Water Quality and Contamination Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Water Quality and Contamination - Research Paper Example The most common ground water contaminants come from human activities that involve dumping of waste materials in the environment which eventually seeps into ground water reserves. Ground water is contaminated by constituents have the ability to either come into direct or indirect contact with this water. From this background, the experiment designed to test the effects the most common ground water contaminants. These were detergents, oil and soil particles that are the most used compounds by man in their daily lives. The experiment was conducted on the premise of proving or disapproving a predetermined hypothesis. The hypotheses stated that water would take on the appearance, color and odor of each element added and the cheese would serve as a filter for the particles. Materials and Methods. The experiment required the use of beakers which were used to hold the water that was used to test effect of various contaminants. A total of 8 beakers were used where the water to be used in the experiment was contained. Each beaker of water was exposed to a different contaminant and the changes in appearance, color, and smell were tabulated for comparison purposes. Results. Beaker Observations 1 Semi Cloudy no particles & odorless 2 Oil settled on top of water 3 No change except smell of vinegar 4 Color changed to blue, smell of laundry detergent, some bubbles developed 5 The water turned brownish in color with particles floating & no smell 6 The oil settled to the top of the water & produced large bubbles with small bubbles inside, water is cloudy & no odor 7 All the liquid filtered through the cheesecloth & vinegary odor, cloudy 8 All the liquid filtered through the cheesecloth, bluish in color & smell of detergent The vinegar added a smell that was characteristic of vinegar, detergent changed the color of the water while soil changed the color and water constituent by adding particles both suspended and precipitated. On addition of oil, it changed the appearance of the water by making it become cloudy and the water slightly took to the density of oil. Each contaminant had its own characteristic effect on the quality of the water sample used. Soil and detergent had the most potent effect on the quality of water because they changed the color and constitution of water and the overall appearance of water. Experiment 3: Drinking Water Quality Table 2: Ammonia Test Results Water Sample Test Results Tap Water 0 mg/L of Ammonia Dasani ® Bottled Water 0 mg/L of Ammonia Fiji ® Bottled Water 0 mg/L of Ammonia Table 3: Chloride Test Results Water Sample Test Results Tap Water 0 Chloride mg/L Dasani ® Bottled Water 0 Chloride mg/L Fiji ® Bottled Water 0 Chloride mg/L Table 4: 4 in 1 Test Results Water Sample pH Total Alkalinity Total Chlorine Total Hardness Tap Water 6 7 6 5 Dasani ® Bottled Water 2 6 6 5 Fiji ® Bottled Water 8 6 9 4 Table 5: Phosphate Test Results Water Sample Test Results Tap Water 0 ppm Dasani ® Bottled Water 0 ppm Fiji ® B ottled Water 100 ppm Table 6: Iron Test Results Water Sample Test Results Tap Water 0 ppm Dasani ® Bottled Water 0 ppm Fiji ® Bottled Water 0 ppm The results garnered from the bottled water experiment illustrated no significant differences between tap water and bottled water. There were observable differences in the pH levels between the two brands of bottled water. The results showed that Dasani ® Bottled water was more acidic despite the fact that it had the same levels of chlorine with tap water. Fiji ® Bottled water had more chlorine explaining its high pH. Discussion. The results from experiment 2 were able to support the hypothesis formulated for this test because the contaminants were able to completely contaminate the water as stated.