I.

OBJECTIVES

We are sought to filter water from a natural source by using common household
materials to build a water filtration unit and measuring pH level to see the difference
of the dirty water to the filtrated or purified water.

II. SIGNIFICANCE OF EXPERIMENT

The significance of this experiment is for us to be knowledgeable on filtrating
liquids especially on drinking use since we aren’t that intricate when it comes into
considering components and the overall composition of the water and liquid we
actually encounter every day. Also, the Solar Still where we can also use it in
supplying pure water where there are no other sources of energy so it is also
important to know what and how the Solar Still works as alternative in purifying water.
So it is in need for us student to be more aware and have a lot of ideas on purifying
water because there's a lot of alternative ways on how we purify water that can be
done by ourselves that can help us in many situation and in helping to preserve our
Mother Nature by our own ways.

III. MATERIALS AND REAGENTS

A. Materials

1 500 mL Beaker
1 pc. 1.5 L Plastic soft drink bottle with
cap
2 pcs. 1.5 L Plastic Soft drink bottles, one
with its bottom cut off to use as
a funnel and one with the top
cut off to use for sedimentation
1 cup fine sand
1 cup coarse sand
1 cup small pebbles
1 coffee filter
1 rubber band
1 large spoon
2 liters of “dirty water”
stopwatch
1 large metal or plastic bowl
1 small shallow glass cup (clean) cling
film (wider than the bowl)
 A pebble

B. Reagents

Food dye
2 tablespoons of alum

IV. PROCEDURES

Water Filtration
First, in a two liter bottle with cap, pour dirty water. Second, make sure to tighten
the cap and shake the bottle well for 30 seconds. Aeration is a process in which the
water is being poured into another container, and pouring the water back and forth
between them several times. Continue doing this process for 10 times. Once the
gases have escaped or the bubbles are gone, it is already aerated. Cut the top part
of the bottle and pour your aerated water into it. Third, into the aerated water, pour
two tablespoons of alum and for 5 minutes, slowly stir the mixture. Next, let the
mixture stay undisturbed in the container for a couple of minutes. For every 5 minutes
interval, observe the mixture four times. Fifth, make an alternative filter from the bottle
with its bottom cut off. To make an alternative filter, at the outside neck of the bottle,
attach a coffee filter by using a rubber band. Get a beaker or the bottom of the cut-off
two liter bottle and place the upper part of the bottle into it upside-down. Place some
pebbles into the bottle. By the help of the coffee filter, it will prevent the pebbles from
falling out of the neck. Next, pour some coarse sand on top of the pebbles and fine
sand as the next. To make the filter clean, pour slowly three liters or more of clean
drinking water. Water who has passed the filter should be thrown away. Sixth, at the
bottom of the reservoir water, a large amount of sediments have settled after this
process. Pour the topmost two-thirds of the dirty water into the filter. In another
container, collect the filtered water. Lastly, compare the filtered and unfiltered water.
V. DIAGRAM
VI. DATA AND RESULTS

Parameters Dirty Water Filtered Water

Color Grayish in Color Clear and
transparent
Odor Used laundry water Odorless
pH 3 7

VII. QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS

1. Has treatment changed the appearance and smell of the water?

Yes, after the treatment the appearance and smell of the water has
changed, the water became clear or transparent compare to the previous
appearance of the water that has a grayish color. Most of the smell of water
has disappeared and it became odorless.

2. What processes are considered as physical means of separating substances?

Separating an insoluble solid from liquid is called filtration while separating

a soluble solid from liquid is called evaporation. Separating magnetic particles
from a mixture by the use of magnets is called magnetism. Purifying a liquid
by a process of heating and cooling is called distillation.

3. What processes are considered as chemical means of separating

substances?

The mixture of Alum within the dirty water is an example of chemical

change. The chemical composition changes as it undergoes water filtration,
cleansing and concentration. When it comes into mixing different chemicals
and substances in a given substance, normally the composition of the initial
substance is being altered and changed considering it as an example of
chemical change.
VIII. CONCLUSION

In the experiment, we therefore conclude that this water filtration system or setup
could really make dirty water into clean water with neutral level of pH. The different
kinds of sands help the water to filter the sediments that made the water dirty. As the
water flows in every spaces of sands, dirty substances were sipped and purified, also
with the help of alum, these are a class of chemical compounds, double sulfate salts.
Alum has several household uses and in the said setup, alum was used as purifier of
water and acts as chemical flocculant or treatment of water waste.