BIOLOGY PRACTICAL REPORTS FOR FORM 4

Experiment 9.2 (practical textbook page 128)

Problem Statement : What is the level of pollution in the different sources of water?
Aim : To investigate the level of pollution in water samples from different sources.
Hypothesis : River water is the most polluted source of water.
Variables: manipulated variable: water samples
responding variable: time taken for the 0.1% methylene blue solution to
decolourise
constant variable:
volume of 0.1% methylene blue solution /volume of water
sample
Materials: 0.1% methylene blue solution , water samples from 6 sources (pipe water, drain
water, river water, pond water, well water and distilled water)
Apparatus : 250 ml reagent bottles with stoppers, beakers, 1ml syringes, stopwatch
Technique: using a stopwatch, record the time taken for the methylene blue solution to
decolourise

Apparatus set-up to investigate the level of pollution in water samples from different sources
Procedure:
1. Water samples from 6 different water sources are collected.
2. The reagent bottles are labelled P, Q, R, S, T and U.
3.
The reagent bottles are filled with the following water samples.
P Pipe water
S Pond water
Q Drain water
T Well water
R River water
U Distilled water
4. If the water samples are not tested immediately, the reagent bottles should be wrapped in
aluminium foil or black paper to shield them from the light.
5. The tests are run for all the water samples on the same day.
6. A syringe is used to add 1 ml of 0.1% methylene blue solution to the base of each of the
water samples in the reagent bottle (to avoid being oxidised by atmospheric oxygen).
7. The reagent bottles are then closed quickly with a rubber stopper and placed in a dark
cupboard
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8. A stopwatch is started.
9. The bottles are examined every hour for any colour change.
10. The time taken for the methylene blue solution to decolourise in each reagent bottle is
recorded in a table of results.
11. Safety precaution: The contents of the reagent bottle is not shaken to prevent aeration, that
is to prevent more oxygen from dissolving into the water samples.
Results:
Reagent bottle

P
Q
R
S
T
U

Water sample

Time taken for 0.1%

methylene blue
solution to decolourise
/hours
pipe water
did not decolourise
drain water
3 hours
river water
1 hours
pond water
2 hours
well water
did not decolourise
distilled water did not decolourise

Biochemical oxygen
demand / Level of
pollution
nil
low
very high
high
nil
nil

Discussion:
1. What is the function of methylene blue solution? What is the significance of the time taken
for the methylene blue solution to decolourise?
Methylene blue solution functions as an indicator to test for the presence of oxygen in water.
The faster the time taken for the methylene blue solution to decolourise, the smaller is the
amount of oxygen present in the water.
2. What precautions should you take to obtain accurate results during the experiment? Why?
The bottle must not be shaken because oxygen from the atmosphere may get dissolved in the
water and this may increase the actual amount of dissolved oxygen present in the water.
3. What is the relationship between the value of biochemical oxygen demand and the quality of
the water sample?
The higher the BOD value, the more polluted is the water sample.
4. Which water sample is the most polluted?
River water.
5. What are the sources of pollution in the different samples of water?
The sources are domestic and industrial.
Conclusion:
The hypothesis is accepted. River water is the most polluted source of water.