 hours. 9. Remove fabric from cups. 10. Rate the amount of marker left on each square using the rating scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being some stain removed to 10 being completely removed. 11. Repeat steps 1-10 for 4 more trials.

Graph

Conclusion Our hypothesis was correct. Permanent markers are not always permanent. The average removal rate for water was 1.0, the average for vinegar was 3.8, the average for all purpose cleaner was 5.0. The rubbing alcohol removed the most with a rate of 7.4. We think some of the colors affected the removal of the permanent marker ink.