Question

Rashmi wants to test whether cotton (natural fiber) or nylon (synthetic fiber) absorbs
less amount of water. She filled two buckets with equal amounts of water and soaked
both the clothes in separate buckets. She left them for a few hours. After a few hours,
she checked the level of water in both buckets. Answer the following questions
based on this:
a. What did Rashmi observe and why? (2 marks)
b. Define water absorption capacity. (1 mark)
c. Which cloth dries faster, nylon cloth or cotton cloth? Why? (2 marks)

Answer 1

Answer:

a. Rashmi observed that synthetic fibers (nylon) absorbs less water while natural fibers (cotton) absorbs more water.

b. Water absorption capacity means the mass of water or the amount of water that is absorbed per unit mass or mass of the test piece.

c. Nylon or synthetic fibers does not absorb water and as a result, they dry faster than cotton or natural fibers. Fibers are made from melted plastic by passing it through fine holes in a spinneret. Wearing many layers of cotton clothes will keep you as warm in winter as wearing a thick woolen sweater.

Hope this helps!