Water Quality and Contamination: Lab Check

POST LAB QUESTIONS

1. Develop hypotheses on the ability of oil, vinegar, and laundry detergent to contaminate groundwater.

a. Oil hypothesis = Vegetable oil water is easily filtered out through oil and will not be harmful to ground water. b. Vinegar hypothesis = Vinegar water goes directly through the soil quickly contaminating the ground water. c. Laundry detergent hypothesis = Laundry detergent water is dense a slowly falls through the soil, easily contaminating the ground water.

2. Based on the results of your experiment, would you reject or accept each hypothesis that you produced in question 1? Explain how you determined this.

a. Oil hypothesis accept/reject = Based on the experiment I would reject this hypothesis because beaker 6 had almost no oil but still some in it after being filtered through the soil. b. Vinegar hypothesis accept/reject = I would accept this hypothesis because although it is still not seen you can still smell the vinegar in the beaker 7. Additionally, beaker 7 had the most liquid that came through after a minute at 86ml.

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That is 6ml above the group average. c. Laundry detergent hypothesis accept/reject = Based on the results I would accept my hypothesis because of the darkness in color that the water pulled from the soil.

3. What affects did each of the contaminants have on the water in the experiment? Which contaminant seemed to have the most potent effect on the water?

Answer = All three of the contaminates had an effect of the water, but it was all in a different way. The oil seemed to stay in the soil without sinking through much better than the vinegar or detergent did.

The vinegar and detergent were also the only samples that had an odor to them after going through the soil and prior to. The detergent water in beaker 8 was the most contaminated because it was the darkest and had the most soil pulled through.

4. Using at least 1 scholarly source, discuss what type of affects these contaminants (oil, vinegar, detergent) might have on a town’s water source and the people who drank the water?

Answer = All of the would effect a town’s water supply. If any of them got through to the supply they would all taste odd, but they may not all smell bad. The vinegar and detergent would stink, but the oil would just feel odd. In a 2013 study it showed real affects of the cloth detergent on the local crops, “Seed germination of the sunflower showed us that the highest dose of detergent reduced seed germination, shoot length, root length, seedling weight, and seed vigor compared to control” Heidari (2103). This shows us that what we put into the ground can affect many other people whether we think it would or not. So they would all be a problem and could cause concern for your health if you were consuming laundry detergent in small doses.

5. Describe what type of human activity would cause contaminants like oil, acid and detergents to flow into the water supply? Additionally, what other items within your house do you believe could contaminate the water supply if you were to dump them onto the ground?

Answer = There are many activities that could cause oils, acids, and detergents to get into a water supply. Auto repair shops or even at home would have some oils getting into the ground. I have seen laundry output go direct into the ground where it would just soak in. Acids come from most things we do; we pollute the air which is then rained down into the soil ruining our water supply. In my home I have plenty of items that could contaminate the water if I were to dump them out; bleach, cleaning supply, motor oil, alcohol, and many more.

Experiment 2: Water Treatment

POST LAB QUESTIONS

1. Develop a hypothesis on the ability of your filtration technique to remove contaminants.

Hypothesis = Running contaminated water through the different layers of the coagulants filter will produce clean, clear, and drinkable water.

2. Based on the results of your experiment, would you reject or accept the hypothesis that you produced in question 1? Explain how you determined this.

Accept/Reject = Based on the results from the experiment I would reject my hypothesis. The filtered water did not out clear, and I would question drinking it. Although it is clean and has no odor it does not meet the standards of my hypothesis and should therefore be rejected.

3. What are the differences in color, smell, visibility, etc. between the “contaminated” water and the “treated” water?

Answer = Contaminated Water – Water is brown and cloudy. You cannot see through the water due to the amount of soil particles in the water.

Treated Water – Water is slightly cloudy with a hint of yellow. The water has no soil particles, and it smells odorless or clean.

The treated water is more clear and free of soil than the contaminated water, and has no odor while the contaminated water smells of dirt.

4. From the introduction to this lab, you know that there are typically five steps involved in the water treatment process. Identify the processes (e.g., coagulation) that were used in this lab and describe how they were performed.

Answer = 1) Add Alum to separate the soil from the water. 2) Use time to allow the contents to separate. 3) Gravel filters out most large particles from contaminate. 4) Carbon/sand filter out remaining small particles. 5) Decontaminate the water with bleach.

Experiment 3: Drinking Water Quality
Table 2: Ammonia Test Results
Water Sample
Test Results
Tap Water
0mg/L
Dasani® Bottled Water
0mg/L
Fiji® Bottled Water
0mg/L

Table 3: Chloride Test Results
Water Sample
Test Results
Tap Water
0mg/L
Dasani® Bottled Water
0mg/L
Fiji® Bottled Water
0mg/L

Table 4: 4 in 1 Test Results
Water Sample
pH
Total Alkalinity
Total Chlorine
Total Hardness
Tap Water
4
120mg/L
0.2mg/L
0
Dasani® Bottled Water
2
80mg/L
0.2mg/L
0
Fiji® Bottled Water
6
40mg/L
4.0mg/L
120

Table 5: Phosphate Test Results
Water Sample
Test Results
Tap Water
5ppm
Dasani® Bottled Water
0ppm
Fiji® Bottled Water
40ppm

Table 6: Iron Test Results
Water Sample
Test Results
Tap Water
0.2ppm
Dasani® Bottled Water
0ppm
Fiji® Bottled Water
0ppm

POST LAB QUESTIONS

1. Develop a hypothesis on which water source you believe will contain the most and least contaminants.

Hypothesis = The tap water will contain the most contaminants, while the Fiji ® bottled water will contain the least contaminants.

2. Based on the results of your experiment, would you reject or accept the hypothesis that you produced in question 1? Explain how you determined this.

Accept/reject = Based on the results of this experiment I would have to reject the hypothesis. As we began the experiment all three of the waters showed no contaminants through the ammonia and chloride tests. It was at the 4-in-1 test that began to show some separation. The Fiji® water was the highest in ph levels, chlorine, and total hardness while having the lowest alkalinity. On the next test for phosphate the Fiji® water again was the worst in the results before slightly edging out tap water on the iron test.

3. Based on the results of your experiment, what major differences, if any, do you notice between the Dasani, Fiji, and tap water?

Answer = Based on the results of the experiment the major difference that I see between these is that the Dasani ® is the most impressive of the group. The Dasani® water is the least contaminated and the Fiji® is the most contaminated, which is far from the original prediction through my hypothesis. The other major result showed us that in

4. Based on your results, do you believe that bottled water is worth the price? Why or why not?

Answer = I do not believe that these bottled waters are worth the price in comparison to the local tap water in Washington. Here in Washington we have some of the cleanest drinking water in all 50 states, so I can and do drink the tap water daily.

*NOTE – Do not forget to go to Lab 3: Biodiversity, and complete “Experiment 1: Diversity of Plants” steps 1 through 6. Steps 1 through 6 need to be completed in order to be prepared for Week Three, however, results for this experiment will not be calculated until next week. Thus, while nothing is to be handed in for this experiment until the end of Week Three you must plant the seeds this week to ensure that you can complete week 3 on time.

References
HEIDARI, H. (2013). Effect of Irrigation with Contaminated Water by Cloth Detergent on Seed Germination Traits and Early Growth of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Notulae Scientia Biologicae, 5(1), 86-89. Retrieved from the Ebscohost database.