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    Virtual Lab-Water Quality

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    The water in the old building tested high for copper and iron, and low pH levels, unlike 20 years ago when it only had low pH. The other buildings nearby did not have metallic contaminants but also had lower pH. This could be explained by the old building having corroded copper or iron pipes over the last 20 years, leaching the metals into the increasingly acidic water, whereas the newer buildings likely had non-metallic piping.

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    Virtual Lab-Water Quality

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    api-264228415
    263 views6 pages
    The water in the old building tested high for copper and iron, and low pH levels, unlike 20 years ago when it only had low pH. The other buildings nearby did not have metallic contaminants but also had lower pH. This could be explained by the old building having corroded copper or iron pipes over the last 20 years, leaching the metals into the increasingly acidic water, whereas the newer buildings likely had non-metallic piping.

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    The water in the old building tested high for copper and iron, and low pH levels, unlike 20 years ago when it only had low pH. The other buildings nearby did not have metallic contaminants but also had lower pH. This could be explained by the old building having corroded copper or iron pipes over the last 20 years, leaching the metals into the increasingly acidic water, whereas the newer buildings likely had non-metallic piping.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    263 views6 pages

    Virtual Lab-Water Quality

    Uploaded by

    api-264228415
    The water in the old building tested high for copper and iron, and low pH levels, unlike 20 years ago when it only had low pH. The other buildings nearby did not have metallic contaminants but also had lower pH. This could be explained by the old building having corroded copper or iron pipes over the last 20 years, leaching the metals into the increasingly acidic water, whereas the newer buildings likely had non-metallic piping.

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    Name________________________________Class_____Date_____________

    Virtual Lab: When Is Water Safe To Drink?


    Suppose you were hiking along a stream or lake and became very thirsty. Do you think it
    would be safe to drink the water? In many cases, it wouldn't. Each source of fresh water
    on or beneath Earth's surface is affected by contaminants. Though the sources of these
    contaminants are varied, all can make water unfit to drink if they are allowed to increase
    beyond safe limits.

    Go to the website:
    http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/virtual_labs/CT04/CT04.html
    In this Virtual Lab, you will test a variety of water samples. Then you will determine how to
    treat the water samples to make them safe to drink
    Look at the screen to your left, READ and find out about the most common types of water
    contaminants. Describe what they are and how they might affect water quality.
    Acidity:

    ph scale measures acidity in the water

    impact of a high or low pH level is that it can magnify the effect of other
    contaminants

    Bacteria:

    commonly found in lakes, rivers, and ponds, but can seep into groundwater
    supplies

    coliform bacteria are present in your drinking water, your risk of contracting a
    water-borne illness is increased

    Metals:

    Copper and iron are two of the more common metal contaminants found in
    water supplies

    Liver damage can also be traced to unsafe levels of metallic contaminants in


    water

    Copper and iron can enter the water supply through rusty corroded pipes

    Nitrates:

    Nitrates are a form of nitrogen found in animal wastes, chemical fertilizers,


    and food preservatives

    Found in both surface water and groundwater

    Nitrates enter the water supply through surface runoff

    Pesticides:

    Manufactured chemicals that are used to kill weeds, molds, and insects

    Surface runoff can introduce pesticides and herbicides into the water supply

    Objectives:
    1. Define types of water contaminants.
    2. Determine which types of contaminants are common to lake water, city water, well
    water, rural water and mountain water.
    3. Identify treatments that remove contaminants from drinking water.
    Procedure:
    1. Click the right and left arrows to select a body of water to analyze.
    2. Click Test to test the water sample.
    3. Look at the results of the water analysis. Identify the Safe Range for each category
    and record this in the data table.
    4. Identify which contaminants exceed the safe range.
    5. Click the tabs to find information on how to treat each contaminant.
    6. Enter the contaminant and treatment information in your data table.
    7. Click Go To Treatment to go to the treatment screen.
    8. Use the information in the table and click the wheels on the valves to add chemicals or
    additives to the water sample.
    9. Click the Treatment Switch to start treating the water. The Safe/Unsafe Sign will
    indicate whether the water is safe to drink.

    10. If the water is safe to drink, use Return to Lab to go to the lab screen and test
    another water sample.
    11. If the water is unsafe to drink, check your information and treat the water sample
    again.
    12. When you have tested and treated all the water samples, use your completed table to
    complete the analysis questions.

    Analysis
    1.

    What contaminants were found in the surface water samples? What contaminants
    were found in the groundwater samples?

    Surface water---- bacteria, nitrates, pesticides


    Ground water----- metals, bacteria

    2.

    Why might groundwater and surface water have different contaminants?


    Chemicals and non-natural factors that affect each differ.

    3. Generally, farmers do not farm on the sides of mountains or in remote areas.


    Industries also do not build factories in these areas. These areas are usually not
    highly populated by people. What might explain the high nitrate level in the
    mountain water in this activity?
    There are a lot of plants and vegetation in and around them.

    4. What is pH level, what are its characteristics, and how does it contribute to
    pollution? What chemicals are used in treating low pH levels?

    Ph level is the amount of acidity anything from 0-6 is acidic 7 is neutral and anything
    from 8-14 is a base it can magnify the effects of other contaminants sodium hydroxide
    is used to treat it.

    Critical Thinking-Please read this carefully!


    Water in an old building tested recently, showed high copper and iron content, and
    low pH levels. A water reading taken 20 years before showed low pH levels and only
    minimal traces of copper and iron. If none of the new buildings on the same street
    showed signs of metallic contaminants, but all reported lower than normal pH
    readings, how might these readings be explained?

    Sample

    Acidity
    (pH)

    Metals
    (mg/L)

    Pesticides/Herbicides
    (mg/L)

    Nitrates
    (mg/L)

    < 0.4

    < 10

    0.0006

    Coliform
    Bacteria
    (ml)
    0 per
    100 ml
    13/100

    Type of
    Contamination

    Treatment
    Performed

    Safe
    Range
    City

    6.5-8.5

    < 1.3

    0.00001

    0.8

    Acidic,
    coliform
    bacteria

    Chlorine,
    sodium
    hydroxide

    Lake

    0.6

    33/100

    0.0008

    0.6

    Coliform
    bacteria

    Chlorine

    Mountain

    6.8

    0.006

    0/100

    0.0001

    12.4

    High
    Nitrate

    Activated
    carbon chlorine
    at the end

    Rural

    0.0027

    0/100

    0.08

    6.7

    Pesticides

    Activated
    carbon chlorine
    at the end

    Well

    8.2

    1.44

    0/100

    0.0004

    0.6

    Metal
    contaminates

    Chlorine at
    beginning
    Zinc
    orthophosphate

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