Lab 2 – Water Quality and Contamination
Lab 2 – Water Quality and Contamination
Experiment 1: Drinking Water Quality
Bottled water is a billion dollar
industry in the United States. Still, few people know the health benefits, if
any, that come from drinking bottled water as opposed to tap water. This
experiment will look at the levels of a variety of different chemical compounds
in both tap and bottled water to determine if there are health benefits in
drinking bottled water.
POST-LAB QUESTIONS
1.
Develop
a hypothesis regarding which water sources you believe will contain the most
and least contaminants, and state why you believe this. Be sure to clearly rank
all three sources from most to least contaminants.
Hypothesis =
Table 1: Ammonia Test Results
Water Sample
Test Results (mg/L)
Tap
Water
Dasani®
Bottled Water
Fiji®
Bottled Water
Table 2: Chloride Test Results
Water Sample
Test Results (mg/L)
Tap
Water
Dasani®
Bottled Water
Fiji®
Bottled Water
Table 3: 4 in 1 Test Results
Water Sample
Total Alkalinity
(mg/L)
Total Chlorine
(mg/L)
Total Hardness
(mg/L)
Tap
Water
Dasani®
Bottled Water
Fiji®
Bottled Water
Table 4: Phosphate Test Results
Water Sample
Test Results (ppm)
Tap
Water
Dasani®
Bottled Water
Fiji®
Bottled Water
Table 5: Iron Test Results
Water Sample
Test Results (ppm)
Tap
Water
Dasani®
Bottled Water
Fiji®
Bottled Water
Table 6: pH Results
Water Sample
Test Results
Tap
Water
Dasani®
Bottled Water
Fiji®
Bottled Water
2.
Based
on the results of your experiment, would accept or reject the hypothesis you
produced in question 1? Explain how you
determined this.
Accept/reject =
3.
Based
on the results of your experiment, what specific differences do you notice
among the Dasani®, Fiji®, and Tap Water?
Answer =
4.
Based
upon the fact sheets provided (links at the end of this document), do any of
these samples pose a health concern? Use evidence from the lab to support your
answer.
Answer =
5.
Based
on your results, do you believe that bottled water is worth the price? Use
evidence from the lab to support your opinion.
Answer =
**NOTE: Be sure to complete steps 1 – 32
of Lab 3, Experiment 1 (the next lab) before completing your work for this
week. Lab 3 involves growing plants, and if the work is not started this week,
your seeds will not have time to grow and the lab will not be finished on
time.**
FACT SHEETS
Ammonia.wqa.org/Portals/0/Technical/Technical%20Fact%20Sheets/2014_Ammonia.pdf”>https://www.wqa.org/Portals/0/Technical/Technical%20Fact%20Sheets/2014_Ammonia.pdf
Chloride
.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chloride.pdf”>http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chloride.pdf
Phosphate
.ssec.wisc.edu/curriculum/earth/Minifact2_Phosphorus.pdf”>http://osse.ssec.wisc.edu/curriculum/earth/Minifact2_Phosphorus.pdf
Iron
.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/iron.pdf”>http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/iron.pdf
pH.watersystemscouncil.org/download/wellcare_information_sheets/potential_groundwater_contaminant_information_sheets/9709284pH_Update_September_2007.pdf”>https://www.watersystemscouncil.org/download/wellcare_information_sheets/potential_groundwater_contaminant_information_sheets/9709284pH_Update_September_2007.pdf
Alkalinity
.safewater.org/PDFS/communitywatertestkit/Water_Quality_Tests.pdf”>https://www.safewater.org/PDFS/communitywatertestkit/Water_Quality_Tests.pdf
Chlorine
.watertechonline.com/testing-for-chlorine-in-drinking-water/”>http://www.watertechonline.com/testing-for-chlorine-in-drinking-water/
Hardness
.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/factsheets/dwgb/documents/dwgb-3-6.pdf”>http://des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/factsheets/dwgb/documents/dwgb-3-6.pdf
References
Any sources utilized should be listed here.
