Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

My experiment is about water filtration. I am a fourth grader and this is my first science fair.
I am planning to test types of simple filters (like gravel, sand, cotton balls, coffee filters, charcoal). My water source will be a sample of my local creek water.

I'm curious about if you were out in the wild and you only had simple materials to filter water with, what would you use?

I researched a way to test turbidity, but I don't know where to get the materials I need (reagent? if doing visual test). Also I want to test for either nitrate or metals.

Can you give me some advise. My project is due on Feb. 14, 07.

Ryan:

Can you work with your science teacher to locate catalogs for science supply companys like VWR Scientific, Fisher or Cole Parmer. These suppliers have a variety of materials for your tests. There are test papers for pH and nitrate as well as reagents for simple microbial tests.

Matt Mulanax

Thanks for the information.

At our school we do not have a science teacher. I don't know if my classroom teacher would have those catalogs. Probably not.
I could try to look up those companies on the internet.

What do think are the best things to test for? I thought the turbidity tests looked interesting but I don't know how important that is.
Do you have any advice for how to set up my experiment? I read about a way to set up a filtration experiment by cutting a large plastic bottle in half and making the top part into a funnel.
Thanks again.

The turbidy test tells you what level of organisms are in the water (usually expressed as cells per milliliter of solution). It does not identify what organisms are present.

The plastic bottle as a funel is a good start for your project.

What can you tell me about the procedure you read about? What techniques are involved, what reagents and equipment do you need to complete the project?

You can also use charcoal (ground up briquettes) as a filter material.

Matt Mulanax