Quantifying Hair Colour

[Archer]

I am doing a Group 4 Project on hair. My group is going to use Hydrogen Peroxide (3% concentration) on hair samples of different colours. The problem is, in order to get a proper conclusion, we need to quantify the resulting hair colour. Any ideas?

[Rigel]

What are your variables in the first place? What is the aim of your investigation?

[Archer]

What are your variables in the first place? What is the aim of your investigation?

Research question:

To what extent does the time of application of Hydrogen Peroxide on hair of different ethnicities affect the color variation?

Independent variable: The hair ethnicity, time of exposure

Dependent variable: The resulting colour of hair

Controlled variables:

• The concentration of Hydrogen Peroxide (3%)

• The volume of Hydrogen Peroxide applied

So basically we are taking hair samples of of one ethnicity, applying Hydrogen Peroxide to each for varying times, and then examining the resulting colour of hair. Which is why I need to quantify the resulting colour to derive a conclusion from the experiment. We are also going to repeat the experiment on other hair samples of another ethnicity.

[Rigel]

I think that you should change your dependent variable. The independent variable seems pretty reasonable and interesting. However, how can you quantify colour? You could try analyzing the variation of colour (say if it turns from yellow to white), but i can't think of anything else.

Good luck!

[Drake Glau]

The only way to quantify the color if anything is to somehow find the wavelength and/or frequency of the light it reflects. If you can't find these, you will need a new dependent variable as Ipos suggested.

[carpediem]

From what I know, there is a machine that can measure the 'colour' of something, however it measures the colour in solutions and not in hair/solids like you are. (Google has told me it's called spectrophotometry.) I suggest you alter your experiment a little so you can make your dependent variable quatifiable.

Don't forget though, because you're doing a Group 4 Project, that the Project requires you to give a presentation; it's not solely on a experiment done for the Project. You could even reference a study that might have already done this experiment. From my experience, the group 4 Project had more emphasis on the actual presentation rather than the experiments. (Some people don't even do experiments for the G4P.)