water filtration experiment ks2

Make a water filter

This fun science experiment turns dirty water clean. (Kind of.)

How do you clean up dirty water?

Not with soap! You need a filter, a device that removes impurities, like dirt, from water. The filter you’ll make here—with the help of an adult—is a super strainer, and it’ll help you clean up your act.

Ask a grown-up to cut the bottle in half. Then flip the bottle's top half over and put it in the bottom, so the top looks like a funnel. You'll build your filter in the top part.

Place the coffee filter (or bandanna, sock, etc.) at the bottom of your filter.

Add cotton balls, charcoal, gravel, sand, and / or other materials in layers. You can use just one of them or all of them. Tip: Think about which order to add them. Bigger filter materials usually catch bigger impurities.

Write down which filter materials you used and in what order you layered them.

Stir your dirty water and measure out a cup of it.

Get your timer ready!

Pour a cup of dirty water into your filter. Start the timer as soon as you begin pouring.

Time how long it takes for all the water to go through the filter. Then write down how long it took.

Carefully scoop out the filter materials, one layer at a time. What did each layer take out of the water?

Experiment! Clean the bottle and try again. Put the filter materials in a different order each time, and time each experiment. What do you discover?

WHAT'S GOING ON?

The slower, the better! The longer it takes for water to move through a filter, the cleaner it gets. Water slips easily through the filter materials, but bigger gunk, like dirt, gets trapped. The filter materials usually get finer and finer, so they can catch whatever was missed earlier. Activated charcoal can be near the end of the water’s path, because it uses an electrical charge to grab particles too small for us to see.

Your filtered water is not clean enough to drink. But a plant will love it!

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Clean Water Experiment for Kids

We have a camping trip planned in a few weeks. The other day we purchased some water filtration straws and things to clean the water where we are heading so that it is safe to drink. This resulted in a great discussion with my kids about clean water. This clean water experiment is a hands-on way to show children a little bit about how water can be filtered.

This water filtration experiment is also great opportunity to discuss how although we are lucky to live in a place where we have access to clean water; there are millions of people around the world that do not. Although this idea can be challenging for young kids, I truly believe that it is an important conversation to have.

After discussing how important it is to protect our water and work to keep it clean, I decided to extend the idea with this STEM clean water experiment. My kids loved trying different things to get their water as clear and clean as possible. It is also a great reminder of how fortunate we are that we can simply turn on a tap and have water that is safe to drink.

This experiment is a great activity to do after a hike or walk with your kids. You can collect a bit of water from a small pond or simply add some dirt and other materials to water from home. As long as it looks dirty then you can experiment and filter it to make it clean!

This and other clean water projects for students and kids are a great experiment to try around Earth Day or when learning about the environment.

When I did this experiment with my kids at home, and in a kindergarten classroom, I simply set out all of the materials and allowed children to experiment and use what they thought might work. They used trial and error to find the best materials to clean their water.

Water Filtration Experiment Materials

You don’t need a lot of materials for this experiment. Try to use things that you already have on hand. I used:

• Dirty Water (You can add dirt, stones, sand, oil, etc.)
• Coffee Filters
• Small, Medium and Large Gravel Stones
• Plastic Baggies
• Paper Towel
• Free Printable Activity Card

If you have other materials on hand that you think children may use to filter their water, then you can offer the materials to them.

You can also choose to give children the activity card to explain the STEM challenge. The activity card reads:

Clean Water Experiment Steps

I started by showing children a jug filled with dirty water. (I added dirt, oil and a bit of other debris from outside.) Then I challenged the kids to find a way to clean the water. Remind children that as clear and clean as the water may look at the end of this experiment, they cannot drink it!

I set all of the supplies out for them to choose what they wanted to build their filter with.

Children tried many different things and did a lot of trial and error. A few children used only the baggies and cut a small hole in the end to filter the water. They found that this only got some of the really large pieces out of the water.

These children tried again by adding stones and sand to their baggie. This extra layer of filtration helped and the water did run clearer.

Many children found success using the coffee filter. Securing it with an elastic on the cup, or simply holding it, and slowly pouring the water onto the filter resulted in fairly clear water.

Make sure to give children enough time to do this experiment. As my kids tested their filter, they altered it each time and tried different things. Many changed their filter by adding to it or taking parts away.

Clean Water Experiment Results

Many children found that by adding many different layers they were able to get their water the clearest.

A few children used most of the materials that I had made available. We put a hole in the bottom of their cup and used the cup as their filter. They started by putting a coffee filter in the bottom. In the coffee filter they added small gravel and then larger gravel stones on top.

Next, they placed several pieces of paper towel and then attached a nylon on the top. When the water was poured into this filter it ran through each of the layers and the water came out fairly clear.

Many children found that by changing their paper filters (paper towel and coffee filters) they were able to run their water through a second time and get it even cleaner.

One problem we ran into was that there was a bit of a dye on some of the gravel stones. Our water had a pink tint to it. To prevent this, we then rinsed all of the materials to get the color off before using them again.

I was really happy to see the children getting excited each time they ran the dirty water through their filter. They were very happy to see the water run through clearer each time.

Some children found that just the paper towel and coffee filter worked best. So they tried using several layers of just the towel and filter. Each time they ran their dirty water through their filter, they changed the coffee filter and paper towel. This resulted in the best filter.

Many children loved being able to look at the paper filters and see the dirt and debris that were caught by the filter.

This is a great hands-on experiment for children see how difficult it is to get water clean and clear.

Water Filtration Experiment Extension Ideas

An important part of this water filter experiment is also making sure that children realize that even though their water looks clean and clear, it is not safe to drink. Depending where you got your water, there are lots of tiny bits of bacteria and maybe even bugs, that we cannot see. When water is properly cleaned all of those extra things in the water, that can make us sick, are removed.

If you have a microscope, you could look at the dirty and clean water on a slide to compare. This would also be a great opportunity to show children the microscopic things in the water. Or you could compare the water you filtered with drinking water

It is interesting to note that we left some of the water over night and we noticed something in the morning. Even though the water looked clean, overnight some dirt and debris had settled to the bottom of the cup. Much of this debris found at the bottom of the cups was water that had been filtered several times.

Everyone worked really hard to clean their water. In the end, they realized how lucky they are to not have to worry about having clean water. My hope is that this experiment also creates some awareness that for many people, not having clean water, is a daily concern. It also reminds children to take care of our environment and take steps to keep our air and water clean.

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Science Fun

Make A Water Filter Science Experiment

In this fun and easy water science experiment, we’re going to make a water filter. 

• Two baking pans
• Empty two liter bottle
• Medium sized flower pot
• Coffee filter

Instructions:

• Put the coffee filter into the flower pot.
• Put about two inches of pebbles into the bottom of the flower pot.
• Pour sand into the pot until it is about three quarters full.
• Use your funnel to add about a cup of dirt to your two liter soda bottle.
• Fill the bottle nearly full with water.
• Put on the cap and shake the bottle to mix the soil and water.
• Pour some of the muddy water into one of the pans.
• Now set the flower pot in the other pan.
• Slowly pour the muddy water into the flower pot and observe the water that comes out into pan.
• The water will not be very clear at first. Keep working the water through your filter system and compare it to your control sample of muddy water.

EXPLORE AWESOME SCIENCE EXPERIMENT VIDEOS!

How it Works:

The pebbles and sand act as a natural filter and will help purify the water. 

Make This A Science Project:

Try adding food coloring to the water. Try different amounts of pebbles and sand. 

EXPLORE TONS OF FUN AND EASY SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS!

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Filtering Experiment – can you do better?

July 12, 2013 By Emma Vanstone 8 Comments

The last time we tried a filtering experiment using  dirty water , we used kitchen roll ( kitchen towel ) as the filter. Today, we tried something a little different.

We looked in the garden for three things that might make good filters and chose large stones, small stones and sand. We discussed which we thought would be the best filter and decided the sand would probably work best as it has the smallest gaps between grains.

Filtering Experiment

What you need

• Large stones
• Small Stones
• Dirty water – we just added some soil from the garden to some tap water.

Instructions

• Place the large stones in the funnel, hold it over a container, and pour the water over the stones.
• Add the small stones to the top of the large stones and repeat. Does the water look clearer?
• Add the sand and repeat again.

Our results were not as clear as I had hoped. You can see that the water filtered by all three materials is slightly clearer than the first two, but some sand seems to have dropped through the funnel.

How to improve

Next time we’re going to use a bigger funnel so we can have more of each material to make the filtering better.

This should also stop the sand from dropping through into the water.

Do let us know if you try a filtering experiment yourself. We’d love to hear how you get on.

Suitable for Key stage 2 Science

Properties and Changes of Materials

Use knowledge of solids, liquids and gases to decide how mixtures might be separated, including through filtering, sieving and evaporating.

Last Updated on September 25, 2023 by Emma Vanstone

Safety Notice

Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

Reader Interactions

July 12, 2013 at 12:16 pm

This would be great to try with my son. Thanks!

July 14, 2013 at 9:18 pm

Let us know how you get on 🙂

July 14, 2013 at 9:21 pm

It was a lot of fun! Let us know how you get on 🙂

July 12, 2013 at 4:15 pm

How about using this system with a coffee filter in the funnel?We’ve tried re-filtering before which also helps.

I think we will try the combined idea!

July 14, 2013 at 9:25 pm

Thats a great idea, I will try that!

July 12, 2013 at 5:24 pm

Very cool experiment. We definitely need to do some filtering experiments later this year!

July 14, 2013 at 9:27 pm

It was a lot of fun.

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Water Filtration Experiment

This post may contain affiliate links.

With Earth Day just around the corner, my mind was spinning with ideas related to the environment. This week we worked on a water filtration experiment to teach the kids about water pollution and clean water. (See 200+ STEM projects for kids)

We have read a few great books on this topic:

The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks  by Joanna Cole

One Well: The Story of Water on Earth  by Rochelle Strauss

A Drop Around the World by Barbara McKinney

We live in a desert state and water is a vital resource here. There are  mountain springs that run off from the winter snows and they collect into reservoirs. If these reservoirs became contaminated it would devastate our crops in this state!  We have to limit our water use in the summer because there are often droughts here. It is an issue we understand all too well here! So this experiment mattered to my kids.

We are quite lucky to live in a country where clean water is always readily available. I wanted my kids to learn and understand that his is not the case in all areas of the world. So many people get sick from their own drinking water.

How to Do the Water Filtration Experiment

You will need a few supplies:

2 Glass Jars Sand Gravel 3-4 Coffee Filters Dirty Water A Plastic Cup with a Hole Cut in the Bottom

Begin by getting a jar full of dirty water. We went to a little pond nearby to collect some water.

In the plastic cup, start by lining the bottom with the coffee filters.  Then place a layer of clean sand followed by a layer of gravel.

Place the cup into an empty jar. Pour the dirty water into the cup so it can filter down through the gravel, sand and coffee filters.

Look at the difference in the water before and after! The filter collects all of the dirt and particles in it making the water much cleaner.

Now, I am not sure I would recommend drinking it still, but if you were in dire need, t his is a great way to get some clean water!

A few ways to extend or modify:

Clean the filter and send the water through again. Try dirtying the water with different things like oil, soda, food coloring, etc. Get water testing kits to see if you can get it ready for drinking!

I am joining with some of my favorite blogging buddies today with an Earth Day log hop! Visit their sites for some other fun ideas for Earth Day!

Easy Earth Day Sensory Play  (Natural Beach Living)

Earth Day Coffee Filter Suncatcher Craft for Kids (A Little Pinch of Perfect)

Ways to Recycle Activities for Kids Play Ideas   (Little Bins for Little Hands)

Earth Day Science: Bug Search Experiment  (True Aim)

Planet Earth Craft (Go Science Girls)

Former school teacher turned homeschool mom of 4 kids. Loves creating awesome hands-on creative learning ideas to make learning engaging and memorable for all kids!

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Cool! My kids would love this idea. (We live in a drought prone area too). Thanks for the book recommendations too, I’ll check them out.

wow thank you for this awsome project

Do you have any suggestions on substitutes for pond water, sand, and gravel?

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Home » Activities » Filtration & Evaporation – Activity 2

By the end of this activity you will be able to: Identify the insoluble materials that can be separated by filtering and the solids which have dissolved can be recovered by evaporating the liquid from the solution.

Complete the sentences

Filtration and Evaporation - Activity 2

• Water and sand _____ be separated by filtering. can not can Select one
• Water and flour _____ be separated by filtering. can can not Select one
• Water and gravy powder _____ be separated by filtering. can not can Select one
• Water and peas _____ be separated by filtering. can not can Select one
• Water and talcum powder _____ be separated by filtering. can Select one can not
• Water and sugar _____ be separated by filtering. Select one can not can
• Water and pasta _____ be separated by filtering. can can not Select one
• Water and soil _____ be separated by filtering. can not Select one can
• Water and instant coffee _____ be separated by filtering. can Select one can not
• Water and salt _____ be separated by filtering. can can not Select one

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FREE K-12 standards-aligned STEM

curriculum for educators everywhere!

Find more at TeachEngineering.org .

• TeachEngineering
• Clean Enough to Drink: Making Devices to Filter Dirty Water

Hands-on Activity Clean Enough to Drink: Making Devices to Filter Dirty Water

Grade Level: 3 (3-5)

(Spread over eight 45-minute class periods)

Expendable Cost/Group: US $5.00

Group Size: 4

Activity Dependency: None

Subject Areas: Problem Solving, Science and Technology

NGSS Performance Expectations:

TE Newsletter

Engineering connection, learning objectives, materials list, worksheets and attachments, more curriculum like this, introduction/motivation, vocabulary/definitions, investigating questions, activity extensions, activity scaling, additional multimedia support, user comments & tips.

Environmental, chemical and civil engineers must fully understand the science and math pertaining to water quality, contaminants and filtration materials in order to design filtration systems capable of providing potable water to the masses. Like engineers, students work in teams to brainstorm, research and problem solve as they design, test and revise filtration systems to clean visible particulates from contaminated water.

After this activity, students should be able to:

• Use teamwork to solve a problem.
• Research, design and build a prototype water filtration device.
• Describe the need to conserve and protect water sources.
• Explain a problem and a solution to others.

Educational Standards Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards. All 100,000+ K-12 STEM standards covered in TeachEngineering are collected, maintained and packaged by the Achievement Standards Network (ASN) , a project of D2L (www.achievementstandards.org). In the ASN, standards are hierarchically structured: first by source; e.g. , by state; within source by type; e.g. , science or mathematics; within type by subtype, then by grade, etc .

Ngss: next generation science standards - science.

International Technology and Engineering Educators Association - Technology

View aligned curriculum

Do you agree with this alignment? Thanks for your feedback!

State Standards

Texas - science.

Each group needs:

• computer with Internet access
• 2-liter clear plastic beverage bottle, cut in half by instructor
• 300 ml of "dirty water," made by the instructor by adding to water small bits of plant material, soil and paper; see the Procedure section for instructions
• measuring cup or graduated beaker, to measure dry materials (amounts to be determined by group)
• Water Filtration Planning Worksheet 1
• Water Filtration Planning Worksheet 2 (may not be needed)
• Suggested Poster Design Layout
• Water Filtration Project Rubric
• lab book/journal/notebook (or paper), one per student, to keep track of research, design ideas, sketches, materials lists, notes, etc., throughout the activity
• pencil or pen, one per student
• poster board
• colored pencils

To share with the entire class:

• a copy of the book, The Magic School Bus at the Water Works by Joanna Cole
• half-gallon jug filled with water, to show the class during the introduction
• clear pitcher, in which to show the class the "dirty water" during the introduction
• assorted filtration materials, such as top soil, sand (fine and coarse), gravel, coffee filters, cheese cloth, rubber bands, cotton balls, napkins, paper towels; because groups select which filtration materials and amounts to use in their designs, the quantities needed will vary; suggested quantities to have on hand for the class to share: ~3 liters of top soil, 2 liters of sand (fine and coarse), 2 liters of gravel, 20 coffee filters, 20 4 x 4-inch (~10 x 10-cm) squares of cheese cloth, 20 rubber bands, 50 cotton balls, 20 napkins or paper towels
• scissors, to cut the plastic bottles
• paper towels, for clean-up
• sink with water and drain

Water is essential to life. The human body can only survive about three days without water. How can we keep people hydrated? (Listen to a few student ideas.) About 71% of the Earth is covered with water, but just 1% of all water is fresh, drinkable water. Let's put those numbers into something we can visualize—a pizza! Imagine that you have a whole pizza cut into four equal parts; about three of those four pieces represent the amount of the Earth that is covered in water, while just one small bite of pizza represents the amount of that water that is drinkable (not salty!).

Every day, chemicals, pharmaceuticals (human-made chemicals used for medical purposes), fossil fuels (gasoline, coal), bacteria, plastics, and other contaminants enter our drinking water sources. Water quality is important to animals, agriculture and aquatic life. We have about seven billion people inhabiting the Earth, and each person needs to consume about a half a gallon of water per day. (Show the class a half-gallon jug of water.)

People in space need clean water, too! At one point in 2016, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), six men were traveling 249 miles above the Earth's surface in the International Space Station (ISS). This distance is about as far as from Houston to Dallas. (Give students a tangible reference for this distance based on cities close to you.) Have you ever heard of the ISS? The ISS a space station in orbit around our planet that is operated by a few countries working together to continually run experiments related to life in space, such as airway monitoring, and measuring humidity, temperature and pressure within the ISS. In space, humans need 0.43 gallons of water per person per day. (Show the class a half gallon jug of water, not quite full.) That's a little less than a half-gallon of water per person. Just as people on Earth have a limited drinking water supply, the ISS has limited storage capacity for drinking water!

Whether on Earth or in space, life-threatening illnesses may occur if the water we drink is of poor quality. It must be clean water! Because it is expensive and so much trouble to send up clean water, and the space station has so little storage space, the ISS provides potable water—that's water that is safe to drink—by recycling humidity (that's water in the air) and waste water (that's water from cleaning and body waste). Even though clean drinking water is stored in tanks and brought up during resupply missions, the water must be recycled during the time between those shipments. The water is decontaminated by physical and chemical means as well as filtered and treated with high temperature to make sure it is safe to drink.

Have you ever recycled or cleaned dirty water? (Show the class a pitcher of pre-made "dirty water." Listen to a few student experiences. Expect some children to have stories from camping or traveling outside the U.S.)

Water filtration is the process of removing unwanted contaminants from water to make it cleaner. One technique is physical filtration, in which large particulates are strained from the water. Water is naturally filtered during the hydrologic (water) cycle when precipitation (rain, snow) infiltrates the soil. The layers of vegetation, soil, sand and gravel clean physical particulates from the water as it trickles deep enough to replenish groundwater (which is what we call underground water that supplies wells and springs).

Today, you will act as engineers who are given the challenge to filter visible particulates from dirty water. As engineers, if NASA needed your help to research and create a water filtration device for the ISS, what information would you need to know? (Expected possible answers: How is water filtered naturally? What contaminants can be removed physically? What materials are available for use?) How could you filter visible contaminants? (Possible answer: Pour water through layers of materials, such as fabric and some kind of strainer.)

On Day 2, read aloud to the class The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks . This picture book depicts a class field trip to the "waterworks," which the kids are sure will be boring, but turns out to be fantastical, fun and informative. After driving through a tunnel, the bus enters the water cycle with students experiencing being rain in a cloud, collected in a river, going through a town's water purification system, into a pipe back to the school, and out a faucet in the girl's bathroom. Includes 10 "water facts" presented by different students.

Before the Activity

• Invite a civil and/or environmental engineer from the local water authority or university to describe and discuss with students the water treatment process and your community's water treatment system. Additional topics might include water uses, the need for good water quality, water treatment methods, water filtration plants and water conservation. Make sure the engineer is comfortable speaking to students using age-appropriate language and explanations. Schedule this visit for Day 2 of the activity.
• Ask parents to donate empty and clean two-liter clear plastic beverage bottles. Cut the bottles in half horizontally and discard the caps.
• Gather materials and make copies of the Water Filtration Planning Worksheet 1 , Water Filtration Planning Worksheet 2 , Suggested Poster Design Layout and Water Filtration Rubric .
• Make a supply of "dirty water." Instructions: Pull a half-liter of plant material from the school grounds and some paper from the recycling bin. Into 2 liters of tap water, mix top soil, two large leaves torn to bits and small pieces of paper. Adjust the quantities to make sure you have enough for 300 ml of dirty water per group. Before divvying up the dirty water supply for the groups, pour it into a clear container so that you can show the "contaminated water" to the class during the introduction.
• For Day 8 (the last day), arrange for a mini-engineering fair or design expo so student groups can show their filter designs and explanatory posters to an invited audience of guests and stakeholders beyond the class, such as families, administrators, school board members, other classes and community leaders.

With the Students—Day 1: Introduction, Design Challenge & Brainstorming

• As a class, review the vocabulary words.
• Present the Introduction/Motivation content to the class. Lead a class discussion about water uses, desired qualities and unwanted contaminants, including the need for potable water on Earth as well as in the International Space Station.
• Show the class the pre-made supply of "dirty water." Remind students of the engineering challenge : To filter the dirty water so that it is visibly cleaner. Ask: Can we clean this water so that it is suitable for plant, animal or human consumption? Then explain that although they will get to practice environmental engineering in this challenge and see their water getting visibly cleaner, professional engineers must ensure that water meets specific and strict regulations before it is declared safe for consumption; and sometimes water that looks clean is still quite contaminated!
• As necessary, and as time permits, review with the class the seven basic steps of the engineering design process .
• As a class, brainstorm ways to clean water, such as filtering through layers of soil and stone; filtering through cloth, cotton balls and/or coffee filters; using a strainer or sieve. Write suggestions on the classroom board and have students take notes for future reference.

With the Students—Day 2: Understanding the Problem, Brainstorming & Designing

• Read aloud to the class The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks . Possible follow-up discussion questions: What is alum? (Answer: Alum is a chemical compound used to coagulate, or clump together solid particles, making them easier to filter out by sinking to the bottom or floating to the top of a settling tank before water moves on to the next step in the filtration process.) How is water filtered? (Answer: Water passes through sand and gravel to remove tiny particles.)
• Have the visiting water engineer make a presentation to the class, including some question/answer time. Remind students to listen attentively and ask relevant questions. Suggest that students take notes for future reference.
• Divide the class into groups of four students each. Assign each student within each group a specific job, such as material manager/engineer , researcher , graphic designer , and recorder/scribe . Explain that material managers/engineers obtain and handle the necessary building materials and determine the best device design with the input of other team members; researchers are responsible for the research; graphic designers design the promotional posters; and recorders/scribes write the text for the planning worksheets and posters. Although each student is responsible for his or her job, all students within the group must participate in and contribute to all components of the activity.
• Direct the groups to begin brainstorming . Require them to prepare lists of the materials (such as soil, gravel, sand, cheese cloth, coffee filters, cotton balls, etc.) they want to use in their filtration devices and specific quantities for each material.

With the Students—Days 3-4: Researching & Designing

• Explain to the class that they have learned about large-scale community water filtration systems, and now they will research small-scale or individual filtration systems, including how to create them and what materials they require. Tell students that based on their research findings, each group will be responsible for planning, building and testing its own filtration system.
• Show students the provided materials that will be available for them to create their water filters, including the halved plastic bottles as well as the various filtration materials. Not all materials need to be used in their designs. Knowing the available materials prepares students to use their research to inform how to use the materials and which materials they want to use.
• As student groups get started to conduct Internet research, give them the following advice:
• Use Internet search engines, such as Google, to research keywords, such as "water filtration systems for kids," looking for how to create water filters and what materials to use.
• Reliable research sites often end in org, edu, and gov.
• Take notes for future reference.
• Based on new research information gathered, have groups revise their best brainstormed ideas and supply lists, filling in planning worksheet 1. Remind students to also note in their lab books their design ideas, sketches, and materials lists.

With the Students—Days 5-7: Building & Testing

• Have groups design and build their filtration systems using the provided materials.
• Give students the freedom to design systems of their own imaginings and refrain from giving explicit instruction. In other words, act as a facilitator, encouraging innovation. With the given materials, expect most designs to place the top of the plastic bottle upside-down as a funnel inside the bottom half of the bottle with cheese cloth or coffee filters in the funnel near the neck of the bottle, and then layers of soil, sand and gravel resting on the cloth or coffee filters to serve as a natural filtration system.
• Let students know that their prototype filter designs will be tested by pouring the dirty water through them to see if the water quality visually changes.
• Permit students to choose the types and amounts of the provided materials, measuring and recording material amounts. They may choose to place the inverted bottle top in the bottle bottom half to form a funnel. They may choose to layer varying amounts of gravel and/or sand on top of coffee filters, cheese cloth and/or cotton balls to form a filter.
• Advise the groups to measure the materials in metric units.
• Remind them to take notes and record materials measurements throughout the process.
• Walk around to each group, asking them the suggested probing questions listed in the Assessment section.

• If the water is not clear of particulates, have groups redesign, rebuild and retest their filters, aiming for improvement. If a second design is needed, have groups fill in planning worksheet  Again, have students measure the material amounts, adding or subtracting materials as revisions are made. Remind them to include their revisions and new plans and sketches in their lab books.
• As a class, have students share their results and discuss what they learned. Discuss overall water quality, such as such as whether the water is clean enough for plant, animal or human consumption. Remind students that although their water became visibly cleaner, professional engineers make sure that water meets specific and strict regulations before it is considered safe for consumption, and that sometimes water that looks clean still contains contaminants that are too small to see!
• Direct the groups to make posters that explain the steps they took to design and test their water filtration systems, referring to the Suggested Poster Design Layout . Set up a hypothetical scenario in which posters are presented to NASA as proposed filtration systems for the ISS. Require the posters to include at a minimum all elements described on the poster design handout: background, objective, method, results, conclusion, and future work and improvements.

With the Students—Day 8: Presenting the Results/End Product

• Direct students to answer some concluding questions, as provided in the Assessment section, writing their answers in their lab books.
• Have students hand in their lab books, planning worksheets and posters for review, and use the rubric to determine student grades.

contaminant: Something that makes a place or a substance, such as water, air or food, unfit for use; something harmful or unwanted that makes a place or substance dangerous, dirty or impure.

engineering design process: A series of steps used by engineering teams to guide them as they develop solutions, products and systems. The basic steps are: define the problem, generate ideas (brainstorming), select a solution, test the solution(s), make the item, evaluate it, and present the results.

filter: A device that removes something unwanted from a liquid or gas that is passed through it.

International Space Station: (ISS) A habitable artificial satellite in low-Earth orbit that is operated as a multinational collaborative research lab.

NASA: Acronym for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. A U.S. federal agency responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.

particulate: (as relates to water quality) A very small piece or fragment of assorted solid materials that are present in a water supply.

physical filtration : The process of removing solid particulates from fluids.

potable: Water that is safe to drink. Also known as drinking water.

prototype: A first attempt or early model of a new product or creation. May be revised many times.

Pre-Activity Assessment

Brainstorming: During Day 1, as a class, have students discuss possible ways to clean contaminated water, such as using strainers, sieves, mesh, cloth, coffee filters and/or layers of soil, sand and gravel. Remind students that during a brainstorming session, all ideas are welcomed and encouraged and should be accepted respectfully. Have students raise their hands to respond and encourage them to "think outside the box." Write all ideas on a class chart and have students take notes in their lab books.

Activity Embedded Assessment

Lab Books: Assess students individually on the contents of their lab books. Expect each to contain vocabulary words, research notes, design ideas, materials lists, prototype sketches, filter descriptions, and the functionality and results of each prototype test.

Verbal Assessment: As groups are building on Days 5 and 6, and prior to testing, ask students to describe to you their team's best design. Example probing questions to ask:

• Why is water filtration so important? (Answer: Water filtration is important to provide healthy potable water for plants, animals and human consumption.)
• Which materials do you expect to remove which visible contaminants? Why? (Example answer: Gravel is good at filtering out larger materials, but smaller particulates can sneak through, so we're using cloth, coffee filters and soil to remove the smaller visible particulates because they have tighter spaces that water can still get through, while the little solid bits cannot.)
• Why did you choose your design? (Expect answers to indicate that design ideas came from research information, guest speaker information and/or the available materials.)

Post-Activity Assessment

Concluding Questions & Summary Grading: After testing their designs, have students reconsider and answer in their journals the verbal assessment questions (above), as well as the following concluding questions.

• Did your team's design work as well as expected? Explain. (Answers will vary.)
• Is the water clean enough for plant, animal or human consumption? (Answer: Water with a lot of particulates may be suitable for plants, a few particulates may be suitable for animals, and no particulates may be suitable for human consumption.) Do NOT drink the water!
• What would you change to further improve the design? (Possible answers might include modifications to the choice of materials used, the numbers/amount of materials used, the order the materials are layered, desire for entirely different materials, etc.)

Complete the Water Filtration Project Rubric to determine grades. Take into consideration student participation, planning worksheets, lab book content, filter success and poster presentation.

Making Sense: Have students reflect about the science phenomena they explored and/or the science and engineering skills they used by completing the Making Sense Assessment .

How can we clean dirty water? (Answer: Dirty water can be cleaned through filtration. Physical filtration removes particulates from water by straining the water through layered materials that hold back dirt and other small solids without adding other contaminants. Sand, gravel and small rocks work as natural filtration materials. Fabrics, mesh, paper and cotton are examples of human-made filtration materials.)

Safety Issues

• Remind students not to drink any water from the activity!
• Consider having students wear eye protection while working with loose materials, as particles may fly into their eyes.
• Advise students to handle glass beakers with care.

To extend the activity into chemistry, have students build model water molecules using gumdrops and toothpicks. For each water molecule, you'll need two toothpicks, two white gumdrops and one red gumdrop. The white gumdrops represent hydrogen atoms and the red one represents an oxygen atom. Place the two toothpicks into the red gumdrop at a 45° angle from each other; then place the white gumdrops at the other ends of the toothpicks.

To extend the activity into social studies, have students participate in a modified H2O Project. Challenge them to give up all beverages except water for a short period of time. Then donate the money they would have spent on juice, milk, sodas, etc., to build a freshwater well in a developing country. For more information, see http://www.theh2oproject.org/ .

• For lower grades, provide example websites for research including, but not limited to the PBS Kids Zoom Water Filter page at http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/waterfilter.html , and these U.S. EPA web pages for kids at https://www3.epa.gov/safewater/kids/ and https://www3.epa.gov/safewater/kids/flash/flash_filtration.html .
• For higher grades, have students bring in their own supplies, such as sieves, strainers or carbon-based aquarium filters to test the effectiveness of different filter designs.

Learn more about your drinking water supply, how to monitor its quality and how to keep it clean at the U.S. EPA's Drinking Water website at: http://water.epa.gov/drink/tour.

Students learn about the various methods developed by environmental engineers for treating drinking water in the United States.

Students learn about water quality testing and basic water treatment processes and technology options. Biological, physical and chemical treatment processes are addressed, as well as physical and biological water quality testing, including testing for bacteria such as E. coli.

Filtering is the process of removing or separating the unwanted part of a mixture. In signal processing, filtering is specifically used to remove or extract part of a signal, and this can be accomplished using an analog circuit or a digital device (such as a computer). In this lesson, students learn...

Closing the Loop: Recycling Water and Air in Space . NASA. Accessed November 23, 2015. (Educator reference) http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/146558main_RecyclingEDA(final)%204_10_06.pdf

Cole, Joanna. The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks . New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc., 1986.

Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster. Accessed July 16, 2015. (Source of some definitions, with some modifications.)

Water Filter. Last updated 2010. PBS Kids. Zoom, for Kids, by Kids, Activities from the Show. Accessed July 14, 2015. http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/waterfilter.html

Water Filtration Lesson, Grades 4-6. Published June 2004. Kids' Stuff, Ground Water & Drinking Water, Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed July 16, 2015. (Includes a teacher demonstration that inspired this activity.) https://www3.epa.gov/safewater/kids/pdfs/activity_grades_4-8_waterfiltration.pdf

Water Treatment Process. Last updated March 6, 2012. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed July 14, 2015. http://water.epa.gov/learn/kids/drinkingwater/watertreatmentprocess.cfm

Contributors

Supporting program, acknowledgements.

This digital library content was developed by the University of Houston's College of Engineering under National Science Foundation GK-12 grant number DGE 0840889. However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policies of the NSF and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.

Last modified: October 20, 2020

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Water topic

Resources linked to the topic of water.

Just Add Water

Quality Assured Category: Cross curricular Publisher: British Science Association

Aimed at primary level, the seventeen activities this pack investigate science around the theme of water. They link to the topics of states of matter, materials, electricity and area of design and technology and geography.

The activities include: creating a model of the water cycle, demonstrating surface tension, building a solar still, filtering water, use salt water as an electrical conductor and building mini-rafts.

Teachers' notes are provided within the pack and include concise summaries of the science involved in the investigations. Designed to demonstrate key ideas and concepts, and to spark an interest in science and engineering, they could be used in class or within a science week or club.

Quality Assured Category: Biology Publisher: Froglife

This resource, aimed at primary level, links to the topics of living things and their habitats and seasonal changes. The colourful booklet provides a step-by-step guide to creating a pond, large or small, to provide a habitat in which frogs, newts and other wildlife flourish. It looks at the value of wildlife ponds, the plants and animals that could be added, ways to encourage children to visit the pond and how to look after it.

Information is provided about the seasonal changes that occur within a pond and the types of plants and animals which may be found at different times of the year. Ideas for activities are suggested including: pond-dipping, observation of different animals and plants and identification and classification.

Drip, Drip, Drip

Quality Assured Category: Mathematics Publisher: pfeg

This resource pack contains eight activities based around water and personal finance education. Each activity is aimed at a specific age group at primary level and provides curriculum links to aspects of mathematics, science and PSHE. The activities are:

*[b]Needs and wants associated with water[/b]-Assess the priority of our everyday water uses and begin to appreciate that we cannot always have everything we need or want.

*[b]Which water?[/b]- Compare the value of tap water to bottled water and make money related choices.

*[b]How do we pay for it?[/b]- Look at how households are billed for the water they use and dispose of and understand and recognise a water bill, and the methods which can be used to pay for it.

*[b]Cost of supplying clean water[/b]- Find out where our water comes from and what goes into making it clean and safe whilst developing a sense of ‘value for money’.

*[b]Reducing your water bill[/b]- Consider ways to reduce water consumption in the home and making financial savings and how those savings could be used.

*[b]It’s just a little leak[/b]- Look at how small leaks in the home can contribute to a huge amount of water loss across the UK and make future financial plans for unexpected events.

*[b]Water and energy[/b]- In using water we often forget that we are also using energy to heat it and making informed financial decisions.

*[b]Water around the world[/b]- Find out about access to clean fresh water and how it varies significantly across the world whilst introducing the concept of charitable giving.

Science From Water Play

Quality Assured Category: Science Publisher: Nuffield Foundation

The Teaching Primary Science book Science from water play contains many suggestions for organisation and for activities arising from water play with infants to more structured investigations of floating and sinking with older children. It discusses equipment and classroom organisation and provides some case studies

Water for the World

Quality Assured Category: Cross curricular Publisher: Practical Action

This activity looks at water consumption on a local and global scale. Students learn about the main water contaminants and various methods of purification and the role of engineers and their approach to design challenges. The resource aims to inspire an interest in water conservation and to introduce students to Technology Justice and the Millennium Development Goals.

Students watch a short video highlighting the importance of clean water and then work in a team to build a water filter.

How Water Behaves

Quality Assured Category: Science Publisher: BAE Systems

This activity sheet looks at the changing state of water. Children think about the way water behaves when it is heated to boiling point or cooled to freezing point and discuss the changes in state. They then look at some of the properties of water in its liquid state and write them down.

Precipitation

This resource shows an example of how to create condensation and precipitation in a jar. It could be used when looking at changes of state and the water cycle.

Quality Assured Category: Design and technology Publisher: Practical Action

Beat the Flood STEM challenge

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Filtering sand and water

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Make a water filter

Subject: Resistant materials

Age range: 5-7

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

28 May 2013

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Great opportunity for awareness of water shortage and cleanliness issues in the world. Fun and informative with a whole raft of extra activities and links through website.

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A fun lesson with instructions beautifully illustrated on one worksheet. A link to other free resources is also included.

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