Title and Abstract

Title: Investigation of the effect of different masks on the spread of water mist

Across the world, many governments have advised the use of masks to protect people from the COVID-19 virus. Along with this measure came much confusion as to what type of mask to wear. Such masks ranged from surgical masks, N95 respirators, cloth masks, and bandanas. In this experiment, we aim to clarify this confusion by testing the spread of water mist through each mask. We predicted that the N95 would be the most effective because it has the highest protective efficacy in research conducted by the American Society of Microbiology. For our experiment, we used a spray gun and sprayed coloured water mist at high speeds through each mask and onto a piece of paper below at a fixed distance, and then looking at the spread of the water on the piece of paper. The results showed that the three masks most effective at curbing the spread of droplets were the N95, the 3-ply disposable mask and the cloth mask with filter, scoring averages of 0.7 points, 1.4 points and 3.2 points, respectively. The least effective was the reusable cloth mask without filter and the Bandana, which shows that we had achieved our hypothesis. This experiment's results would allow people to make informed decisions when choosing which masks to wear to protect themselves and others from COVID-19 and the potentially virus-carrying saliva droplets.