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Lab 2 – Water Quality and Contamination

Experiment 1: Drinking Water Quality

Bottled water is a billion dollar industry in the United States. Still, few people know the health benefits, if any, that come from drinking bottled water as opposed to tap water. This experiment will look at the levels of a variety of different chemical compounds in both tap and bottled water to determine if there are health benefits in drinking bottled water.

POST-LAB QUESTIONS

1. Develop a hypothesis regarding which water sources you believe will contain the most and least contaminants, and state why you believe this. Be sure to clearly rank all three sources from most to least contaminants.

Hypothesis = If Fiji water is bottled from a natural source, then it will be less contaminated than tap water or Dasani water which has been purified. I believe the one to have the most contaminants will be tap water because it has no filter. The middle will be Dasani because it has been purified and the one with the least contaminants will be Fiji water because it comes from a natural source.

Table 1: Ammonia Test Results
Water Sample	Test Results (mg/L)
Tap Water	0
Dasani® Bottled Water	0
Fiji® Bottled Water	0

Table 2: Chloride Test Results
Water Sample	Test Results (mg/L)
Tap Water	500
Dasani® Bottled Water	0
Fiji® Bottled Water	0

Table 3: 4 in 1 Test Results
Water Sample	Total Alkalinity (mg/L)	Total Chlorine (mg/L)	Total Hardness (mg/L)
Tap Water	80	10.0	50
Dasani® Bottled Water	40	0	50
Fiji® Bottled Water	80	10.0	120

Table 4: Phosphate Test Results
Water Sample	Test Results (ppm)
Tap Water	50
Dasani® Bottled Water	0
Fiji® Bottled Water	25

Table 5: Iron Test Results
Water Sample	Test Results (ppm)
Tap Water	0
Dasani® Bottled Water	0
Fiji® Bottled Water	0

Table 6: pH Results
Water Sample	Test Results
Tap Water	5
Dasani® Bottled Water	3
Fiji® Bottled Water	5

2. Based on the results of your experiment, would accept or reject the hypothesis you produced in question 1? Explain how you determined this.

Accept/reject = I reject my hypothesis because, at times, both tap water and Fiji had the same amount of contaminants and other times Fiji water had better results than tap water.

3. Based on the results of your experiment, what specific differences do you notice among the Dasani®, Fiji®, and Tap Water?

Answer = Dasani water seemed consistent with the results, while tap and Fiji water were evenly matched and Fiji water excelling in some areas.

4. Based upon the fact sheets provided (links at the end of this document), do any of these samples pose a health concern? Use evidence from the lab to support your answer.

Answer = Tap water had a very high amount of chloride. Too much chloride in our bodies can be harmful, even deadly.

5. Based on your results, do you believe that bottled water is worth the price? Use evidence from the lab to support your opinion.

Answer = I do believe that bottled water is the worth the price, but I do not agree with bottled water claiming they are bottled at the source to be better for you than water that has been purified.

**NOTE: Be sure to complete steps 1 - 32 of Lab 3, Experiment 1 (the next lab) before completing your work for this week. Lab 3 involves growing plants, and if the work is not started this week, your seeds will not have time to grow and the lab will not be finished on time.**

FACT SHEETS

Ammonia https://www.wqa.org/Portals/0/Technical/Technical%20Fact%20Sheets/2014_Ammonia.pdf

Chloride

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chloride.pdf

Phosphate

http://osse.ssec.wisc.edu/curriculum/earth/Minifact2_Phosphorus.pdf

Iron

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/iron.pdf

pH https://www.watersystemscouncil.org/download/wellcare_information_sheets/potential_groundwater_contaminant_information_sheets/9709284pH_Update_September_2007.pdf

Alkalinity

https://www.safewater.org/PDFS/communitywatertestkit/Water_Quality_Tests.pdf

Chlorine