Can You Make Dirty Water Clean? In this experiment, young scientists will learn about filtration and adsorption, and how they can be used to make dirty water clean.
Filtration is the process of separating solids and liquids from a mixture when filter mediums such as coffee filters and cotton balls allow the water to pass through but retain larger solid particles.
For the even smaller impurities, adsorption is the process that helps retain them. Adsorption is the adhesion of molecules of gas, liquid, or dissolved solids to a surface caused by the attractions between the molecules’ charges. The total surface area of all the grains of sand is very large, so small impurities will stick to the surfaces letting clean water pass through.
Filters are everywhere! Faucets, air purification systems, and refrigerators all use filters to separate out impurities using filtration and adsorption to provide people with clean water and clean air.