Evidence
This is our Wat-er We Drinking project. The goal of this project is to use chemistry to support the chemical treatment of water and other clean water initiative. We accomplished our goal by creating a cheap, portable water filter. The slide show above shows our final product and presentation.
Content
For our clean water initiative, we decide to create a cheap filter. Our filter has many features. For one, our filter doubles as a water storage container thanks to the two liter bottom that store filtered water. Second, since our filter cannot be back washed, we created a replaceable filter that we can mass produce with little cost. Lastly, our filter is an effective three layer filter. The first layer is filled with gravel, which filters out large pollutants such as leaves and insects. The second layer is filled with sand, which filters out smaller pollutants such as large dirt particles. The final layer is filled with activated carbon. Activated carbon filters out fine particles and harmful organic substances through process called adsorption. Activated carbon also helps to improve the taste of our water.
In order to ensure that our filtered water was safe to drink, we had to conduct tests. The three tests we ran were a pH test, a total dissolved solids test, and a chlorine test. The first test was pH, which measure the amount of dissolved hydrogen ions in our water. Lower pH levels indicate acids and high pH levels indicate bases. If the water is too acidic or too basic, it can negatively affect the human body's chemistry. Pure water has a pH of 7; our water after filtration measured in at a pH of 6, which is slightly acidic, but still safe to drink. The second test we conducted was total dissolved solids, or TDS. TDS measures the concentration of dissolved substances in water. If TDS levels are too low, the water become corrosive and more likely to absorb harmful metals such as lead. If TDS levels are too high, the water can contain harmful substance and taste metallic. Our water after filtration measure 195 parts per million (ppm), which is similar to tap water, but perfectly safe to drink. Our final test that we ran was a chlorine test. Chlorine is added to water in order to kill pathogens and bacteria. However, if too much chlorine is present, it can react with organic materials and create trihalomethanes, which has various negative health effects. Our chlorine levels measured in at 0 ppm, which is perfect, but raises the question about whether or not we have an bacteria in our water. Despite this, according to our tests, our filter works and the water is relatively safe to drink.
In order to ensure that our filtered water was safe to drink, we had to conduct tests. The three tests we ran were a pH test, a total dissolved solids test, and a chlorine test. The first test was pH, which measure the amount of dissolved hydrogen ions in our water. Lower pH levels indicate acids and high pH levels indicate bases. If the water is too acidic or too basic, it can negatively affect the human body's chemistry. Pure water has a pH of 7; our water after filtration measured in at a pH of 6, which is slightly acidic, but still safe to drink. The second test we conducted was total dissolved solids, or TDS. TDS measures the concentration of dissolved substances in water. If TDS levels are too low, the water become corrosive and more likely to absorb harmful metals such as lead. If TDS levels are too high, the water can contain harmful substance and taste metallic. Our water after filtration measure 195 parts per million (ppm), which is similar to tap water, but perfectly safe to drink. Our final test that we ran was a chlorine test. Chlorine is added to water in order to kill pathogens and bacteria. However, if too much chlorine is present, it can react with organic materials and create trihalomethanes, which has various negative health effects. Our chlorine levels measured in at 0 ppm, which is perfect, but raises the question about whether or not we have an bacteria in our water. Despite this, according to our tests, our filter works and the water is relatively safe to drink.
Conclusion
Overall, this project was very cool. Researching and engineering initiatives for clean water was really interesting and made me think critically, which helps me learn and work hard as a student. However, there are still things that we could work on. For one, we did not communicate and collaborate well as teammates. This led to unfair work distribution and poor team chemistry. Communicating and collaborating ensures that each student's ideas are expressed, and we lacked this. Going forward, we must ensure that everyone is talking but also listening to each other so that all of us are on the same page. Another area that needs improvement is planning. There were many instances where we would create a plan but then scrap it immediately, which led to disorganization of our group's direction. Next time, we should create a realistic plan that we are able to execute completely instead of starting on a plan and switching to a different one. Despite our pits, we did have some peaks. For one, we were all thinking critically and coming up with amazing ideas. Though some ideas were too much to handle, they were brilliant, and if we had the resources and time to see out some of our other ideas, then I believe that our project would've been an even greater success than it already was. Another strong point of our project was our drive and work ethic to overcome obstacles. Due to many schedule changes, we had many hurdles to overcome. However, I believe that we worked very hard until the very end and our final product was complete. We worked hard and spent quality time on this project, and I am pleased with our final result.