Preview

Water Contamination Lab Report

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
796 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Water Contamination Lab Report
Water Quality and Contamination

Melody McBride

SCI-207 Dependence of man on the environment

Robin Glenn

September 28, 2014

Abstract

The lab was conducted at the McBride residence. For this experiment vegetable oil, vinegar and liquid detergent was use to contaminate the water. Testing of how ground water is affected by different contaminants was the bases of the experiment. The results were interesting in that when vinegar is filtered through dirt it came out fairly clean, it also changed the scent. This shows that maybe we can find a way to find a safer choice on how we filter and purify water. The use of sand, charcoal and gravel was used as an aquifer to exact the water. Bleach was used to sterilize the contaminated water and the process. For the last lab, tap, Dasani and Fiji water were tested with ammonia, chloride, iron and phosphate to determine which water is better for humans to drink. The results were that the vinegar changed the scent and the laundry detergent changed
…show more content…
Every being relies and require water in order to survive. The earth is composed of more than 70% water; most of it is not usable water. The increase of population has increased the demand for crops and livestock from the agricultural industry, which resulted in the increase of contamination within the waterways. In this lab, we will explore water quality and contamination. The USGS has conducted water quality test and provided water managers and policymakers with technically sound and unbiased data and reports for more than 100 years. The objective is to minimize contamination of drinking water, bodies of water and also fruits and vegetables. To do this there needs to be heavy monitoring and managing certain practices such as the agricultural industry. The USGS measures ground water on regular bases to detect changes that may be produced by short and long term changes in precipitation, droughts and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

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

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Science Fair Checkpoint #3 Materials: Disposable Gloves Timer Test tubes Thermometer Steel Wool Scissors Ruler Lemon Juice Orange Juice Vinegar Distilled Water Four Small Bowls Thin Towel Tall plastic cup Graph Paper Procedure: Before beginning your experiment, make sure that the distilled water has been opened and exposed to the air for at least a few hours. This will allow it to absorb some carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and lower its pH from a level of about 7 to about 5.8. The distilled water will act as a model for "normal" rainwater, which has a pH of about 5.6.…

    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Tab Water Experiment

    • 174 Words
    • 1 Page

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

    • 174 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sacramento tap water reveals ion concentrations of various different dissolved minerals such as calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+). These concentrations are a result of mineral deposits in local lakes and rivers. Perma Pure, a gas conditioning products manufacturing company, simplifies the mechanism of ion exchange by explaining that water is a solvent that dissolves most ionic bonds when exposed to compounds ("The Mechanism of Ion Exchange"). Therefore, as tap water passes through rocks it will pick up several different minerals resulting in hard water. As reported by the USGS water science school, calcium carbonate concentrations from 0 to 60 parts per million (ppm) are considered soft, while 61 to 120 ppm is medium, and anything past 121 ppm is classified as hard water (Perlman). In this experiment, a sample of Sacramento tap water was tested for its ion concentrations of Ca2+, Mg2+, chloride (Cl-), nitrate (NO3-), and sulfate (SO42-), which will give insight on potential negative and positive effects of using the tap water. If the concentrations of…

    • 825 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The water did not look as contaminated filtering with oil as it did with straight water and soil.…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Industrial agriculture with its reliance on chemicals and its failure to adequately address soil erosion problems is guilty of depleting water resources. Ignorance and carelessness are in fact the main factors behind the increasing water quality deterioration. First, of course, any further ground water has to be pumped from deeper and deeper levels, and such water is not only more expensive to extract in terms of deeper wells and more powerful pumps, but is more likely to be chemically poor in quality. Second, the drop in the water table indicates that more ground water is being pumped than is being recharged, so that water supplies of the future are being mortgaged for present gain. Third, there are indirect effects of lowering the water table that are more insidious but more damaging. Natural vegetation may no longer be able to put down its roots deep enough to reach ground water, especially if there is a prolonged dry season, and it is…

    • 1025 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    SCI207 final lab paper

    • 1643 Words
    • 7 Pages

    My report was based on the how ground water may be affected by myriad containments present in our experiment and in our everyday . Surprisingly when vinegar was filtered through dirt it came out fairly clean. This surprised me because I would never believed that vinegar had such a profound effect on water considering its oily nature. I was convinced that vinegar more than the other contaminates would have produced a wider, more polluted field. I believed that all the water would have been contaminated with the dirt had been mixed in. This exercise may demonstrate the need to discover better more efficient ways to filter and purify water in the future.…

    • 1643 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Evr1001 Research Paper

    • 1732 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “I never drink water; that is the stuff that rusts pipes”, W.C. Fields. Now this quote may seem funny now, but the fact that many people are afraid to drink water due to fears of getting sick is no laughing matter. It’s important for individuals to be aware of what they are putting in their bodies and educate themselves on water quality, especially in their area. One factor in particular that seems to have a drastic effect on water quality is the increase of urbanization in areas surrounded by water. This paper will explore the effects of expanding urbanization on drinking water quality. Some background information will also be provided, as well as current work being done to improve drinking water quality and future endeavors.…

    • 1732 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sci207: Week 3 - Outline

    • 2359 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Water contamination is vastly becoming an alarming issue across the world. We rely on clean water to survive, yet right now we are heading towards a water crisis. Changing climate patterns are threatening lakes and rivers, and key sources that we tap for drinking water are being overdrawn or tainted with pollution (www.nrdc.org). Clean and plentiful water is the cornerstone of prosperous communities. Yet as we enter the 21st century, swelling demand and changing climate patterns are draining rivers and aquifers and pollution is threatening the quality of what remains. NRDC is integrating our expertise in pollution prevention, water efficiency and climate change to sustain America's precious water resources, working to advance smart water efficiency policies to ensure that communities get the water they need while keeping our lakes, rivers, and streams full and healthy (www.nrdc.org).…

    • 2359 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Disinfectant Lab Report

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The purpose of this experiment is to discover which type of bacterial inhibitor, antiseptics (Hydrogen Peroxide), disinfectants (Ammonia), or antibiotics (Erythromycin) are the most effective; in other words, which type of bacterial inhibitor will create the largest zone of inhibition in millimeters squared. In doing this experiment, the researchers will reveal which bacterial inhibitors abolish the most bacteria. In the future, people will choose the most effective bacterial inhibitor; therefore, they save both money and time. If the disinfectants are applied to the bacteria, then the zone of inhibition will increase because disinfectants are antimicrobial agents that are applied to non-living objects, and a petri dish is a nonliving…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oil spill lab report

    • 1724 Words
    • 7 Pages

    I think that the Skimmer is the most efficient because it is able to recover most of the oil in a reasonable amount of time. Skimmers also have minimal interference with the marine environment whereas Sorbents can sink which causes harm to the marine environment. Dispersants are also not effective since they break down the oil which later sinks down to the bottom of the ocean causing harm to the deep sea environment which is where many of marine life is found, it also uses chemicals that are harmful to the environment.…

    • 1724 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Background: According to the Millennium Development Goals Report 2012, 783 million people, or 11 per cent of the global population, remain without access to an improved source of drinking water. Also the United Nations has long been addressing the global crisis caused by insufficient water supply to satisfy basic human needs and growing demands on the world’s water resources to meet human, commercial and agricultural needs (un.org). In this experiment water quality and contamination of groundwater was investigated. First, I observed the effects that many pollutants have on groundwater. I predict that in this experiment the oil and vinegar will create the large amount of contamination in the water, while the laundry detergent will just create an aroma smell to it. Considering the smells and color to these ingredients I think that it will cause the water quality to have a bad smell and cause the water to be very cloudy. Once filtering the contaminated water, the water will be clear and purified. Second, I will experiment water treatment and filtering. I predict that once the contaminated water is treated and filtered that it will leave me with less contamination or none at all. Then for the last experiment, I will determine the difference between bottled water and tap water to discover any contamination. I predict that the tap water will be the most contaminated and with the most chemicals in it, while the bottled waters; Dasani and Fiji will be completely filtered and free of any chemicals.…

    • 1711 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The purpose of this lab is to see if over time progression of industrialization and human development what impacts humans will have on the sustainability of groundwater in our country.…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to UNICEF about 2.5 billion people around the world do not have access to clean water. In the U.S. 40% of rivers and 46% of lakes are so polluted/contaminated that they are considered unhealthy for swimming and too contaminated for fishing. The water is so contaminated that there are usually no aquatic life living in it. Even though some people believe that water contamination is inevitable and will be impossible to stop, water contamination is still a serious problem worldwide because chemical waste contaminates the water which poison fish that end up being pass down the food chain to us humans and water contamination spreads deadly diseases which causes about 2 million deaths per year.…

    • 1302 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Persuasive Tap Water

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Recent analyses of municipal drinking water have shown that, despite government regulations, there are still plenty of contaminants that pose a danger to our water and our health. Even after the water has gone through municipal water treatment facilities, it comes out as something quite…

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays