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: pH scale measures the acidity of water. 7 is the stable acidity level
.

Bacteria: bacteria and microorganisms are found in the fecal matter of warm blooded
animals and humans

Metals: they can cause bad taste and discoloration of water

.

Nitrates: will seep through the ground and through run off and seepage. This poses
little threat to humans, but a big threat to animals and fish

Pesticides: used to kill weeds and molds and insects. Cause a number of health
problems including anemia, and kidney and liver 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 ex were bacteria while contaminants that were found
in groundwater samples were nitrates and metals.

2.

Why might groundwater and surface water have different contaminants?

different contaminants are found in different ecosystems. Some may only be found
in rivers, lakes, or oceans. Some are 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?
High nitrate levels found in mountains people avoid these 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 can be 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?

How long the water has been there.

Sample

Acidity
(pH)

Metals
(mg/L)

Coliform
Bacteria
(ml)
0 per
100 mL

Pesticides/Herbicides
(mg/L)

Nitrates

Safe
Range

6.5-8

Less
than 1.3
mg/L

City

Lake

Type of
Treatment
Contamination Performed

Less than .04 mg/L

.0006
mg/L

13/100
mL

.00001 mg/L
carbofuran

Less
than
10.0
mg/L
.8 mg/L

.6 mg/L

33/100
mL

.0008 mg/L
carbofuran

.6 mg/L

Coliform
bacteria

Mountain

6.8

.006
mg/L

0/100
mL

.0001 mg/L
carbofuran

12.4
mg/L

Nitrate level

Nitrate
levelactivated
carbon

Rural

8.2

1.44
mg/L

0/100
mL

.0004 mg/L
carbofuran

.6 mg/L

Metals

Metals
add
chlorine

Acidity and
coliform
bacteria

Coliform
bacteria add
chlorine
and
acidicty add
sodium
hydroxide
Coliform
bacteriaadd
chlorine

Well