Name________________________________Class_____Date_____________

Virtual Lab: When Is Water Safe To Drink?

Suppose you were hiking along a stream or lake and became very thirsty. Do you think it
would be safe to drink the water? In many cases, it wouldn't. Each source of fresh water
on or beneath Earth's surface is affected by contaminants. Though the sources of these
contaminants are varied, all can make water unfit to drink if they are allowed to increase
beyond safe limits.

Go to the website:
http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/virtual_labs/CT04/CT04.html
In this Virtual Lab, you will test a variety of water samples. Then you will determine how to
treat the water samples to make them safe to drink
Look at the screen to your left, READ and find out about the most common types of water
contaminants. Describe what they are and how they might affect water quality.
Acidity: The pH scale measures acidity in water. A stable acidity level is 7.
Bacteria: Bacteria and other microorganisms are found in the fecal matter of warm
blooded animals and humans.
Metals: Can cause bad taste and discoloration of water.
Nitrates: Seep through ground through run off and seepage. Poses little threat to
humans but can kill fish and animals.
Pesticides: Used to kill weeds and molds and insects. Can cause a number of health
problems including anemia, and liver and kidney disorders.

Objectives:
1. Define types of water contaminants.
2. Determine which types of contaminants are common to lake water, city water, well
water, rural water and mountain water.
3. Identify treatments that remove contaminants from drinking water.
Procedure:

1. Click the right and left arrows to select a body of water to analyze.
2. Click Test to test the water sample.
3. Look at the results of the water analysis. Identify the Safe Range for each category
and record this in the data table.
4. Identify which contaminants exceed the safe range.
5. Click the tabs to find information on how to treat each contaminant.
6. Enter the contaminant and treatment information in your data table.
7. Click Go To Treatment to go to the treatment screen.
8. Use the information in the table and click the wheels on the valves to add chemicals or
additives to the water sample.
9. Click the Treatment Switch to start treating the water. The Safe/Unsafe Sign will
indicate whether the water is safe to drink.
10. If the water is safe to drink, use Return to Lab to go to the lab screen and test
another water sample.
11. If the water is unsafe to drink, check your information and treat the water sample
again.
12. When you have tested and treated all the water samples, use your completed table to
complete the analysis questions.

Analysis
1.

What contaminants were found in the surface water samples? What contaminants
were found in the groundwater samples?
Contaminants found in surface water examples were bacteria while contaminants
found in the groundwater samples were nitrate and metals.

2.

Why might groundwater and surface water have different contaminants?

Different contaminants are found in different places. Some contaminants may only
be found in oceans, rivers and lakes while others may only be seen underground.
3. Generally, farmers do not farm on the sides of mountains or in remote areas.
Industries also do not build factories in these areas. These areas are usually not
highly populated by people. What might explain the high nitrate level in the
mountain water in this activity?
With the high nitrate levels found in mountains people avoid these kinds of areas.
An overabundance of nitrate can kill animals and fish.
4. What is pH level, what are its characteristics, and how does it contribute to
pollution? What chemicals are used in treating low pH levels?
pH level is how acidic something is. Chemicals used in treating low pH levels are
acids and bases.

Critical Thinking-Please read this carefully!

Water in an old building tested recently, showed high copper and iron content, and
low pH levels. A water reading taken 20 years before, showed low pH levels and
only minimal traces of copper and iron. If none of the new buildings on the same
street showed signs of metallic contaminants, but all reported lower than normal pH
readings, how might these readings be explained?

Sample

Acidity
(pH)

Metals
(mg/L)

Coliform
Bacteria
(ml)
O per
100 mL

Pesticides/Herbicides
(mg/L)

Nitrates

Safe
Range

6.5-8.5

Less
than 1.3
mg/L

City

Lake

Type of
Contamination

Treatment Performed

Less than 0.04 mg/L

0.0006
mg/L

13/100
mL

0.00001 mg/L
carbofuran

Less
than
10.0
mg/L
0.8 mg/L

Acidity and
Coliform
Bacteria

Acidity- add sodium

hydroxide
Coliform Bacteria- add
Chlorine

0.6 mg/L

33/100
mL

0.0008 mg/L
carbofuran

0.6 mg/L

Coliform
Bacteria

Coliform Bacteria- add

chlorine

Mountain

6.8

0.006
mg/L

0/100
mL

0.0001 mg/L
carbofuran

12.4
mg/L

Nitrate Level

Nitrate Level- add

activated carbon

Rural

0.0027
mg/L

0/100
mL

0.08 mg/L
carbofuran

6.7 mg/L

Pesticides

Pesticides- add activated

carbon

Well

8.2

1.44
mg/L

0/100
mL

0.0004 mg/L
carbofuran

0.6 mg/L

Metals

Metals- add Chlorine