ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to the people who went off their way to help
with completion of this study. To our Science 8 teacher, Ms. Marcelo, who guided us with the
right methods and techniques in completing this research with excellence. Our group would like
to thank Mrs. Mary Welinea Tion, Villanueava, our dearest adviser who was always there to
guide and remind us. We would like to thank Marist School Marikina and the Science
Department for giving us the opportunity to recreate this experiment with accuracy and
excellence.

ABSTRACT
A study of the Salt on the Conductivity of Water
We are never old to learn something new. All our lives we’ve heard that water and
electricity makes a dangerous pair together. And pretty much all of the time that is true. As
read on the title of this study, “A study….Effectiveness of salt….on the Conductiv
ity of
water. Now let us emphasize “salt” and “water”, salt is actually one of the most abundant
mineral in the world. It mainly comes from salt fields where farmers concentrate and vaporize
the water to leave us with just salt. Water in the other hand, is the also the most abundant
element and takes up at least 60% of the entire surface of the earth. Now, when  both of these
elements are combined, what do we expect? These two elements are most-of-the-time combined.
Salt water, takes up at least 60% of the e
arth’s surface. This is the  perfect opportunity to discuss it’s properties, capabilities and structure.
Specifically, we
tackle how the amount of minerals affect the conductivity of water. Why then? Why should we
be caring about how conductive a sample of
water is? It’s because this is
somehow a crucial step in testing the pureness of the water. This is most significant in filtering
stations, where freshwater is filtered and produced into pure water. Pure water have very low
conductivity. It is actually a very good insulator at this point. We will  present other studies done
by various scientific organizations to further deepen our understanding of this topic.
Furthermore, we will initiate an experiment to prove our hypothesis. We will show graphs, data
and statistics as we go into the deepest understanding of how one, simple and abundant element
we consume and use in our everyday lives, behaves when affected by various other elements.

Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter includes the background of the study, the hypotheses, the statement of the problem,
the scope and limitation, and the significance of the study. Background of the Study You're never
too old to learn something new. All our lives we've heard that water and electricity make a
dangerous pair together. And pretty much all of the time that is true
 — “mixing water and electricity, be it from a lightning bolt or electrical
socket in the house, is a very dangerous thing to do. But what we learned from researching this
topic was that pure water is actually an excellent insulator and does not conduct electricity.
Water that would be considered "pure" would be distilled water (water condensed from steam)
and deionized water (used in laboratories), although even water of this purity can contain ions.
(https://water.usgs.gov/edu/electrical-conductivity.html) But in our real lives, we normally do
not come across any pure water. If you read our article about water being the "universal
solvent" you know that water can dissolve more things than
 just about any other liquid. “Water is a most excellent solvent. It
doesn't matter if the water comes out of your kitchen faucet, is in a swimming pool or dog dish,
comes out of the ground or falls from the sky, the water will contain significant amounts of
dissolved substances, minerals, and chemicals. These things are the solutes dissolved in water.
Don't worry, though
 — 
if you swallow a snowflake, it won't hurt you; it may even contain some nice minerals your body
needs to stay healthy.”

 (https://water.usgs.gov/edu/electrical-conductivity.html) 
“
Water quits being an excellent insulator once it starts dissolving substances around it. Salts, such
as common table salt (NaCl) is the one we know best. In chemical terms, salts are ionic
compounds composed of cations (positively charged ions) and anions (negatively charged ions).
In solution, these ions essentially cancel each other out so that the solution is electrically neutral
(without a net charge). Even a small amount of ions in a water solution makes it able to conduct
electricity (so definitely don't add salt to your "lightning-storm" bath water.). Once water
contains these ions it will conduct electricity, such as from a lightning bolt or a wire from the
wall socket, as the electricity from the source will seek out oppositely-charged ions in the water.
Too bad if there is a human body in the way.
.”
(Source:https://water.usgs.gov/edu/electrical-conductivity.html) 
Interestingly, “ If the water contains very large amounts of solutes and ions, then
the water becomes such an efficient conductor of electricity that an electrical current may
essentially ignore a human body in the water and stick to the better pathway to conduct itself 
 — 
the masses of ions in the water. That is why the danger of electrocution in sea water is less than
it would be in bath water.”
(Source:Discovery Channel. 2016)

Statement of the Problem

This study determines the effectiveness of salt on the conductivity of tap water.
More specifically, it seeks answer to the following questions:
1. How much salt is needed to achieve a 20% increase on the conductivity of water?
2. How minerals help on the increase of the tap water’s conductivity?
 
Hypothesis
The Hypothesis to be tested in this study is: 1. If more salt is added into the tap water then, it’s
conductivity will rise.

 Significance of the Study

“Temperature exerts a major influence on biological activity and growth.
Temperature governs the kinds of organisms that can live in rivers and lakes. Fish, insects,
zooplankton, phytoplankton, and other aquatic species all have a preferred temperature range. As
temperatures get too far above or below this preferred range, the number of individuals of the
species decreases until finally there are n
one.”
(Source:https://water.usgs.gov/edu/temperature.html)
“Temperature is also important because of its influence on water chemistry. The
rate of chemical reactions generally increases at higher temperature. Water,  particularly
groundwater, with higher temperatures can dissolve more minerals from the rocks it is in and
will therefore have a higher electrical conductivity. It is the opposite when considering a gas,
such as oxygen, dissolved in the water. Think about
 
 how much bubblier a cold soda is compared to a warm one. The cold soda can keep more of the
carbon dioxide bubbles dissolved in the liquid than the warm one can, which makes it seem
fizzier when you drink it. How warm stream water is can affect the aquatic life in the stream.
Warm water holds less dissolved oxygen than cool water, and may not contain enough dissolved
oxygen for the survival of different species of aquatic life. Some compounds are also more toxic
to aquatic life at higher temperatures.
”
 (Source: A Citizen's Guide to Understanding and Monitoring Lakes and Streams)
Therefore, adding more minerals to the water will not just increase it’s conductivity but also,
alter it’s freesing point and boiling point. When salt is add
ed to
our ordinary tap water before freezing or after freezing will drop it’s temperature
further and set it a slower melting time as stated above. This can be used in camping, road-trips
and, transportation. This refrigeration technique could save you up more money because of the
slow melting ice.

Scope and Limitations

Though the study tackles about how salt will increase the conductivity of tap water, this would
not be able to cover other uses of the conductive water for industrial  purposes.
This study should be conducted on a friend’s home using
600ml of tap water, a bag of salt, multi-meter, measuring cup, graphing paper. This study is
meant to suggest to entrepreneurs and investors of good use of conductive water for future
inventions.

Chapter 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES
This chapter includes the review of related literature and review of related studies.

Review of Related Studies

The researchers opt to dwell in the topic because of its current relevance to society and arising
importance for the environment; furthermore, its accessibility to vast resources. Thus, resources
are considered to be imperative in the study for the validity and accuracy of information. The
researchers were able to discover that there are numerous studies before which are related to
what is being presented. According to a
study entitled “Water Conductivity”
done by lenntech (2016), Pure water is not a good conductor of electricity. Ordinary distilled
water in equilibrium with carbon dioxide of the air has a conductivity of about 10 x 10
-6
 W
-1
*m
-1
(20 dS/m). Because the electrical current is transported by the ions in solution, the conductivity
increases as the concentration of ions increases.Thus conductivity increases as water dissolved
ionic species.
The study done by UVM education called “Conductivity and Water Quality” stated
that: Conductivity is a measurement of the ability of an aqueous solution to carry an electrical
current. An ion is an atom of an element that has gained or lost an electron which will create a
negative or positive state. For example, sodium chloride (table salt) consists of sodium ions
(Na+) and chloride ions (Cl-) held together in a crystal. In water it breaks apart into an aqueous
solution of sodium and chloride ions. This solution will conduct an electrical current.
 
There are several factors that determine the degree to which water will carry an electrical current.

These include:
1.the concentration or number of ions;
2.mobility of the ion;
3.oxidation state (valence) and;
4.temperature of the water.

Furthermore, Conductivity is a measurement used to determine a number of applications related

to water quality.

These are as follows:

1.determining mineralization: this is commonly called total dissolved solids. Total dissolved
solids information is used to determine the overall ionic effect in a water source. Certain
physiological effects on plants and animals are often affected by the number of available ions in
the water.
2.noting variation or changes in natural water and wastewaters quickly;
3.estimating the sample size necessary for other chemical analyses; and
4.determining amounts of chemical reagents or treatment chemicals to be added to a water
sample.

Elevated dissolved solids can cause "mineral tastes" in drinking water. Corrosion or encrustation
of metallic surfaces by waters high in dissolved solids causes problems with industrial equipment
and boilers as well as domestic plumbing, hot water heaters, toilet flushing mechanisms, faucets,
and washing machines and dishwashers. Indirect effects of excess dissolved solids are primarily
the elimination of desirable food plants and habitat-forming plant species. Agricultural uses of
water for livestock watering are limited by excessive dissolved solids and high dissolved solids
can be a  problem in water used for irrigation.
A study done by SmartFertilizer (2016) entitled: “Factors Affecting the Electrical
Conduct
ivity of Water” stated that:
 The electrical conductivity of the water depends on the water temperature: the higher the
temperature, the higher the electrical conductivity would be. The electrical conductivity of water
increases by 2-3% for an increase of 1 degree Celsius of water temperature. Many EC meters
nowadays automatically standardize the readings to 25oC. While the electrical conductivity is a
good indicator of the total salinity, it still does not provide any information about the ion
composition in the water. The same electrical conductivity values can be measured in low quality
water (e.g. water rich with Sodium,
 
Boron and Fluorides) as well as in high quality irrigation water (e.g. adequately fertilized water
with appropriate nutrient concentrations and ratios). According to a study done by Laqua (2016)
entitled: Ions in Water and Conductivity that, Common table salt (NaCl) is an electrolyte, and
when this is dissolved in water to form salt water, it becomes sodium ions (Na+) and chloride
ions (Cl-), each of which is a corpuscle that conducts electricity. This is what happes in the
salinity conversion to arrive at the value displayed by the twin conductivity meter.

Chapter 3
METHODOLOGY
This chapter includes the method of research, the method of collecting data, materials and the
procedure of the study.

Method of Research
The growing numbers of entrepreneurs and the rapidly developing technology in the Philippines
is evident. The safety and health of our people is the most important thing Before anything else.
As of now there is still no evident clue on the use of conductive water for industrialization. As a
result, this study aims to develop new paths so that entreprenuers and scientist are able to
develop the good use of conductive water for industrial purposes. It aims to extend to the whole
Philippine community in informing citizens of the dangers and benefits of water and very
conductive water.

Method of Collecting Data, Materials and Procedures

Method of Collecting Data
 In developing uses for conductive water, and because there is a specific temperature
at which water’s cconductivity is studied upon, such a study would require a confined
airconditioned space (e.g. a friend’s room) to initiate the experiment. Collecting data
would be posible by recording the indicated resistance on the multimeter and recording it on a
graphing paper.
 
 Materials
The study requires the following materials to find out the effectiveness of salt on the
conductivity of water: A bowl (2000 ml), a digital Multi-meter, two (2) clips, syringe (10ml) or a
10ml cup. Salt (500g). One (1) Thermometer. For data encoding, it requires: A pen, 2 sheets of
graphing paper, notebook.
 Procedure
In finding out the effectiveness of salt on the conuctivity of water, the researchers need to follow
the steps which as follows: Prepare 600ml of tap water on a bowl. Prepare
500g of salt. Using two clips, attach the multimeter probes to each end of the bowl’s diameter.
On the multimeter, turn the switch to ohm (Ω) scale and put it on the highest reading possible for
example (2000k Ω). Read
 the starting resistance of the tap water and make it as your control setup; also make sure that the
tap water is at 26 degrees Celsius. With everything set, start adding salt in 10ml intervals,
measuring the resistance each and every interval. Do this until we have a 20% increase on the
conductivity of the water.
But, if you wish to proceed adding more salt, it’s your choice. Our goal here is just to see
that there is a 20% increase on the conductivity of water.
 
Chapter 5 GENERALIZATION
The study shows that there is in fact, and as predicted, increase on the tap water’s
conductivity by adding minerals; in this case, salt. We have already confirmed our
hypotheses to be true. Specifically, “If more salt is added into the tap water then, its conductivity
will rise”. Within this study we are able to seek and find the answer to the following questions:
“How much
salt is needed to achieve a 20% increase on the
conductivity of water?” and “How minerals help on the increase of the tap water’s conductivity”.
It is proven
(based on this study) that to have a 20
 – 
 percent increase, very little salt should be added to the water, with a ratio of approximately
130:2000. But as we add more salt the conductivity of the water increases slower and slower.
Thus, based on this study and other related literatures we can tell that minerals do actually affect
the tap water’s conductivity in such a way that the electricity travelling through a medium (in
this case, water) would actually scatter and not travel the shortest path because there is more
conductive elements (minerals) present in the medium that would allow this  phenomenon to take
effect.
 
Chapter 6
RECOMMENDATION As our team experienced, this study does not require a lot of budget in
order to be conducted properly. In fact, our team have gathered the most simple and cheap
materials to record and perform this study. Nevertheless, we encourage everyone about to
recreate and conduct this experiment to take precaution on the presence of electricity as it may
result in electric shocks. Furthermore, we encourage everyone to be more adventurous in
recreating this study. As it is rarely have been conducted and very few research is found. Feel
free to manipulate the amount of salt to be put on the tap water to further get a  precise measure
on its effect. Note that the temperature of the water must be constant, the  probes of the multi-
meter must be in the farthest position from one another. Note that the diameter of the bowl does
affect the resistance reading on the multi-meter but it will have no significant effect on the rate of
increase on t
he water’s conductivity. We used regular
rock salt in this experiment to simulate where it would be most significant, the ocean.
 
REFERENCES USGS (https://water.usgs.gov/edu/electrical-conductivity.html) -
 
(https://water.usgs.gov/edu/electrical-conductivity.html) -
 
(https://water.usgs.gov/edu/electrical-conductivity.html) -
 
(https://water.usgs.gov/edu/temperature.html) UVM Education (Conductivty and Water Quality)
Discovery Network (Source: Discovery Channel. 2016) A Citizen's Guide to Understanding and
Monitoring Lakes and Streams (A Citizen's Guide to Understanding and Monitoring Lakes and
Streams)
SmartFertilizer (“Factors Affecting the Electrical Conductivity of Water”)
 Laqua (2016) (Ions in Water and Conductivity)