Allen,+Lisa+and+Chloe

IB Group 4 Project 2010 - Allen, Lisa and Chloe


 * Research Question:** How does the amount of nitrates present in water influence correlate with the amount of bacteria present? Thus, is the amount of nitrates a factor that can help us determine water quality? (is this ok??)

- Stream water (from Yangmingshan)
 * Our Water Sources:**



- Tap water (from Shipai Road, Sec. 2)



- Filtered tap water (from Zhong Cheng Road, Sec. 2 )




 * What we tested for and why:**
 * pH (pH probe): if the water is too acidic or alkaline, it will not be able to support life. We hypothesized that if the pH levels were below 4 or above 9, we would not obtain bacterial colonies on the plate of it's corresponding water source as those conditions would not be able to sustain bacteria
 * bacteria (agar gel plate): to check for the presence of bacteria, which would then allow us to see the relationship between the amount of bacteria and the amount of nitrates
 * nitrates (nitrate probe): to calculate the amount of nitrates to then see whether or not the amount of nitrates present in water correlated with the bacterial growth


 * Results:**

__pH__ - Stream Water: __7.37__ - Tap Water: __7.24__ - Filtered Tap Water: __6.47__

__Nitrate Concentration (mg/l)__ - Stream Water: 11.1 - Tap Water: 0.8 - Filtered Tap Water: 0.1

__Bacteria__ (can this be quantified?) -Stream Water: Bacteria was present, covering over half the lid, but thinly. -Tap Water: Bacteria was almost non-existent. -Filtered Tap Water: Bactria was present, more obviously then the tap water, but less so than the stream water. By all means, this water should have been the cleanest; some form of contamination in the container?


 * What this means - Conclusion and Evaluation:**