Why does it matter?Water Filtration Systems

Are you concerned about the quality of the water coming out of your faucet?

Do you ever really think about water quality?

According to the Environment Protection Agency, more than 90% of the water supply in the United States is safe to

drink.

This is not the case in many countries around the world.

South America, Central America, India, Africa, and parts of Asia all have a large percent of their population with no access to appropriate water.

The map below shows the percentage of population with access to safe water by country. (Data from 2000)

What might cause water to be unsafe to drink?

Are there some countries that are more susceptible to pollution than others?

Why?

How do you think a filter works?

On a very basic level, the process of filtration involves the flow of water through a granular bed of sand, or another suitable media, at a low speed.

The media retains most solid matter while permitting the water to pass.

This is usually repeated through several layers.

What does a water filter do?

What are some ways you can think of?

Which of these uses would require the water to have gone through some type of filtration?

Which use do you think requires the highest level of purity?

Human consumption Washing clothes or dishes Bathing In a garden Washing a car For industrial use For medical use

Why do we need to filter water?

Think about ways water is used on a daily

basis.

Reflect for a moment on what you have learned about physical properties.

Which of the physical properties are important to consider?

Physical properties include, but are not limited to:color, size, shape, texture, density, flexibility, conductivity, magnetism, opacity, mass, odor, melting point, boiling point, solubility, polarity and state

What are the physical properties of a material that would make it useful as a

filter?

Your team will be working cooperatively, collaborating to design and test a water filtration system.

You will use your knowledge of science and math with your creativity to design a water filtration system that can clean contaminated water by removing particulate matter and color. It also needs to filter the water in a reasonable

amount of time.

What now?