Let’s imagine a simple water purification working model using charcoal, gravel, sand, and cotton. We’ll keep it easy to understand:
Materials Needed:
- A plastic bottle or a clear container with a lid
- Charcoal (from a campfire or activated charcoal)
- Gravel or small pebbles
- Sand (clean and fine-grained)
- Cotton balls or a piece of cloth
- Dirty water (for demonstration purposes)
Procedure:
- Preparing the Container:
- Take a clear plastic bottle or container. This will be our ‘water purifier’.
- Layer 1: Gravel (Rocks):
- Put a layer of small rocks or gravel at the bottom of the container. This layer helps trap the bigger particles like twigs and leaves.
- Layer 2: Sand:
- On top of the gravel, add a layer of clean, fine sand. The sand acts like a second filter to catch even smaller particles.
- Layer 3: Charcoal:
- Next, add a layer of crushed charcoal on top of the sand. Charcoal is like a super cleaner – it can remove impurities and even some chemicals from the water.
- Layer 4: Cotton (or Cloth):
- Place a layer of cotton balls or a piece of cloth on top of the charcoal. This acts as a final filter to catch any remaining tiny particles.
- Pouring Dirty Water:
- Now, pour your dirty water into the container. You can make the water ‘dirty’ by adding a bit of soil, some leaves, or even a pinch of instant coffee to give it a brownish color.
- Watching the Magic Happen:
- As the water trickles down through the layers, each layer does its job. The rocks and sand filter out bigger stuff, the charcoal works on chemicals, and the cotton acts as a final polish.
- Collecting Clean Water:
- At the bottom of your container, you’ll see clear, clean water! This is what we call ‘purified’ water.
Explanation:
- The layers of gravel, sand, charcoal, and cotton work together like a team. Each layer has a special job in cleaning the water.
- The gravel catches the big stuff, like twigs and leaves.
- The sand catches smaller particles, like dirt and tiny bugs.
- The charcoal acts like a superhero, removing chemicals and even some germs.
- The cotton or cloth makes sure the water is crystal clear before we collect it.
This simple model shows us how these natural materials can work together to clean water. Remember, in real water treatment plants, they use many more steps and special equipment, but this model helps us understand the basics of water purification!