Water Testing Lab

Water Testing Lab

6-25-13

Georgie Dorfman, Ben Cohen, and Charlie Dorfman

Dr. Forman

Abstract:

My team tested for the presence of dissolved calcium, iron, chloride, and sulfate ions by performing 4 tests. We saw which types of solutions had a change of participate or no change at all. I think my group and I worked better than we did before. We were more organized because we assigned specific jobs to one another and shared the work load more evenly. We also had more patience and we each used our strengths to execute the experiment well. We were a little confused in the beginning, but we worked hard to develop a better understanding of this lab. I learned that team work does affect the outcome of the experiment because I know I could not have done it alone and it is always important to get a second opinion. We learned how to work well together. This lab was important because it taught us how to look for ions and this is important in the world because not only can water pollution cause problems, but sometimes there are certain ions present in water that prevent the water from being safe.

Procedure:

Calcium Ion Test:
1. Place 20 drops of distilled water into a 24-wellplate
2. Place 20 drops of reference solution (Ca Chloride) into a wellplate
3. Place 20 drops of control solution into a wellplate
4. Place 20 drops of Tap water into a wellplate
5. Place 20 drops of Natural water into a wellplate
6. Add 3 drops of sodium carbonate test solution to each of the wells
7. Record your observations 
8. Decide if CA2+ cations are present and record your results
9. Discard the contents of the wellplates 
Iron Ion Test
1. Place 20 drops of distilled water into a 24-wellplate
2. Place 20 drops of reference solution (Ferric Nitrate) into a wellplate
3. Place 20 drops of control solution into a wellplate
4. Place 20 drops of Tap water into a wellplate
5. Place 20 drops of Natural water into a wellplate
6. Add one to two drops of potassium thiocyanate test reagent to each of the wells

7. Record your observations 
8. Decide if Fe3+ cations are present and record your results
9. Discard the contents of the wellplates 
Chloride Ion Test
1. Place 20 drops of distilled water into a 24-well plate
2. Place 20 drops of reference solution (Ca Chloride) into a wellplate
3. Place 20 drops of control solution into a wellplate
4.  Place 20 drops of Tap water into a wellplate
5. Place 20 drops of Natural water into a wellplate
6. Add 3 drops of silver nitrate test reagent to each of the wells

7. Record your observations
8. Decide if Cl- anions are present and record your results
9. Discard the contents of the well plates as directed by your teacher
Sulfate Ion Test
1. Place 20 drops of distilled water into a 24-well plate
2. Place 20 drops of reference solution (Ferric Nitrate) into a wellplate
3. Place 20 drops of control solution into a wellplate
4. Place 20 drops of Tap water into a wellplate
5. Place 20 drops of Natural water into a wellplate
6. Add 3 drops of barium carbonate test solution to each of the wells
7. Record your observations 
8. Decide if SO42- anions are present and record your results
9. Discard the contents of the well plates as directed by your teacher

Results:

Overall, I think my group and I worked better than we ever had. We were more organized than before, by assigning specific jobs to each other, and by listening to what we each had to say. Although we were confused on what to do in the beginning, we worked hard with each other, and created a better understanding of what we had to do to make this lab successful.

This is my groups results:

In the calcium ion test, there was no presence of calcium ions in the distilled water, tap water, or control solution. In the reference solution and the natural water there was a presence of ions.

In the iron ion test, there was no presence of iron ions in the distilled water, the natural water, and the reference solution. In the control solution and the tap water there was a presence of these iron ions.

In the chloride ion test, there was no presence of chloride ions in distilled water and natural water. There was a presence of these chloride ions in the reference solution, the control solution, and tap water.

In the sulfate ion test there was no presence of sulfate ions in the distilled water and the tap water, but there was a presence of these sulfate ions in the reference solution, the control solution, and the natural water.

Class results:

These results are important because it allows comparison to check for mistakes in the steps and to make data more accurate. Rather than basing facts on one groups experiments, we are able to study data collected by an entire classroom. All together, we got most of the same results with exceptions due to group errors.