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Hand Soap vs. Hand Sanitizer

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Nicholas Robless
Honors Biology Hr. 2
Mrs. Schlatter
March 7th, 2011
Table of Contents

Title Page – 1

Title, author, hour, teacher, and submitted date

Table of Contents – 2

Page numbers and page information

Abstract – 3

Summary of research project

Review of Literature – 4

Research and information on topic

Lab Write-Up – 5

Setup, procedure, and lab results

Bibliography – 9

MLA citations

2
Abstract
This project was designed to test if hand soap or hand sanitizer is more effective at

cleaning hands. As with many people I’ve spoken to, I believed that hand soap would work

better. To conduct the experiment, I washed one hand with soap and one hand with hand

sanitizer, recorded with a black light, and repeated every 24 hours, for three days. In the end,

though, hand sanitizer turned out to be considerably more effective than soap was.

VS

3
Review of Literature

Subject/Topic

Effectiveness of hand soap vs. the effectiveness of hand sanitizer on common germs

History

 1700s – Soap invented

 1832 – Palm kernel oil added to soap to make it more efficient

 1933 – Synthetic detergents invented

 1946 – Hand sanitizer invented for rubber factory workers

 1988 – Hand sanitizer made available to consumers with Purell

Current Information

 Hand sanitizer uses alcohol to kill bacteria

 Soap and water is needed to get off body fluids and dirt

 Proper hand washing requires 2 minutes

 Most people wash their hands for 30 seconds

Important Terminology

 Ethyl alcohol – depressant and antiseptic

4
Lab Write-Up

Problem/Question Is soap or hand sanitizer better at killing germs?

Hypothesis If soap is used, then more germs will be killed.

Variables

Independent Variable – Antimicrobial agent (soap or hand sanitizer)

Dependent Variable – Amount of germs left on hand

Constants – Time between tests, brand of soap/sanitizer, amount used, time spent washing

Groups

Control Group – Germs measured before each hand washing

Experimental Group – Germs left on each hand after soap/hand sanitizer is used

Materials

 1 lab assistant

 1 bottle of CVS Pharmacy Instant Hand Sanitizer w/ Aloe

 1 bottle of Target Up & Up Moisturizing Hand Soap

 1 towel

 1 handheld black light

5
Procedure

1. Move materials to usable position near sink

2. Turn off the lights

3. Use the black light to observe and record percent of hands covered in germs

4. Turn on the lights

5. Have lab assistant wash your left hand with dime-sized amount of soap for 30 seconds

6. Dry left hand

7. Have lab assistant wash your right hand with hand sanitizer for 30 seconds

8. Dry right hand

9. Repeat steps 2-4 once, recording each hand separately

10. Wait 24 hours (carry on with daily routine)

11. Repeat 1-10 once

12. Repeat 1-9 once

13. Clean up sink and materials

Data Table

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average

Before washing 70% 70% 75% 72%
After soap 45% 42% 35% 41%
After sanitizer 35% 35% 35% 35%

Results
Quantitative:

 The average percent of germs before washing was 72%

 The average percent of germs after using soap was 41%.

 The average percent of germs after using hand sanitizer was 35%.

Qualitative:

 On the first two trials, hand sanitizer visibly killed more germs

 On the last trial, there was no observable difference between soap and hand sanitizer

 On average, hand sanitizer killed more germs than soap did.

Conclusion

The test on whether or not soap is more effective than sanitizer was conclusive. My

hypothesis that when soap is used, then more germs are killed is proved false, because hand

sanitizer killed more germs. Possible errors include the exact timing of the experiment, different

daily activities, or how much soap/sanitizer was used. This experiment is applicable to real life,

as most people rely on hand washing to prevent the spread of germs. Future studies may

include a larger and longer-term experiment with many groups of people.

8
Bibliography

Ellis-Christensen, Tricia. “How Does Hand Sanitizer Work?” WiseGeek. 2 January 2011. 6 March

2011. <http://www.wisegeek.com/how-does-hand-sanitizer-work.htm>

Pollick, Michael. “Is Hand Sanitizer Better Than Soap?” WiseGeek. 4 February 2011. 6 March

2011. <http://www.wisegeek.com/is-hand-sanitizer-better-than-soap.htm>

Bumpres, Bianca. “Liquid Soap Ingredients.” eHow. 1 January 2010. 6 March 2011.

<http://www.ehow.com/list_5817249_liquid-soap-ingredients.html>

Pandey, Kundan. “Hand Sanitizer Ingredients.” Buzzle. Publication date unknown. 6 March

2011. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/hand-sanitizer-ingredients.html>

Warren. “The History of Hand Sanitizer.” Hand Sanitizer Store. 12 February 2010. 6

March 2011. <http://www.handsanitizerstore.com/blog/purell-clip-on-sanitizer-

gel/history-of-hand-sanitizer/>

Mohr, Merilyn. “History of Soap.” Denali Dreams. January/February 2002. 6 March 2011.

<http://www.handsanitizerstore.com/blog/purell-clip-on-sanitizer-gel/history-of-hand-
sanitizer/>