Name: _______________________________________________ Date: ____________
Partner’s Name: _______________________________________
Water Quality Lab | 6.6
A. Background Information:
a. What is a watershed?_______________________________________________________________________
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b. What is the difference between point and non-point pollution? ____________________________________
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c. What are the sources of nitrate contaminants in our groundwater?_________________________________
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What are the negative health effects of consuming too much nitrate in our drinking water? ______________
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d. What are the sources of copper contaminants in our groundwater?_________________________________
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What are the negative health effects of consuming too much copper in our drinking water? ______________
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e. What are the sources of iron contaminants in our groundwater?____________________________________
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What are the negative health effects of consuming too much iron in our drinking water? ________________
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f. What is the cause of a decrease in the pH of drinking water? ______________________________________
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What effect does a lower pH have on our health? ________________________________________________
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B. Problem/Purpose: Why is this experiment being conducted? _____________________________________________
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C. Hypothesis (If…then…) Which water source will reveal the most pollutants?__________________________________
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D. Materials
a. 1 purified water sample
d. Water Quality Testing Kit
b. 1 NC stream water sample
e. pH probe
c. 1 choice water sample
f. Beakers
E. Procedures
a. Test the pH of your water samples by dipping the pH probe into the water until the numbers on the pH probe screen
stabilize. Record the pH in the table below.
b. Collect three water samples: one from a stream in Charlotte, NC, one from a purified water source, and one from an
unknown water source (personal choice).
c. Pour each of your water samples into a small, labeled beaker for testing.
d. To test the nitrate content of your water samples, immerse the test strip in a beaker of sample water for 2 seconds and
then remove with the pads face up. DO NOT SHAKE OFF EXCESS WATER. Wait 1 minute and immediately compare to
the color chart provided. Record your findings and repeat for each of the other 2 samples of water.
e. To test for copper content, immerse the copper test strip into the beaker of water. Swirl 3 times. Remove the strip
with the pad face up. DO NOT SHAKE OFF EXCESS WATER. Wait 15 seconds and then compare to the color chart
provided. Record your findings and repeat for each of the other 2 samples of water.
f.
Test the Iron content of your water samples by pouring 15 mL of water into the test tube. Drop 1 Iron Reduction Tablet
into the tube and shake vigorously until it is all dissolved. Dip the test strip and remove with pad face up. DO NOT
SHAKE OFF EXCESS WATER. Wait 15 seconds and immediately compare the strip to the color chart provided. Record
your findings and repeat for each of the other 2 samples of water.
F. Data/Results:
Purified Water
NC Stream Water
Personal Water
Sample
pH
Iron (ppm)
Nitrate
(ppm)
Copper
(ppm)
Draw and label/identify
any microorganisms that
you detected in the stream
water from the microscope.
G. Analysis Questions:
a. Was your hypothesis supported or negated? ____________________________________________________
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b. Which source of water contained the most iron? ______________________ Least? __________________
c. Which source of water contained the most copper? ____________________ Least? __________________
d. Which source of water contained the most nitrate? ____________________ Least? __________________
e. Which sources of water, if any, exceeded the regulation limit of that specific chemical in order for the water
to be considered safe to drink? ______________________________________________________________
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f. What microorganisms, if any, were found in the stream water sample? ______________________________
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g. Discuss any possible experimental errors that may have resulted in skewed data? _____________________
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h. If you were to repeat this project again, what would you do differently? _____________________________
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i. Suggest any additional tests or future experiments relating to water quality testing that you might perform:
________________________________________________________________________________________
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H. Conclusion
a. What was the purpose of this experiment? ____________________________________________________
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b. What were the major findings? Which water sample contained the most pollutants? Were any of the
pollutants found at a harmful (unsafe) level? ___________________________________________________
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I. Application to Society
a. Why is it beneficial to know the quality of water? ________________________________________________
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b. How will the findings affect the world we live in? How will this research and knowledge make you more
globally aware? ___________________________________________________________________________
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