Running Header: WATER QUALITY 6 Water Quality and Contamination Rebecca Garner SCI 207 Dependence of Man on the Environment Instructor: Freddie Perez-Arocho December 23, 2013 INTRODUCTION Our ground water is located below the surface of porous rocks. The ground water is susceptible to being contaminated by natural causes and our stupid mistakes. We, as humans, allow a huge amount of chemicals to get into our ground water. Some of the chemicals we allow into the water are things like laundry detergents, motor oil, fertilizer, pesticides, medicines and many others on a daily basis. All the chemicals and materials are allowed to soak into the ground and dissolve into our ground water. Chemicals and contaminates dissolve and become soluble at different rates and when they reach the water table underground either by flowing or rain water moving downward. Ground water can be contaminated by things like Cadmium, Nickel, Chromium, and many other things that are both organic and nonorganic. (Christensen et al, 2001) The medicines that get into our water can cause many health complications (e.g. cancer). The objective of this experiment was to figure out how bad contaminates affect our water and the processes we have to go through to try to clear that water up. The experiments reflect on how various items contaminate our ground water and the processes for treating that water to make sure our drinking water is bacteria and contaminate free. MATERIALS AND METHODS The materials used in experiment one were (8) 250 ml beakers, 100 ml beaker, 100 ml cylinder (graduated), 10 ml graduated cylinder, 60 ml soil, vegetable oil, vinegar, and liquid laundry detergent. I put 100 ml of tab water in four of the 250 ml beakers. The first beaker was plain tap water, beaker two I added 10 ml of vegetable oil, beaker three added 10 ml vinegar, and in beaker four there was 10 ml of liquid laundry detergent added. They were all stirred up. Beaker five I funneled the tap water from beaker one through 60 ml of soil and then took the other three beakers and filtered through cheesecloth ( beaker two into beaker six, beaker three into beaker seven, and beaker 4 into beaker eight. In experiment two the materials used was 100 ml potting soil, (2) 250 ml beakers, (2) 100 ml beakers, 100 ml graduated cylinder, 40 ml sand, 20 ml activated charcoal, 60 ml gravel, alum, funnel, cheesecloth and bleach. We started by taking 100 ml potting soil, putting it into a 250 ml beaker and filling to the 200 ml mark with tap water. Then poured the soil back and forth 15 times between 2 beakers. Put 10 ml into a clean 100 ml beaker. At this point added 10 grams of alum with the contaminated water and stirring it for 1-2 minutes and let it sit for 15 minutes. While the contaminated water with alum was sitting we lined the funnel with cheesecloth, 40 ml of sand, 20 ml of activated charcoal and 40 ml of gravel. To solidify this we poured clean tap water through.

1. Running Header: WATER QUALITY 6
Water Quality and Contamination
Rebecca Garner
SCI 207 Dependence of Man on the Environment
Instructor: Freddie Perez-Arocho
December 23, 2013
INTRODUCTION
Our ground water is located below the surface of porous
rocks. The ground water is susceptible to being contaminated
by natural causes and our stupid mistakes. We, as humans,
allow a huge amount of chemicals to get into our ground water.
Some of the chemicals we allow into the water are things like
laundry detergents, motor oil, fertilizer, pesticides, medicines
and many others on a daily basis. All the chemicals and
materials are allowed to soak into the ground and dissolve into

2. our ground water. Chemicals and contaminates dissolve and
become soluble at different rates and when they reach the water
table underground either by flowing or rain water moving
downward. Ground water can be contaminated by things like
Cadmium, Nickel, Chromium, and many other things that are
both organic and nonorganic. (Christensen et al, 2001) The
medicines that get into our water can cause many health
complications (e.g. cancer).
The objective of this experiment was to figure out how bad
contaminates affect our water and the processes we have to go
through to try to clear that water up.
The experiments reflect on how various items contaminate
our ground water and the processes for treating that water to
make sure our drinking water is bacteria and contaminate free.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The materials used in experiment one were (8) 250 ml beakers,
100 ml beaker, 100 ml cylinder (graduated), 10 ml graduated
cylinder, 60 ml soil, vegetable oil, vinegar, and liquid laundry
detergent. I put 100 ml of tab water in four of the 250 ml
beakers. The first beaker was plain tap water, beaker two I
added 10 ml of vegetable oil, beaker three added 10 ml vinegar,
and in beaker four there was 10 ml of liquid laundry detergent
added. They were all stirred up. Beaker five I funneled the tap
water from beaker one through 60 ml of soil and then took the
other three beakers and filtered through cheesecloth ( beaker
two into beaker six, beaker three into beaker seven, and beaker
4 into beaker eight.
In experiment two the materials used was 100 ml potting soil,
(2) 250 ml beakers, (2) 100 ml beakers, 100 ml graduated
cylinder, 40 ml sand, 20 ml activated charcoal, 60 ml gravel,
alum, funnel, cheesecloth and bleach. We started by taking 100
ml potting soil, putting it into a 250 ml beaker and filling to the
200 ml mark with tap water. Then poured the soil back and forth
15 times between 2 beakers. Put 10 ml into a clean 100 ml
beaker. At this point added 10 grams of alum with the
contaminated water and stirring it for 1-2 minutes and let it sit

3. for 15 minutes. While the contaminated water with alum was
sitting we lined the funnel with cheesecloth, 40 ml of sand, 20
ml of activated charcoal and 40 ml of gravel. To solidify this we
poured clean tap water through the filter 5 times. At this point
poured three fourths of contaminated water into the funnel and
letting it filter for 5 minutes.
In experiment three we used Dasani bottled water, Fiji bottled
water, tap water, ammonia test strips, chloride test strips, 4 in 1
test strips, phosphate test strips, iron test strips, (3) 250 ml
beakers, and reducing powder. Put 100 ml of each type of water
in a beaker and then tested each one with all the various types
of test strips and recorded the results in the appropriate table on
the lab report.
RESULTS
Table 1: Water Observations (Smell, Color, Etc.)
Beaker
Observations
1 – Plain Water
Stayed plain water
2 – Vegetable Oil
Oil stayed on top of the water and bubbled with no smell and
water stayed clear
3 – Vinegar
Stayed clear and mixed well had a vinegar smell
4 – Laundry Detergent
Mixed well turned cloudy and no had no smell
5 – Soil
Turned water brown as it drained into the beaker and had no
smell
6 – Vegetable Oil
Did not see a change
7 – Vinegar
Vinegar bubbled in the water and still smelled the vinegar
8 – Laundry Detergent
Turned cloudy and still had no smell

4. The results here let us know that we might not always see a
contaminate even though it could still be there.
Table 2: Ammonia Test Results
Water Sample
Test Results
Tap Water
0
Dasani® Bottled Water
0
Fiji® Bottled Water
0
Table 3: Chloride Test Results
Water Sample
Test Results
Tap Water
0
Dasani® Bottled Water
0
Fiji® Bottled Water
0
Water Sample
pH
Total Alkalinity
Total Chlorine
Total Hardness
Tap Water
6
0
1.0
0
Dasani® Bottled Water
3
0
.2

5. 0
Fiji® Bottled Water
6
0
1.0
0
Table 5: Phosphate Test Results
Water Sample
Test Results
Tap Water
10
Dasani® Bottled Water
0
Fiji® Bottled Water
10
Table 6: Iron Test Results
Water Sample
Test Results
Tap Water
.15
Dasani® Bottled Water
0
Fiji® Bottled Water
0
The results here showed with the proper filtration and treatment
that is really does not matter if it is tap water or bottled water.
Now of course we are on well water and it was just highly
chlorinated because they found bacteria in it.
DISCUSSION
I feel that the hypothesis was proven true. With the proper
filtration and treatment the water seemed to clear up and safe
for drinking and cooking. Keeping in mind there are some

6. contaminates that cannot be cleared up no matter what.
As stated previously motor oil and some of the other
contaminates cannot be cleared up no matter how much filtering
and treating is done to the water.
I believe that all the experiments can vary depending on
whether it is city or well water, location of where you live and
how they treat the water. We can control whether our water is
contaminated or not by watching what we are doing. We need
to be careful about vehicles leaking motor oil, people draining
their washing machines into the ditches and woods, etc. There
is really a lot we can do to control the water contamination.
CONCLUSION
The experiments opened my eyes to what the
contamination does to our water and how much we must go
through to filter and treat the water to make it safe for cooking
and drinking. I would like to ask everyone to respect our
ground water, streams, rivers, etc by not littering or pouring
contaminates in our ground.
References:
Christensen TH, Kjeldsen P, Bjerg PL, Jensen DL, Christensen
JB, Baun A (2001). Biogeochemistry of landfill leachate
plumes. Appl. Geochem., 16: 659–718.
Turk, J., & Bensel, T. (2011). Contemporary environmental
issues. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
http://hermes.ecn.purdue.edu/cgi/convwqtest?/fs-2.me.ascii
http://www.blackherbals.com/health_effects_of_drinking_water
_contaminants.htm.

7. Lab 2 - Experiment 1: Effects of Groundwater Contamination
Table 1: Water Observations (Smell, Color, Etc.)
Beaker
Observations
1
Water is perfectly clear/No odor
2
cloudy/oil sits on top of water/no odor
3
Slight odor/almost unidentifiable other then smell/good clarity
4
Slightly cloudy/ bubbles form on surface/no odor
5
Water is brown in color/some sediment/no odor
6
Water is brown in color/some sediment/no odor/still a presence
of oil/very cloudy/oil collected in soil
7
Water is brown in color/cloudy/some sediment/strong odor
8
Water is dark brown/soap bubbles in soil/light brown film on
top of water
Hypothesis: Using the same water source, amount of soil and
procedures for pouring beaker 1-4 through the required funnel,
water can be contaminated in different forms such as acid, oil,
and detergents all reacting differently.
Post-Lab Questions
1. Restate your hypothesis. Was it confirmed or denied? How do
you know?
I would say that my hypothesis was correct as I thought that the
three different contaminents would act differently in the water.
Some would be easy to see some would only be identifyable by
their odo.
2. What affects did each of the contaminants have on the water

8. in the experiment? Which contaminant seemed to have the most
potent effect on the water?
All of the three contaminets held on to the sediment from the
soil, assuming to strip the soil of some of it’s natural
properties. Regular water didn’t seem to have much effect on
the soil, vinegar was only identifyable mostly by it’s smell, oil
sat on top of the water and resumed that spot after a it settled
after mixing, the detergent seemed to disapate with no odor but
carried the most sediment with it making it the most cloudy.
3. On a larger scale, what type of affects would these
contaminants have on a town’s water source and the people who
drank the water?
I would think that all of them could effect water is a towns as
some would taste it in their water, others would probably be
alarmed by it’s smell. It would be hard to say whether these
contaminents would be able to naturally filter their way out
before they got to a main underwater source.
4. What type of human activity would cause contaminants like
oil, acid and detergents to flow into the water supply?
Oils can be spilt pretty easily when doing any type of work to
motorized vehicles, acid I think would come from pollution and
distributed into the groud during a rainfall, and detergents could
possibly get to the water source by sewage from people as well
as run off from farmers fields.
5. What other items within your house do you believe could
contaminate the water supply if you were to dump them into the
ground?
I think the ones that would be most detrimental are again
sewage from using the dishwasher/clothes washer/ and using
cleaning products that are flushed down the drains in our
homes. Others things that I can think of would be different oil
based products that I use in the garage; motor oil, gasoline,
anit-freeze.
Lab 2 - Experiment 2: Water Treatment

9. Hypothesis:
Post-Lab Questions
1. Restate your hypothesis. Was it confirmed or denied? How do
you know?
2. What are the differences between the “contaminated” water
and the “treated” water
(look at color, smell, visibility, etc.)?
3. 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.
Lab 2 - Experiment 3: Drinking Water Quality
Table 2: Ammonia Test Results
Water Sample
Test Results
Tap Water
Dasani® Bottled Water
Fiji® Bottled Water
Table 3: Chloride Test Results
Water Sample
Test Results
Tap Water
Dasani® Bottled Water
Fiji® Bottled Water
Table 4: 4 in 1 Test Results
Water Sample
pH
Total Alkalinity

10. Total Chlorine
Total Hardness
Tap Water
Dasani® Bottled Water
Fiji® Bottled Water
Table 5: Phosphate Test Results
Water Sample
Test Results
Tap Water
Dasani® Bottled Water
Fiji® Bottled Water
Table 6: Iron Test Results
Water Sample
Test Results
Tap Water
Dasani® Bottled Water
Fiji® Bottled Water
Hypothesis:

11. Post-Lab Questions
1. Restate your hypothesis. Was it confirmed or denied? How do
you know?
2. After comparing the results of tap water and bottled water,
what major differences, if
any, do you notice between the two?
3. From your results, do you believe that bottled water is a
healthier alternative when compared to tap water? Why or why
not?
© eScience Labs, 2012