The Effectiveness of Disposable Sanitary Masks
The objective of this experiment was to determine if a significant amount of bacteria passed through a sanitary mask, and if there was a significant difference between the penetration through the inside of the mask and the outside of the mask. To determine the significance 71 total trials were run; 30 trials by applying E. coli to the inside of sanitary masks, shooting air through the masks with an air compressor, and holding Petri dishes to the outside of the masks to catch any bacteria that infiltrated the mask, 30 trials by applying the bacteria to the outside of sanitary masks, shooting air at it, and holding Petri dishes on the inside of the mask, and 11 trials by applying no bacteria to the sanitary mask, shooting the air at it, and holding Petri dishes on the opposite side of the mask. Using the 72 trials, the data was analyzed using three two-sample t tests to determine the significance of bacteria passing through the inside and the outside of the mask separately by comparing it to the trials that were run using no bacteria. The data also analyzed the significance difference between bacteria penetration through the inside of the mask, and the outside of the mask. The results of the t tests showed that there is no significant difference between the penetrations of bacteria through the inside of the sanitary masks in comparison to the penetration of bacteria through the outside but that a significant amount of bacteria passed through both the inside and outside of the sanitary masks. The experiment shows evidence that the effectiveness of a sanitary mask does not change between a sick person wearing it to prevent spreading germs and a healthy person wearing it to prevent catching germs. This experiment also suggests that sanitary masks are not actually effective.
Research Done By:
Maggie Dobek
Cousino High School
Lyndsay McCarver
Fraser High School
Warren Consolidated Schools