Wat-er We Drinking?
This project’s goal was to filter water as efficiently as possible in order to improve the world’s general water supply. My group eventually decided that evaporation was the best way to go about this due to its elimination of most solid wastes. According to the vast standards for clean water, (as outlined by the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA), the contaminants for clean drinking water fall into four separate categories, as defined by being: physical, chemical, biological, and radiological. Physical contaminants are contaminants which directly impact either the appearance and/or some other properties of water. Examples include dirt, gravel, sediment, The method of filtration by evaporation would take care of most of the physical and biological contaminants, and some chemical contaminants, such as metals. However, it would not take care of the radiological contaminants, which may pose issues if adopted on a large scale.
We designed our evaporation filter by understanding that when water gathers near the top of a container via condensation, it must eventually drip down. We exploited this, by slanting the ceiling of the filter and having the side furthest from the angle be at a lesser height than would fill the wall completely. We did this so that the water would “drip” diagonally and exit through the gap between the wedged ceiling and the far wall. This would allow clean water to leave the filter without mixing with unfiltered water, guaranteeing its continued pureness.
We designed our evaporation filter by understanding that when water gathers near the top of a container via condensation, it must eventually drip down. We exploited this, by slanting the ceiling of the filter and having the side furthest from the angle be at a lesser height than would fill the wall completely. We did this so that the water would “drip” diagonally and exit through the gap between the wedged ceiling and the far wall. This would allow clean water to leave the filter without mixing with unfiltered water, guaranteeing its continued pureness.
Content
Valence electrons: the electrons which reside on the outermost shell of an atom, which are transferred between or shared by atoms during bonding.
Bonding- When two or more atoms which bond together in order to balance out their valence electrons so that their outermost shell containst a full octet or group of eight electrons.
Ionic Bonds- An even bond where electrons are permanently transferred between two atoms.
Covalent Bonds- Any bond where electrons are shared.
Electronegativity- The tendency of bonding in an atom.
Polar- Electrons are shared equally between atoms, which have the same amount of valence electrons
Non polar- Electrons are shared equally between atoms with similar electronegativity.
Dipole-dipole- The attraction between the positive and negative ends of two polar molecules.
Solvent- A liquid substance that dissolves another substance in a solution.
Solute- A solid substance that dissolves into a liquid substance in a solution.
Evaporation- The change from liquid to gas via the rising of heat and therefore the motion of atoms
Condensation- The change from a gaseous substance to a liquid arising from the lowering of heat due to either gathering or outside forces
Ammonia- A colorless gas, whose chemical formula is NH3- , and is toxic in somewhat high amounts.
Chlorine- A toxic, light green gas, which has the atomic number of 17.
Nitrate- A chemical compound which includes nitrogen and oxygen.
pH- The probability of hydrogen in a substance on a scale of 0 to 14, which dictates an objective measurement of acidity, with 0 being the most acidic, and 14 being the most basic. Both the minimum and the maximum are dangerous for human consumption.
Bonding- When two or more atoms which bond together in order to balance out their valence electrons so that their outermost shell containst a full octet or group of eight electrons.
Ionic Bonds- An even bond where electrons are permanently transferred between two atoms.
Covalent Bonds- Any bond where electrons are shared.
Electronegativity- The tendency of bonding in an atom.
Polar- Electrons are shared equally between atoms, which have the same amount of valence electrons
Non polar- Electrons are shared equally between atoms with similar electronegativity.
Dipole-dipole- The attraction between the positive and negative ends of two polar molecules.
Solvent- A liquid substance that dissolves another substance in a solution.
Solute- A solid substance that dissolves into a liquid substance in a solution.
Evaporation- The change from liquid to gas via the rising of heat and therefore the motion of atoms
Condensation- The change from a gaseous substance to a liquid arising from the lowering of heat due to either gathering or outside forces
Ammonia- A colorless gas, whose chemical formula is NH3- , and is toxic in somewhat high amounts.
Chlorine- A toxic, light green gas, which has the atomic number of 17.
Nitrate- A chemical compound which includes nitrogen and oxygen.
pH- The probability of hydrogen in a substance on a scale of 0 to 14, which dictates an objective measurement of acidity, with 0 being the most acidic, and 14 being the most basic. Both the minimum and the maximum are dangerous for human consumption.
Reflection
During this project, I learned a lot, both about how water filtration works, and how to work with people. I learned that earlier division of labor is helpful in working with a group, and that a solid grasp of concepts is extremely helpful when giving a presentation. I could have been more helpful during the earlier stages of the presentation that we gave, and also felt that my initial model was helpful to the project generally. This is in no way a justification for my mild laziness at that stage, but simply a way to show a full perspective of my general contribution to the project. This project was important to my high school career and overall development as a learner.