Does one brand of furnace filter trap more dust than another? Filters look similar on the shelf. But the materials inside may catch very different amounts of particles.
You cut two filter brands in half. Weigh each half on a triple beam balance. Tape one half of brand A to one half of brand B. Both halves sit side by side in the same furnace.
Leave the filters in place for one week. Then remove them and weigh each half again. The difference in mass shows how many particles each brand collected. Repeat the trial three to four times.
Brand A gained more mass than brand B in every trial. That means brand A trapped more airborne particles under the same conditions.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that brand A will filter more particles than brand B and will increase more in mass due to these particles.
Heating systems pull air through filters constantly, and those filters slowly fill with particulate matter — the tiny bits of dust, smoke, and soot floating through indoor air. To find out which furnace filter brand catches more of these particles, you cut two brands in half and weigh each half on a triple beam balance. One half of brand A sits side by side with one half of brand B inside the same furnace for one week. When you remove and reweigh each half, the difference in mass tells you exactly how many particles each brand collected. After three to four repeated trials, brand A gained more mass every time — meaning it trapped more airborne particles under identical conditions.
Method & Materials
You will cut the furnace filters in half, weigh them on a triple beam balance, tape them together, and put them in the furnace. After a week, take them out and weigh them again.
You will need two or three furnace filters, a triple beam scale, and a roll of duct tape.
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The results of the experiment showed that brand A was better than brand B at straining particles from the air. This suggests that the hypothesis should be accepted.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting because it tests two different brands of furnace filters to see which one is the most effective at straining particles from the air.
Also Consider
To further this experiment, you could do more trials with different brands of filters or test the filters in different environments.
Full project details
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.
