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  • March 24, 2020

Water quality experiment

WATER QUALITY EXPERIMENT

Wateris the resource that is used by every human being. It is essentialfor life. The most important of all is the water we drink or take inwith food. Drinking water is beneficial only if it clean and safe.Quality drinking water is important for our health and well-being(Turk &amp Bensel, 2014). Today, there are several brands of bottledwater. People consider bottled water to be safe and good for theirhealth. Bottled water is preferred for drinking purposes due to thepurification it has undergone as well as the minerals it contains.However, few people are aware of health benefits of consuming bottledwater. Therefore, there is a need to research and provide relevantinformation about what bottled water contains that is not present intap water. There have been several research studies about theimportance of water quality in the society. Through a study on watersecurity, Bakker, K. (2012) emphasizes the importance of both qualityand quantity of water in a community. Quality water is essential toachieve a healthy and productive society.

Objectives

Thedifference between tap and bottled water may be in minerals andnutrients they contain. The minerals have much to say about healthbenefits of water. This paper reports an experiment that investigatedthe levels of various chemical compounds in tap and bottled water.

Hypothesis

I feel that my tap water has high amounts chemicals. My secondchoice would be Dasani because that bottled water I feel has a harshtaste. To me, Fuji is the best, and it has a smooth taste

Materials and Methods

Materials

Dasani bottled water

Fiji bottled water

Jiffy Juice

Ammonia test strips

Chloride test strips

4 in 1 test strips

Phosphate test strips

Iron test strips

Three 250 ml beakers

Three 100 ml beakers

100 ml graduated cylinder

Permanent marker

Stopwatch

Parafilm

Pipettes

Foil packets

Tap water

Procedure

Tap water,Dasani, and Fiji water poured separately into three different 250 mlbeakers and labeled. Ammonia test strip was dipped in the tap waterfor 30 seconds with the pads submerged. The test strip was removedand held with the pad on the upside for 1 minute. The color of thepad was matched with the chart. The observations were recorded. Thissame was done for Dasani and Fiji separately.

The pad of thechloride test strip was placed in the tap water of a second. Afterremoving excess water, the strip was held for one minute. Theresultant color was matched with the chart. The same was done for theother two water samples.

The 4 in 1 teststrip was submerged in tap water for 5 seconds. After removing thestrip from the water, it was held for 20 seconds. The color wasmatched with the chart to determine the alkalinity, chlorine, andhardness. This same was done for Dasani and Fiji.

The phosphatetest strip was dipped in tap water and left for 5 seconds. Afterremoving it, the strip was held horizontally for 45 seconds. Thestrip was matched with the chart to determine its color. The same wasdone for Dasani and Fiji bottled water.

3 ml of tap,Dasani, and Fiji waters were poured into three 100 ml beakersseparately. The packet of reducing powder added to the tap water. Thebeaker was then sealed using Parafilm. The solution was mixedthoroughly. The strip was removed held against the chart to determinethe concentration of iron. The same was done for Dasani and Fiji.

The PH of tapwater, Dasani and Fiji was measured using Jiffy Juice. 5 ml JiffyJuices was mixed with 25 ml of water using a pipette. The resultingmixture was held against the provided chart to measure the PH. Theobservations were recorded. This procedure was repeated for Dasaniand Fiji.

Results

Table 1: Ammonia Test Results

Water Sample

Test Results (mg/L)

Tap Water

0 mg

Dasani® Bottled Water

0 mg

Fiji® Bottled Water

0 mg

Table 2: Chloride Test Results

Water Sample

Test Results (mg/L)

Tap Water

0 mg

Dasani® Bottled Water

500 mg

Fiji® Bottled Water

500 mg

Table 3: 4 in 1 Test Results

Water Sample

Total Alkalinity

(mg/L)

Total Chlorine

(mg/L)

Total Hardness

(mg/L)

Tap Water

80 mg

0 mg

0 mg

Dasani® Bottled Water

120 mg

0 mg

50 mg

Fiji® Bottled Water

80 mg

1 mg

0 mg

Table 4: Phosphate Test Results

Water Sample

Test Results (ppm)

Tap Water

0 ppm

Dasani® Bottled Water

10 ppm

Fiji® Bottled Water

50 ppm

Table 5: Iron Test Results

Water Sample

Test Results (ppm)

Tap Water

0 ppm

Dasani® Bottled Water

0 ppm

Fiji® Bottled Water

0.15 ppm

Table 6: pH Results

Water Sample

Test Results

Tap Water

4 ppm

Dasani® Bottled Water

2 ppm

Fiji® Bottled Water

7 ppm

Discussion

I reject thehypothesis because it turns out that my tap water turned out to lesscontaminated and the Fuji bottled water contained the most chemicals.However, the pH of the tap water is not recommended for consumption.6.5 to 8.5 is the recommended range of PH for drinking water by theEnvironmental Protection Agency of the US. Only Fiji bottled watermet this requirement. Dasani water was too acidic and therefore,should not be consumed. The low pH of Dasani can cause aestheticproblems (Benjamin &amp Lawler, 2013).

Based on myresults, my tap water was healthier than the bottled water andcontained small amounts of chemicals. I would speculate that thechemicals would be needed for storage and to prevent othercontaminants from the plastic for storage. The tap water little ortraces of the chemicals since it is coming directly from the waterplant and consumed while it is still fresh. The high chlorideconcentrations in bottled water are responsible for its taste. Thelevel of phosphorus in the drinking water is safe for human beings(Sharpley et al., 2013).

Based on theresults, bottled water does not match its price. Tap water seemed tobe the cleanest and safest based on the different elements thatappeared from the test. Bottled water is convenient and it is worththe price. However, reusable bottles and ice cubes work just as wellto ensure the coldness.

The comparisonbetween the color of the test strip and the chart may be a source oferror. This may be a result of inaccurate matching of the colors. Theobservation may be below or above the actual one. The spectrometercan be used to reduce this error since relates the resulting color ofa given chemical substance with its concentration. The test agentshould be in liquid form to facilitate the use of the spectrometer.

Conclusion

The tap water issafer that Dasani and Fiji bottled water. Bottle water contains arelatively higher amount of chemicals such as chlorine. They are notgood for a person’s well-being. These chemicals are added to thebottled water to prolong their life. However, the pH of water is whatposes health threats to users.

References

Bakker, K. (2012). Water security: research challenges andopportunities.&nbspScience,&nbsp337(6097), 914-915.

Benjamin, M. M., &amp Lawler, D. F. (2013).&nbspWater qualityengineering: Physical/chemical treatment processes.

Lab manual, water quality and contamination,

Sharpley, A., Jarvie, H. P., Buda, A., May, L., Spears, B., &ampKleinman, P. (2013). Phosphorus legacy: Overcoming the effects ofpast management practices to mitigate future water qualityimpairment.&nbspJournal of Environmental Quality,&nbsp42(5),1308-1326.

Turk, J., &amp Bensel, T. (2014).Contemporary environmental issues(2nd ed.) [Electronic version]. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education,Inc.

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