Water Quality Lab

Purpose: To test whether the water in the areas around Wayne and Lackawanna
Counties is polluted.

Experiment 1: Relative Stability

The relative stability provides a fairly good measure of the amount of combined and
free oxygen that is dissolved in water.

Equipment: Dropper bottle of methylene blue indicator, 4 oz. clear glass bottle,
paper toweling, and labels.

Procedure:
1. Label the glass bottle with the name of the experiment.
2. Place the glass bottle on the piece of paper toweling and fill the bottle to
approximately half with the water sample to be tested.
3. Add 3 drops of methylene blue solution bottle to the water to be tested in the
glass bottle.
4. Carefully fill your glass bottle with additional water to be treated until it is
filled to the brim.
5. Screw the battles cap on tightly, pressing down firmly so that the bottle is
sealed and no air bubbles are left trapped inside/
6. Allow the bottle to stand at room temperature and not the number of days
that are required for the bottle to turn clear. Always check your coloring using
a plain white sheet of paper for the background.
Results:
If the length of time that is required for the water to become clear is 6 days of more
the water may be considered normal. If the length of time is 4-6 days the water may
be mildly polluted. If the water should clear in 3 days or less, it may be considered
highly polluted. Record the pollution levels in the data table.

Questions:
1. How could low oxygen levels in freshwater ecosystems impact the organisms
that live there?

2. What type of activities can decrease oxygen levels in aquatic ecosystems?

Experiment 2: Chloride Test

Chlorides are particularly important because high concentrations of them make
water unsuitable for industrial, agricultural, and municipal use. In some areas of the
world, chlorides exceed 10,000-15,000 ppm at levels of plant roots, making
agriculture almost impossible. Chlorides become objectionable in drinking water
when their concentration exceeds 250 ppm. Chlorides becomes damaging to pipe
systems and industrial machinery at a concentration of around 200 ppm.

Equipment: C-2 power pillows, Silver Nitrate test solution, scissors, measuring
cup, small test tubes, and an eye dropper.

Procedure:
1. Measure 5 cc (ml) of water to be tested in the measuring cup and add it to a
test tube.
2. Take one of the powder pillows and while holding it upright, tap it on a table
until the powder within settles from the top of the pillow.
3. With the scissors, carefully cut off the top of the power pillow. Add the
contents to the test tube that contains the water sample.
4. Shake gently to mix and dissolve the powder.
5. Now, add drops of the Silver Nitrate test solution, with an eyedropper. Count
the number of drops that are added. Replace cork and shake the test tube
gently. Continue to add drops to the test solution and shake until the color of
the water sample changes from yellow to orange.
6. Multiply the number of drops that were added by 50 to get the chloride
content in parts per million (ppm)
Chlorine ppm = number of drops X 50

Results:
If the water sample you tested contains less the 250 ppm of chloride, the water
supply may be safe to drink. Water that contains 250 ppm of chloride or more is
classified as unsafe for health by the National Public Health Service. Record the
ppm of the water and whether it is safe to drink in your data table.

Questions:
The presence of excess in water can often correlate to contamination by sewage. If
water has less than 250 ppm of chloride should one automatically assume that it is
safe to drink? Why or why not?

Experiment 3: Phosphate Test

Phosphates are chemical compounds that are necessary to all living things.
However, an excess of phosphate in ponds and other waters can cause serious
pollution problems. Excess phosphates can come from industrial waste, sewage,
and agricultural waste waters. Household detergent is one of the most common
sources of phosphate pollution.

Equipment: P-1 powder pillows, measuring cup, scissors, phosphate chart, and
one small test tube.

Procedure:
1. Measure 5 cc (ml) of water to be tested in the measuring cup and add it to
the test tube.
2. Take one of the powder pillows and holding it upright tap it on a table (or
other flat surface) until the powder within settles from the top of the pillow.
3. With the scissors carefully cut off the top of the powder pillow. Add entire
contents to the test tube. Cap and shake. Allow one minute for color to
develop; if phosphate is present, a blue-violet color will appear.
4. Within the next five minutes, compare the color of your sample to that of the
phosphate chart. The numbers below the squares on the chart indicates the
concentration of phosphate in parts per million (ppm).

Results:
If the color in your test tube is greater than 0 ppm but less than 10 ppm, there is
evidence of phosphate pollution. A reading of 10 ppm to 30 ppm indicates a severe
pollution problem. Record your ppm and pollution results in the data table.

Questions:
When excess phosphates end up in water ways, this can lead to eutrophication.
What is eutrophication and what does it do to aquatic organisms?

Experiment 4: pH test
pH is the measure of the degree of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance.

Equipment: pH paper and plastic measuring cup containing the sample of water to
be tested.

Procedure:
1. Remove short strip of the pH paper from the vial, and note the variously
colored bars on the color chart.
2. Dip the paper into your test water sample so that pH paper is moistened or
wet.
3. Note any changes in the appearance of the pH paper.

Results:
If the color of the pH paper turns green, then the water samples pH falls between 6
and 9 and may be considered normal. If the pH paper turns lighter, the pH falls
below 6 and the water is acidic. Should the color change to purple then the pH is
above 8 and the water is basic.

Questions:
How could acidic or basic water impact aquatic organisms?

Water should have a pH value closest to what number?

Water
Quality Test

Relative
Stability

Chloride Test

Phosphate
Test

pH Test

Location 1:

Location 2:

Location 3:

Location 4: