TOPIC 7:

WATER

BY G. CHAVULA

7/19/2022 WATER NOTES-BIWI CDSS 1

 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THIS TOPIC
• Students must be able to:
1. explain categories of natural sources of water
• underground
• surface
• atmospheric
2. draw and describe the water cycle
3. explain the physical properties of water
4. explain the importance/uses of water e.g as a reactant,
coolant and solvent.
5. explain the meaning of hard and soft water
6. describe types of water hardness and processes that cause
them.
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 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THIS TOPIC
8. explain the effects of water hardness
9. describe methods used to remove water hardness
(softening hard water)
10. investigate the hardness and softness of water using soap
11. define water pollution
12. describe the sources of water pollution
• domestic,
• industrial and
• agricultural wastes
12. explain the effects of water pollution
13. explain ways of preventing water pollution

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 NATURAL SOURCES OF WATER
• The major natural sources of water can be
classified into:
1. underground,
2. surface and
3. atmospheric water sources.
A. Underground water sources
• These are sources of water found in water tables. They
include:
i. Wells. These are holes dug in the ground in order to
obtain water.
ii. Boreholes. These are deep holes drilled in the
ground using machines. They lift water using
submersible pumps.
iii. Springs of water. These are sources of water that
flow out of the ground as small streams or pools.
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 NATURAL SOURCES OF WATER
B. Surface water sources
• Examples of surface water sources include:
i. dams,
ii. lakes,
iii. streams,
iv. rivers,
v. seas and
vi. oceans.
C. Atmospheric water sources
• These sources include:
i. rainwater,
ii. hailstorm,
iii. snow and
iv. fog.
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 THE WATER CYCLE
• The water cycle is also called the hydrological cycle.
• It refers to the continuous circulation of water between
the earth’s surface and the atmosphere.
• Processes involved in water cycle are:
1. Heating
2. Evaporation
3. Transpiration
4. Expansion and cooling
5. Condensation
6. Precipitation
7. Infiltration and percolation
8. Surface run-off.

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 DESCRIBING WATER CICYLE

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 DESCRIBING WATER CICYLE
• Heat from the sun causes liquid water to turn into
water vapor through the process of evaporation.
Water vapor is also released by plants through the
process of transpiration.
• This water vapor rises in the atmosphere.
• As water vapor rises, it cools due to low
temperatures in the atmosphere and it also
expands.
• When water vapor reaches certain heights in the
atmosphere, it turns into liquid water through the
process of condensation.

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 DESCRIBING WATER CICYLE

• This water forms clouds that become too heavy to

be held in the atmosphere hence they fall back on
the earth’s surface in form of rain, hailstorm, snow
or fog. This is called precipitation
• Water runs on the earth’s surface after it has rained
when the rate of precipitation is higher than the
rate of infiltration. This is called surface run-off.
• Water also enters the soil by infiltration and moves
through it and its layers by gravity and capillarity
forces in the process called percolation.

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 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF WATER
• Pure water is a colourless liquid ,
• It is tasteless
• It is odourless
• It boils at 1000C at 1 atm and freezes at 00C.
• It has a density of 1g/cm3 .

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 IMPORTANCE OF WATER
• Water is used:
1. as a coolant. In car engines it is used to maintain low
temperature while in simple distillation it facilitates
liquefaction process.
2. as a solvent. It is considered as universal solvent
because it dissolves many things.
3. as a chemical reactant. It is used in many chemical
reactions which occur in aqueous media.
4. in hydroelectric power generation. Moving water is
used to generate electricity.
5. for recreational purposes such as in swimming pools.
6. as a transport medium for ships, ferries, boats and
canoes when transporting people and goods.
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 HARD AND SOFT WATER
• Hard water is the water which does not easily form
lather/foam with soap.
• Examples of hard water include:
Water from wells, rivers, lakes and seas.
Tap water
• Hard water requires relatively large amount of soap for
lather to form.
• The amount of soap varies depending on extent of
hardness.
• The extent of hardness in these waters varies
depending on the levels of ions responsible for water
hardness that are present in them.
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 SOFT WATER
• Soft water is defined as the water which easily
forms lather or foam with soap.
• Examples of soft water include:
 Distilled water
 Rain water.
• Soft water requires small amount of soap for lather
to form than hard water.

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 Investigating the hardness and softness of
water using soap

Apparatus and reagents:

 Distilled water
 Tap water  Aqueous magnesium
 Rain water sulphate solution
 Well water  Soap
 Aqueous calcium  250 cm3 conical flasks
hydrogen carbonate  Burette
 Aqueous sodium  Measuring cylinder
chloride

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 Investigating the hardness and softness of
water using soap
Procedure
1. Prepare 1 liter soap solution by dissolving 20 g of soap in
hot distilled water and top up to the mark.
2. Put 25 cm3 of distilled water in a conical flask. To it add
soap solution from a burette drop by drop while shaking
until a permanent lather (lasting for about 2 minutes
without breaking) is formed.
3. Repeat step 2 with boiled distilled water.
4. Record your findings in Table 1.
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 with the rest of water/solutions.

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 Investigating the hardness and softness of
water using soap
TABLE 1

Sample solution/Water Volume of soap used Volume of soap used

before it is boiled after it is boiled
(cm3) (cm3)
Distilled water
Tap water
Well water
Aqueous calcium chloride
Rain water
Aqu calcium hydrogen carbonate

Aqueous sodium chloride

Aqueous magnesium sulphate

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 Investigating the hardness and softness of
water using soap
Expected results:
• Distilled water, rain water and sodium chloride solution used
small volume of soap before permanent lather forms and the
volume remained the same even after boiling because there is
no water hardness.
• Tap water, well water, aqueous calcium hydrogen carbonate,
and aqueous magnesium sulphate solution used large volume
of soap before permanent lather forms and scum formed.
• Except for magnesium sulphate solution, the volume of soap
used decreased after boiling the water or solution. This shows
that there is temporary hardness which can be removed by
boiling.
• For magnesium sulphate, volume remained the same because
there is permanent hardness which cannot be removed by
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boiling it.
 TYPES OF WATER HARDNESS

• The ions responsible for water hardness are

calcium ions (Ca2+ ), magnesium ions (Mg 2+ ),
bicarbonates/hydrogen carbonates (HCO− 3 ) and
sulphates (SO2−
4 ).
• There are two types of water hardness:
1. Temporary water hardness
2. Permanent water hardness

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 1. TEMPORARY HARDNESS
• Temporary hardness is caused by the presence of dissolved
calcium hydrogen carbonates (Ca(HCO3 )2 ) or magnesium
hydrogen carbonates (Mg(HCO3 )2 ) in water.
• It is called temporary hardness because it can easily be
removed by boiling.
HOW TEMPORAY HARDNESS IS FORMED
• Carbon dioxide dissolves in water to form the weak carbonic
acid as shown below:
𝐂𝐎𝟐 𝐠 + 𝐇𝟐 𝐎 𝐥 ⟶ 𝐇𝟐 𝐂𝐎𝟑 (𝐚𝐪)
• When this water passes over rocks like limestone (CaCO3 ) or
dolomite (MgCO3 . CaCO3 ), magnesium hydrogen
carbonates and calcium hydrogen carbonates are formed as
follows:
𝐂𝐚𝐂𝐎𝟑 𝐬 + 𝐇𝟐 𝐂𝐎𝟑 (𝐚𝐪) ⟶ 𝐂𝐚(𝐇𝐂𝐎𝟑 )𝟐 (𝐚𝐪)
𝐌𝐠𝐂𝐎𝟑 𝐬 + 𝐇𝟐 𝐂𝐎𝟑 (𝐚𝐪) ⟶ 𝐌𝐠(𝐇𝐂𝐎𝟑 )𝟐 (𝐚𝐪)
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 2. PERMANENT HARDNESS
• Temporary hardness is caused by the presence of
dissolved calcium sulphates or magnesium sulphates in
water.
• Permanent hardness cannot be removed by boiling.
• It can however, be removed by distillation or chemical
treatment.
HOW PERMANENT HARDNESS IS FORMED
• When water passes over rocks that contain calcium
sulphate like gypsum (𝐶𝑎𝑆𝑂4 . 2𝐻2 𝑂) or magnesium
sulphate like epsomite 𝑀𝑔𝑆𝑂4 . 7𝐻2 𝑂 , it dissolves
small amounts of calcium and magnesium sulphate that
cause permanent water hardness.
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 ADVANTAGES OF HARD WATER

1. Calcium ions present in hard water are required by the

body for bones and teeth.
2. If conveyed in lead pipes, it helps to form lead carbonate
coats in the water which prevents the lead from dissolving
in water.
3. It is good for the formation of shells in animals like snails.
4. Calcium and magnesium present in hard water are
necessary for growth of both plants and animals.

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 DISADVANTAGES OF HARD WATER
1. It wastes soap due to scum formation.
• Scum is the grey-white suspension formed when soap is
mixed with hard water.
• It is formed because the magnesium and calcium ions
form an insoluble solid with the hydrocarbon chain of
the soap molecules while sodium ions remain in the
solution:

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 DISADVANTAGES OF HARD WATER

2. Causes electrical appliances such as kettles and boilers

to fur hence making them inefficient.
3. Can cause hot water pipes to block.
4. Scum leaves dirty marks on clothes after washing.

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METHODS OF REMOVING WATER HARDNESS
• Removal of water hardness is based on whether the
hardness is temporary or permanent.
• The method can be physical or chemical.

REMOVING TEMPORARY HARDNESS

1. Boiling
• When hard water is heated the hydrogen carbonates
decompose to form insoluble carbonates and water is then
filtered off. For example
 REMOVING TEMPORARY HARDNESS
2. Addition of calcium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide
• Addition of calcium or sodium hydroxide to water causes
precipitation of calcium and magnesium ions in form of
carbonates. For example

• Water can then filtered off hence making it soft.

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 REMOVING PERMANENT HARDNESS
1. Distillation
• It removes both permanent and temporary hardness
because it removes all ions.
• The water is distilled away from the dissolved substances.
• This method is however expensive to be used on a large
scale but can be used in the laboratory.
2. Addition of sodium carbonate (washing soda)
• Calcium and magnesium ions are removed as precipitates.
For example;

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 REMOVING PERMANENT HARDNESS
3. Ion exchange
• The hard water is passed through a container filled with
suitable resin containing sodium ions.
• The calcium or magnesium ions causing water
hardness are exchanged for the sodium ions in the
resin.
• Sodium ions do not cause water hardness.
• When all the sodium ions on the resin have been
exchanged with calcium and magnesium ions, the resin
is recharged by passing concentrated sodium chloride
solution through it.
• Calcium or magnesium ions are washed away leaving
the resin full of sodium ions and ready for re-use.

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 REMOVING PERMANENT HARDNESS
• Sodium ions become part of the softened water and the
calcium or magnesium ions become part of the resin.

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 WATER POLLUTION
• It is defined as the addition of harmful substances into water as
result of human activities.
• The harmful substances include toxic metals, plastics, pesticides,
and fertilizers.
SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION
1. Domestic sources.
• This involves the release of human faeces and sewage into
water bodies such as lakes and rivers.
2. Industrial wastes
• These include effluents (liquid wastes) originating from
breweries, tanneries, textiles and paper industries. The
effluents contain toxic chemicals.
3. Agricultural wastes
• These include excessive pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers.
• These may enter into rivers and lakes through surface run-off
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 EFFECTS OF WATER POLLUTION
1. It causes eutrophication.
• This is the process by which a water body becomes
progressively enriched with nutrients and the effects that
follow it.
• Nitrate and phosphate fertilizers, wastes from home and
sewages cause excessive growth algae, decomposition of
nutrients, reduction of levels of oxygen, increase in levels of
carbon dioxide and eventually death of aquatic life.
2. It can cause diseases such as cholera, typhoid and
hepatitis.
3. It leads to destruction of ecosystems.
4. It can severely affect aquatic life by decreasing amount of
oxygen in water bodies.
5. It can cause disruptions in food chains. This happens
when toxins and pollutants in the water are consumed by
aquatic animals which are then consumed by humans.
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 WAYS OF CONTROLLING WATER POLLUTION
1. Avoiding excessive use of chemicals, for example
pesticides in pest control.
2. Treatment of sewage before releasing it into water
bodies. It ensures that the pollutants and disease-causing
micro-organisms are destroyed.
3. Encouraging farmers to use farmyard manure instead of
chemical fertilizers.
4. Constructing pit latrines away from water sources such as
wells to avoid contamination of the water source. The
slope of the land should also be considered in putting up
a latrine.
5. Proper legislation should be put by government to reduce
improper damping of industrial and domestic wastes.
6. Petroleum companies should put measures in place to
avoid unnecessary accidents resulting from spillage of
oils into water bodies.
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