Hardness of Water Lab

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TITLE: Hardness of Water Implementation
INTRODUCTION:
When calcium and magnesium salts are dissolved in water, it causes it to become hard.
Temporary hardness occurs when dissolved calcium hydrogen carbonate (Ca (HCO3)2) and
magnesium hydrogen carbonate (Mg (HCO3)2) is present in a water sample. Whereas
permanent hardness occurs when dissolved calcium sulfate (CaSO4) and magnesium sulfate
(MgSO4) is present in a water sample. The hardness of water can be treated by boiling the
water which causes the calcium and magnesium hydrogen carbonate to decompose, therefore
boiling only works with temporary hardness. Hardness of water can also be treated by adding
sodium carbonate which causes dissolved Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions to precipitate out as insoluble
calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate. Sodium carbonate removing temporary
hardness: Ca (HCO3)2(aq) + Na2CO3(aq) à CaSO3(S) + 2NaHCO3(aq). Sodium carbonate
removing permanent hardness: CaSO4(aq) + Na2CO3(aq) à CaSO3(S) + Na2SO4(aq).
When soap is combined with hard water is does not produce lather, but results in the
formation of insoluble calcium and magnesium octadecenoate, which is known as scum.
AIM: To investigate the hardness of water samples from different locations in Trinidad.
APPARATUS/MATERIALS:
water samples from different areas (El Dorado, Sylibia, Gulf of Paria, Bon Air, Arouca, La
Horquetta, Cunupia), 1 measuring cylinder, 1 250ml beaker, 9 test tubes, test tube rack,
calcium nitrate. distilled water, grated blue soap, stopwatch, ruler, electronic balance.
METHOD:
0.5g of grated blue soap was measured and placed into 9 test tubes. 9 test tubes were labelled
with the water sample it will contain and was then placed into the test tube holder. 10ml of
distilled water was measured using the measuring cylinder and poured into test tube A. This
was then repeated, measuring 10ml of each water sample and placing it into its respective test
tube. The test tube containing distilled water was shaken for 1 minute 30 seconds ensuring to
cover the mouth of the test tube. After shaking the test tube, it was left to rest for 10 seconds,
and the height of lather was then recorded. This was then repeated for the remaining 8 test
tubes.
RESULTS:
TABLE SHOWING HEIGHT OF LATHER FORMED WITH DIFFERENT WATER

SAMPLES
Test Tube Label Water Sample Height of Lather/cm

A Distilled Water 9.5
B La Horquetta 8.5
C El Dorado 7.1
D Bon Air 7.0
E Gulf of Paria 0.5
F Arouca 9.5
G Cunupia 6.8
H Sylibia 0.3
I Calcium Nitrate 0.0
DISCUSSION:
When soap (2C17H35COONa) is combined with hard water (water containing Ca2+ or Mg2+
ions), an ionic precipitation reaction takes place. An ionic precipitation reaction is one where
two compounds in solution exchange ions to form an insoluble precipitate and another
soluble compound, therefore the Na+ ions in the soap is then replaced with the Ca2+ or Mg2
ions present in the water which then results in the formation in scum.
Word equation: soap + dissolved calcium ions à soap scum + sodium ions
Chemical equation: 2C17H35COONa(aq)+ Ca2+(aq) à (C17H35COO)2Ca(s) + 2Na+ (aq)
When water is hard, it does not produce much lather which can be seen in the water samples
from Gulf of Paria and Sylibia, whereas, soft water or water with lower dissolved salts
produce more lather, which can be seen in the water from La Horquetta, El Dorado, Bon Air,
Arouca and Cunupia.
Calcium nitrate and distilled water can be considered to be constants as a result of their purity
(distilled water) or very high concentrations of calcium (calcium nitrate). Since distilled
water is considered to be pure, there will be no dissolved salts present resulting in the most
amount of lather possible whereas calcium nitrate can be considered very hard and will
produce no lather but will produce scum.
No changes were made to the procedure from the plan and design and no discrepancies were
observed while performing the lab.
LIMITATIONS/PRECAUTIONS/SOURCES OF ERRORS/ASSUMPTIONS:
Limitations experienced while performing the experiment were: some water samples may
have contained other contaminants besides the dissolved salts which may have affected the
amount of lather produced, inability to measure and control the rate of agitation when
shaking the tubes which may affect the amount of lather produced and the inability to
measure the concentration of Ca2+ or Mg2+ ions present in the water samples. Precautions
taken when performing the experiment were: washing the measuring cylinder before using it
to measure another water sample to prevent cross contamination and reading the
measurements at eyelevel to obtain more accurate and Errors made while performing the
experiment were forgetting to start the timer on the stopwatch, therefore some test tubes were
not shaken for the same amount of time and reaction time with respect to starting to shake the
test tube simultaneously as the stopwatch was started. An assumption made while performing
the lab is that 1 minute and 30 seconds is enough time to effectively obtain enough lather to
compare values.
REFLECTION:
If the hardness of water increases, the amount of soap used in a household will increase as a
result of trying to obtain sufficient lather. In houses with a water supply of high hardness,
soap scum production can be reduced by using liquid soap instead of bar soap and softening
the water before you use it. Soapless detergents are petroleum based products which lather
easily in hard water and contain phosphates which improve their cleaning ability but
phosphates lead to pollution in aquatic environments by causing eutrophication and
petroleum is a non-renewable resource which will eventually run out. Soapless detergents are
also non-biodegradable which will result in the production of foam in waterways and in
sewage systems resulting in the death of aquatic organisms due to less oxygen being able to
dissolve into the water. Based on the results obtained, it supports the expected results made in
the plan and design which states that water samples with high levels of dissolved calcium and
magnesium salts (hard water) will leave soap scum around the test tube and water samples
with little to no dissolved salts in it (soft water) will lather a lot with soap. At the end of the
experiment, it can be confirmed that the production of lather is dependent on the purity of
water supplied. The purer a water sample is (less dissolved salts), the more lather will form,
whereas when the purity decreases (amount of dissolved salts increase) the lather produced
will decrease and the formation of scum will occur. No adjustments were made while
performing this lab.
CONCLUSION:
At the end of the lab, it was observed that the hardness of water varied from areas around
Trinidad. In ascending order of water hardness, the water samples with the highest level of
hardness was Arouca, La Horquetta, El Dorado, Bon Air, Cunupia, Gulf of Paria and Sylibia.

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TITLE: Hardness of Water Implementation

TABLE SHOWING HEIGHT OF LATHER FORMED WITH DIFFERENT WATER

Test Tube Label Water Sample Height of Lather/cm

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