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Bacteriology Science Fair Project

Solar Water Disinfection

Hard
Solar Water Disinfection | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
This science project explores how sunlight can be used to disinfect water. We will use plastic bottles filled with water and exposed to UV rays for hours to see if the degree of transparency of the plastic bottle surface affects the level of disinfection.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that the lower the degree of transparency of the plastic bottle surface, the lower the level of disinfection.

Method & Materials

You will prepare 7 clean PET bottles, scratch the outer surface of 4 bottles to four different levels of opacity, fill all 7 bottles with an equal amount of tap water, mix each bottle with 3gm of E.Coli culture, place 5 of the bottles under sunlight for 6 hours, and place the other 2 bottles in the shade for 6 hours.
You will need 7 PET Bottles, 7 liters of Tap Water, Escherichia Coli bacteria culture, 7 Agar plates in Petri Dishes, 7 Syringes, and a sharp object, e.g. penknife, blade etc.

Results

The results showed that the amount of bacteria increases as the degree of opacity increases. This study is important for those countries using SODIS as a method for disinfecting drinking water, as it can help eliminate or minimize diarrhea-related deaths.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it explores how sunlight can be used to disinfect water, which is a cheap and efficient way to produce water safe for drinking and is currently widely used in many third world countries.

Also Consider

Variations to consider include what happens if bottles made from other material are used, how to make sure the PET bottles are 100% clean before carrying out the experiment, and what controls of the experiment should be taken into consideration besides the ones mentioned above.

Full project details

You can find additional information and details for this science fair project here. Have fun exploring!

Related videos

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