INSTRUCTIONS FOR GROUP ACTIVITY

Group Activity 1: Group activity for filtration:

Materials:
 Empty plastic water bottles
 Different types of filter media, such as sand, gravel, cotton balls, coffee filters, activated carbon, etc.
 Graduated cylinders
 Water
 Food coloring (optional)

Instructions:
1. Divide the group into teams of 2-3 students.
2. Each team should choose a variety of filter media and place them in the bottom of an empty plastic water
bottle.
3. Add water to the bottle until it is about half full.
4. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring to the water.
5. Place the bottle in a graduated cylinder.
6. Observe the water as it filters through the different layers of filter media.
7. Record your observations in a notebook.
8. Discuss with your team how the different filter media affected the filtration process.
9. Repeat steps 2-8 with different combinations of filter media.
10. This activity can be modified to make it more challenging or to focus on specific aspects of filtration. For
example, you could:

 Use different types of water, such as tap water, filtered water, or bottled water.
 Use different colors of food coloring to track the movement of the water through the filter.
 Measure the time it takes for the water to filter through the different layers of filter media.
 Calculate the percentage of water that is filtered through the different layers of filter media.

You can measure the time it takes for the water to filter through the different layers of filter media and
calculate the percentage of water that is filtered through the different layers of filter media. Here are the
steps on how to do it:

1. Set up the filtration apparatus as described in the previous activity.

2. Start a timer as soon as you add the water to the bottle.
3. Stop the timer when the water has completely filtered through the filter media.
4. Record the time it took for the water to filter through the filter media.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 for each combination of filter media.
6. Calculate the percentage of water that is filtered through each layer of filter media by dividing the
volume of filtered water by the total volume of water and multiplying by 100%.
For example, if you filter 100 mL of water through a layer of sand and 90 mL of water passes through the
filter, then the percentage of water that is filtered through the sand is 90%.

You can also use a graduated cylinder to measure the volume of water that is filtered through the different
layers of filter media. This will give you a more precise measurement of the percentage of water that is
filtered through each layer.

Measuring the time it takes for water to filter through different layers of filter media and calculating the
percentage of water that is filtered through each layer can help you to understand how different filter media
affect the filtration process. This information can be used to select the right filter media for a specific
application.