This lab sheet walks homeschool students in grades 3-5 through a structured comparison of three or more paper towel brands. Your student writes a hypothesis, follows a nine-step procedure measuring 60 mL of water poured onto each brand, and records results across three trials in a data table that calculates an average. The sheet notes an alternative for families without a kitchen scale: measure remaining water and subtract from the original amount, making it accessible without specialty equipment.

The paper towel absorbency lab sheet works well as a standalone consumer science lesson or as part of a broader unit on fair testing and experimental variables. A tip box on the sheet reinforces the concept of controlled variables, and a Thinking Further prompt asks what factors affect absorption, pushing your homeschooler toward deeper analysis. Completing the sheet demonstrates hypothesis writing, repeated-trial data collection, and basic averaging, three skills that build directly into more complex lab work.