Summer Research Program for Science Teachers

Anthony Mauro

Ft. Hamilton High School, Brooklyn, NY

1999

Devising a Set of Experiments to Test Water for Dissolved Substances

 

OBJECTIVES:

Students will design experiments to test water samples for pollutants.

Students will design data tables for recording and reporting observations.


MOTIVATION / INTRODUCTION:

Display the "Water Pollution Detection Outfit" (LaMotte Company; available through Central Scientific Co.). [Teaching Standard D- Make accessible science tools]

This water chemistry kit consists of 14 cubes, each of which contains the reagents and materials to test water samples for a particular dissolved substance. The substances that can be tested for include sulfides, chlorides, cyanides, copper, iron, chromium, nitrates, phosphates, ammonia, calcium, and carbon dioxide. [9-12 Content Standard B- Properties of matter]

Using a laboratory chemical containing iron or copper ions, demonstrate the use of one of the cubes.



DEVELOPMENT:

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