Materials absorb water in different ways. An investigation showed that a kitchen towel or paper was the most absorbent material, soaking up water droplets, while plastic and tin foil were the least absorbent, with water beads forming on top. The document tasks the reader to find common materials like wood, metal, and plastic around the home, consider a concept cartoon about water absorbency, and perform an experiment comparing how much water a tea towel, tin foil, plastic bag, and paper towel absorb.

1. Materials Matter
1. Find objects made from the following materials in and around your home.
Rock Fabric Paper Metal Wood Plastic
2. Read the concept cartoon below about water absorbency. Do you
agree/disagree with the characters? If so why?
Offer your own opinion in the space provided.
3. Now let’s investigate which of the following materials is the most absorbent:
tea towel, tin foil, kitchen towel/paper, plastic bag. This investigation will be
useful when you undertake the STEM challenge later.
a. Place a piece of each material on top of a glass and use an elastic
band to wrap each material around the top.
b. Pour a tea spoon of water on top of each of the four glasses.
c. Observe the water droplets carefully. Record your observations
below.
Material Observations