Which is the Best Paper Plate?

Which is the Best Paper
Plate?
By Alex Bradley, Cindy Lara, Phuyen Huynh, Jasz Robinson
Table of Contents
iii
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iii
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ v
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... vii
Methods......................................................................................................................................... 11
Opinion Survey ......................................................................................................................... 11
Scientific Testing ...................................................................................................................... 12
Permeability of Plate ............................................................................................................. 12
Strength of Plate .................................................................................................................... 13
Cost per Plate ........................................................................................................................ 14
Results ........................................................................................................................................... 17
Permeability of Plate ................................................................................................................. 17
Strength of Plate ........................................................................................................................ 19
Cost per Plate ............................................................................................................................ 20
Recommendation .......................................................................................................................... 23
Index ............................................................................................................................................. 25
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
This book is written to help you learn which paper plates are the best for your college party. We
tested Dixie, Solo, and Chinet brand plates for permeability to grease, cost per plate, and
strength. We surveyed our classmates and found that price is the most important factor when
buying paper plates. After performing the experiments, we determined the best plate for their
needs is the Chinet brand.
v
Introduction
vii
Introduction
The purpose of this study was to determine which paper plates are the best buy for college
students. We are college students, so this information is valuable for everyone who is in college.
Everyone in the class is in college or have friends that are in college. These 3 criteria will help a
college student determine which brand of plate is worth purchasing. For each of the three brands
of paper plates, we measured cost per plate, permeability to grease, and the amount of weight
each plate could hold before they failed. Permeability to grease is an important criterion because
food may deteriorate a plate after a certain amount of time. Amount of weight a paper plate can
hold is another factor because of the amount of food a college student may place on their plate.
We experimented to see how much weight a plate can hold before the plate collapses. Finally, we
chose price as a criteria because college students are not all rich and may require the cheapest
price when purchasing plates. The brands chosen were Dixie, Solo, and Chinet, and we
purchased the plates from the Sack N’ Save just south of the main University of North Texas
campus. The brands were chosen based on popularity to determine if the plates lived up to the
popularity. With this realism in purchasing and testing we hope to provide a fair, accurate, and
useful report so that students can better decide which plates to buy for their next get-together.
Methods
Methods
Opinion Survey
We surveyed our technical writing class about which of the three criteria we tested were most
important to them. A score of 1 was the most important and a score of 3 was the least important.
Based on the results below, we can conclusively rank the importance of these criteria, which
allows us to determine which plate the average college student would consider the winner.
The results of the survey give us the criteria in this order of importance:
1. Cost Per Plate
2. Strength
3. Permeability
Survey of Criterion Importance
Criterion
Cost Per Plate
1
Strength
2
3
Permeability
0
2
4
6
8
Number of Votes per Ranking
10
12
12
Which is the Best Paper Plate?
Scientific Testing
Permeability of Plate
We experimented on the brand plates and the time before a reaction occurred from having food
placed on them. We chose pizza as the food to place on the plates because pizza is a favorite
among college students and pizza is also very greasy.
Supplies



Pizza
Plates
Timer
Method
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Lay the brand plates out on the table.
Place the type of food on the plate.
Start a timer
Stop the timer when plate deform.
Record the time on a chart.
Repeat steps 1-5 two more times.
Strength of Plate
We assessed the strength each plate could hold by placing laundry detergent pods on them until
they collapsed. We chose laundry pods, because they are the size of a snack, and were able to
help us control the amount of weight placed on each plate.
Supplies
 A device to hold the edge of the plate on the table (we tried a woodworking clamp first,
but discovered a heavy textbook works better)
 A scale to weigh the weight objects
 Objects of equal weight (we used laundry detergent pods, which weigh about the same as
a tasty appetizer)
 Three brands of plates
Method
1. Clamp 1 side of the first brand paper plate to a surface (Fig. 1)
2. Place one of the weights onto the center of the plate (Fig. 2)
3. Repeat step 2 until the place collapses and spills the weights
4. Count the total number of items placed on the place before collapsing (Fig. 3)
5. Record the amount onto a table
6. Repeat step 1 to step 5 for the other brand of plates
7. Perform the experiment two more times for each brand of plates
8. Weigh the objects used as weights
9. Multiply the weight of the objects times the number of objects per plate to determine the
total weight each plate held
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
14
Which is the Best Paper Plate?
Cost per Plate
We assessed the cost per plate by taking the total amount each packet of plate cost, and dividing
it by the quantity in each respective package. We chose to evaluate the price per plate, because it
would help us identity which plate was the most and least expensive.
Supplies
 Money (at least $10)
 Calculator
 Three brands of plates
Method
1. Go to the supermarket
2. Choose three brands of plates. Consider
a. Brand Recognition (Chinet)
b. Quantity (Solo)
c. Appearance (Dixie)
3. Buy the plates, and save your receipt
4. For each brand of plates
a. Divide the cost of the package of plates by the number of plates in the package
b. This result is the cost per plate
c. Record this number
Results
Results
Permeability of Plate
Time 1
Time 2
Time 3
Average Time
Dixie
9.23
7.68
8.30
8.40
Solo
5.13
4.59
5.43
5.05
Chinet
6.39
8.72
9.45
8.19
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
ConclusionDixie was the best brand when in contact with pizza. Dixie had an average time of 8.40
minutes before deforming. The worst brand plate was Solo with an average time of 5.05 minutes
before deforming. We concluded the best brand to use is Dixie but another option is to use
Chinet because it had similar time before changing.
18
Solo plate after exposure to the pizza
Dixie plate after exposure to the pizza
Which is the Best Paper Plate?
Strength of Plate
Plate Brand Vs. Number of Laundry Pods Held
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Average
Dixie
7
9
6
7
Solo
4
5
4
4
Chinet
8
7
7
7
Table 1
The chart above displays the number of laundry detergent pods held during each trial for each
brand. For example, During trial 1 the Dixie paper plate held 7 laundry detergent pods before
falling.
Weight Held by Paper Plates
Brand of Plates Average weight before collapse (oz)
Dixie
5.95 oz
Solo
3.40 oz
Chinet
5.95 oz
Table 2
Table 2 demonstrated the weight each plate held before it collapsed. Each laundry detergent pod
weighed 0.85 ounces, so the group multiplied this number by the total pods held to obtain the
weight.
Average weight before collapse (oz)
7
6
Weight (oz)
5
4
3
2
1
0
Dixie
Solo
Brand
Chinet
20
Which is the Best Paper Plate?
Cost per Plate
Brand of Plate
Dixie
Chinet
Solo
Cost Per Plate
$0.16
$0.19
$0.13
Results of the calculation indicate that Solo is the least expensive at $0.13 per plate, Dixie plates
are in the middle at $0.16 per plate, and Chinet paper plates cost the most at $0.19 per plate. A
college student that was looking to buy the cheapest paper plate should purchase Solo paper
plates, but at $0.03 cents higher they may purchase a better quality paper plate, Dixie.
Recommendation
Recommendation
23
Recommendation
Based on the results of our survey and testing, we would recommend Chinet plates. They are
cheap, durable, and impermeable to grease over the length of a meal. A more upscale alternative
would be the Dixie plates, but we recommend skipping Solo plates altogether. The grease goes
right through them, and that’s the last thing you need at your glamorous party.
Index
25
Index
Cost, 11, 14, 21
Methods, 9, 11
Permeability, 11, 12, 17
Recommendation, 22, 23
Results, 15, 17, 21
Strength, 11, 13, 19
Survey, 11
Testing, 12