SCI 207 Impact of Contaminants and Filtration Methods on Water Quality: A Comprehensive Study

Name: SCI 207 Impact of Contaminants and Filtration Methods on Water Quality: A Comprehensive Study
Brand: Colorado Technical University
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Author: David Rodriguez

A study on the impact of contaminants and filtration methods on water quality in SCI 207.

David Rodriguez

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Running head: FINAL LAB 1
SCI 207 Impact of Contaminants and Filtration Methods on Water Quality: A
Comprehensive Study
How do common household contaminants, such as oil, vinegar, and liquid laundry detergent,
affect water quality, and what filtration methods can be employed to remove these contaminants?
In your response, evaluate the effectiveness of filtration materials such as sand, charcoal, and
gravel, and discuss the results of testing various water samples (tap water, Dasani, and Fiji
bottled water) for contaminants. Please include the concepts of water pollution, filtration, and the
impact of these factors on water safety, supporting your argument with findings from the
experiments conducted.
Word Count Requirement: 1000–1200 words

FINAL LAB 2
Abstract
Water quality is an increasing concern with humanity's exploding population. From oil
spills, to illegal chemical dumping, and beyond, the quality of water available for drinking is
going down, leading to growing concerns over water shortages and water-born illnesses. These
experiments were performed to understand a) the ease, or lack thereof, of removing contaminants
from groundwater, the ability of a filter to remove contaminants from the water, and the levels of
contamination contained within tap water and various bottled waters.
Vinegar, oil, and liquid laundry detergent were added to water samples, then strained
through soil-lined cheesecloth to examine the effects of residues on soil and groundwater in the
first experiment, and results were found that support a conclusion that any contaminant being
introduced into groundwater leaves traces. In the second experiment, a filter was built out of
sand, activated charcoal, and gravel, contained within a cheesecloth-lined funnel, and water than
had been mixed with soil was passed through it, with several drops of bleach being added to the
resulting liquid to sterilize it. The results of this experiment appeared to conclude that filtration
and sterilization allowed 'contaminated' water to be cleansed and rendered safe for drinking. The
third experiment consisted of testing tap water and two types of bottled water for various
contaminants, and appeared to show that filtered water is the best, as well as concluding that not
all bottled water is of the same quality.

FINAL LAB 3
Final Lab Report
Water quality and contamination are important issues in need of study for the benefit of
humanity. According to the USGS Water Science School (2014), “Water is of major importance
to all living things; in some organisms, up to 90% of their body weight comes from water. Up to
60% of the human adult body is water” (pp. 1). Humans contribute greatly to water
contamination, through chemical spills, illegal dumping of caustic or poisonous substances, or
simple runoff from homes and farms. This uncontrolled release of unfiltered and untreated water
is detrimental to groundwater, because “99% of the [Earth's] water is composed primarily of salt
water... due to the high costs involved in transforming salt water into freshwater, the Earth's
population survives off the less than 1% of freshwater available. Humans obtain freshwater from
either surface water or groundwater” (Lab 2 Manual, 2012, p. 23-24).
The objective of the experiment was to see the impact on soil and water quality through
demonstrating the impact that common household contaminants have on water and soil, the
ability to filter out contaminants from said water, and what contaminants exist within tap water
from faucets, as well as what may exist in bottled water.
Hypothesis
For the first experiment, the hypothesis was that a) oil would not actually contaminate the
water, as oil and water do not mix, b) vinegar would contaminate the water, because vinegar
diffuses throughout water, leading to major filtration being needed to remove it, and c) liquid
laundry detergent is also a compound that dissolves throughout water, leading to major
intervention to remove it.
In the second experiment, the hypothesis was that bleach would not be an effective
filtration method, as it leaves itself behind in the water in the form of a taste or smell, as well as

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University

Colorado Technical University

Subject

Environmental Science

SCI 207 Impact of Contaminants and Filtration Methods on Water Quality: A Comprehensive Study

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