In this project, we were asked to figure how we can use chemistry in order to support the chemical treatment of water and various clean water initiatives by researching, testing, and prototyping in order to educate others. We were supposed to design a water table that would have been presented at North Bay Science Discovery Day, however, we started the project after the day already passed and weren't actually able to present there. Instead, we gave our presentations to three different scientists in the water field belonging to the Novato Sunrise Rotary at school and they graded us along with Mrs. Vogl. Therefore, no group was selected to build a display, or "win", the competition between the groups, as the event had already passed. This event was actually canceled the day of due to the fires that had been going on at the time. Discovery Day was to be held at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, which are the first areas used for evacuees. Once two districts in the area were forced to evacuate, the event had to be shut down as the fairgrounds were used by emergency services.
Before we could begin the project, we had to plan out our entire process first. This was done on the Wat-er We Drinking Project Planning Guide shown below.
Our presentation is shown below, we had a slide that was shown on the screen as well as a blueprint of each of the steps in our process.
Content
- Solution
- A mixture composed of two or more substances where the solute is dissolved in the solvent
- Solute
- The component in a solution that is dissolved
- Solvent
- The component of the solution that the solute is dissolved into, usually has a greater volume
- Ionic Compounds
- Formed due to the transfer of electrons and due to ionic bonding
- Molecular Compounds
- Pure substances formed when atoms are linking together by sharing of electrons and are due to covalent bonding
- Polarity
- A separation of electrical charge leading to a molecule having an electrical dipole with negatively and positively charged ends
- Solubility
- The ability for the solute to dissolve in the solvent, the maximum amount of solute into solvent at equilibrium
- Dissolving Ions
- Ionic compounds dissolve in water when the energy given off by the ions interacting with the water molecules compensates for the energy needed to break the ionic bonds in the solid so the ions can be inserted into the solution
- Bacteria and Viruses in Water
- There are many different diseases that are caused from bacteria and viruses in water. In our project, we had to use many different methods in order to be certain that all of it is removed so that the water is safe to drink
- pH
- A scale used to specify how acidic or basic a water-based solution is. Acidic has lower pH, while basic has a higher pH. pH stands for potential hydrogen, or the amount of hydrogen ion activity in a substance
- pH Scale
- The scale is on a rainbow spectrum, with red being the most acidic and dark purple being the most basic. Neutral is in the center at green and is most commonly associated with pure water
- Drink-ability Range
- The levels of different components inside the substance that shows if the substance is safe to drink for humans or not. These can include pH levels, iron levels, sodium levels, etc.
- Activated Carbon
- Carbon processed to have small, low-volume pores in order to increase the surface area available for adsorption and chemical reactions. In our project, we had to use an activated carbon filter near the end of our process to filter groundwater to drinking water
- Microfiltration
- A process where a fluid is moved through a special pore-sized membrane to separate microorganisms and particles from the rest of the liquid
- Reverse Osmosis
- Where a solvent passes through a porous membrane in the direction opposite that of natural osmosis due to being subjected to pressure higher than osmotic pressure. This is on a smaller level than microfiltration and removes more, generally happens after microfiltration
- Sedimentation
- The tendency for particles in a liquid to settle and come to rest against a barrier. This is used multiple times throughout our process to separate all of the largest particles that would have otherwise clogged up the filtration systems
- Chlorine/Sodium Hydroxide
- Chemicals that we visualized adding in small amounts to the water near the end of the process in order to prevent any bacterial growth in the future
- Project Tests
- In our project specifically, it was difficult to actually have any tests done, as we can only think up of concepts. The bacteria themselves cost almost $400 for one strain and it just wasn't within our budget to obtain it. Therefore we spent a lot more time researching and finding information to present
Reflection
During this project, my group all did their part and worked together to create an effective final presentation that accurately conveyed what we believed. Some things that went well was our decisiveness. From the get-go, we knew almost exactly what we wanted to do and what we needed to do to get there. We had all decided that we wouldn't have any sort of test and it would all be conceptual instead, so our group wasn't split and the full support of our team was on the project. Another is that we had multiple iterations of our blueprints, meaning that they all looked neater than they did at the beginning. Some things we could have worked on was our communication with each other and our time management. Even though we split the group into two pairs right at the beginning, had one work on the research and blueprints and the other the building, we ended up not using the physical models. If we had decided that in the beginning, the building group could have helped out with our research and made our final presentation a bit more in depth than it was. Our time wasn't really the best managed, our group was still finishing up the slideshow the night before our presentation and we had a lot more work to do. The formatting was done right before we presented as well. If we had managed our time better, the product might have looked more clean and professional. Some skills that I learned during the project were definitely collaboration and that I personally I need to be better with time-management. I interacted with my team well and was able to convey my reasoning for choosing certain ideas across effectively. I also spoke in front of judges fairly well, which is a plus for me because I'm not usually comfortable with public speaking. I noticed that I need to work more at managing my time. I didn't start the final blueprint until very late in the project and I should have completed it a lot sooner. In conclusion, this project was a great way for me to learn, both about my own skills and about the different ways to purify water. By taking an active role in our group, I showed myself as a leader and bettered my own self in the process.