Project
For this project we were tasked with transforming undrinkable water into clean and safe drinkable water. To do this, we devised three different water collecting methods to test which one would be the most effective to use in the wilderness. We also created a video to show the time, effort, and materials needed to construct one of our designs in the wilderness and made sure to make everything we used have a high chance actually being found in the wild.
Content
1. Solar Still: A solar still uses the sun to evaporate water and collect the condensation on a clear plastic material above. Condensation is the process of which the sun heats up water and turns it into its gas state. However, a solar still can also use plants as a way to obtain water. This is due to the fact that plants also contain water in them and when dried out by the sun, water can be collected. To make a solar still you would first need to dig a hole about two feet deep. You would then put your vegetation and/or water into the hole and cover it up with a clear plastic sheet after putting a bucket or other container at the bottom center to collect the water. Make sure to secure the plastics to the sides of the hole using rocks or anything heave to weigh it down. The final step is to put a small weight at the center over the bucket so that when the water evaporates, it attaches to the plastic sheet and then trickles down to the center, where it then falls back down into your bucket. Overall, this method is one of the safest but produces low amounts of water. Ours only produced around 150 mL
of water but was also small in scale and can be remade depending on how many materials are present.
2. Charcoal/Dirt/Sand Filter: This filter is not the most ideal one to use since it doesn't protect against bacteria and can't filter salt water. However using one of these filters would produce more drinkable water at a faster rate than others given the right conditions. To make one of these filters you would need to find a water bottle and cut it in half. Next you would need to find cloth with a semi permeable membrane and put it where it through the half of the bottle where the cap would be. Once that is done place the clothed top facing down above the bottom part of the bottle. Then try to obtain sand, dirt, and coal in add them to the bottle in that order. The reasoning for that is so the top can filter out the larger debris and the bottom will deal with the refined bits. Then pour water into the top and let it slowly drip out through the bottom to create drinkable water. This methods is best in certain conditions, especially if you are very dehydrated and need water fast.
3. Boiling: The best way to insure their is no bacteria in your water is to boil it. To do this in the wild, it is extremely unlikely for you to find a metal pot so, the best thing to look for would be glass bottles. To set up essentially a faster solar still, you would need two glass bottles. Then you must create two mounds, one slightly higher than the other to allow steam from the boiling water in one glass to move into the other glass. The fire can be made on top of the lower glass to boil it not only killing of bacteria with the extreme heat, but also moving the water vapor away from any solids that could also harm you. This method would be externally difficult to use however since you would have to be able to remove the fire and add it each time since you would need to add more water into the glass covered in the fire.
of water but was also small in scale and can be remade depending on how many materials are present.
2. Charcoal/Dirt/Sand Filter: This filter is not the most ideal one to use since it doesn't protect against bacteria and can't filter salt water. However using one of these filters would produce more drinkable water at a faster rate than others given the right conditions. To make one of these filters you would need to find a water bottle and cut it in half. Next you would need to find cloth with a semi permeable membrane and put it where it through the half of the bottle where the cap would be. Once that is done place the clothed top facing down above the bottom part of the bottle. Then try to obtain sand, dirt, and coal in add them to the bottle in that order. The reasoning for that is so the top can filter out the larger debris and the bottom will deal with the refined bits. Then pour water into the top and let it slowly drip out through the bottom to create drinkable water. This methods is best in certain conditions, especially if you are very dehydrated and need water fast.
3. Boiling: The best way to insure their is no bacteria in your water is to boil it. To do this in the wild, it is extremely unlikely for you to find a metal pot so, the best thing to look for would be glass bottles. To set up essentially a faster solar still, you would need two glass bottles. Then you must create two mounds, one slightly higher than the other to allow steam from the boiling water in one glass to move into the other glass. The fire can be made on top of the lower glass to boil it not only killing of bacteria with the extreme heat, but also moving the water vapor away from any solids that could also harm you. This method would be externally difficult to use however since you would have to be able to remove the fire and add it each time since you would need to add more water into the glass covered in the fire.
Data
Video
Presentation
Reflection
Over the course of this project, I learned a few new things to help me in the world. This project allowed me to gain knowledge on how to survive in the wild creating makeshift water sources. While filming the video I also learned how hard it will be in the wild to survive since even recreating these devices with the materials at hand, took a long time. That's with the shovels we used to dig the holes as well, as we didn't have enough daylight to dig the hole with sticks and test it. Throughout this year and some past years, I have always enjoyed making videos for projects since I feel its what I am best at and can contribute most to my group. I believe that my editing skills have definitely improved since the beginning of this year since I can add some slight humor to a project to get the audience re-engaged after listening to five of the same google slides presentations before hand.
Some areas for improvement in our project include testing all of our water collecting methods mentioned and gathering more data. For our collection methods we were only able to make and test one of our three devices. This was mainly due to the fact that our devices were our meant to be constructed outside and not in rural areas. This made it difficult for our group to plan a day to even just film one, as even then only 60% of our group was there and the one filming us was our friend not involved with our project. For our data we did show how effective it was on a normal day, but what about on other days? If we had more time or started earlier, we could have tested it out on cloudy days or extremely sunny days to see how it would effect the results.
This project was not like most of our other projects for me. Normally my group and I would design and make something all in the classroom and basically just only work at school. However this project was mainly done at home and in the wild while the brainstorming and planning took place in the classroom. I also preferred this work style since it allowed us to be more free with where we tested our design.
Some areas for improvement in our project include testing all of our water collecting methods mentioned and gathering more data. For our collection methods we were only able to make and test one of our three devices. This was mainly due to the fact that our devices were our meant to be constructed outside and not in rural areas. This made it difficult for our group to plan a day to even just film one, as even then only 60% of our group was there and the one filming us was our friend not involved with our project. For our data we did show how effective it was on a normal day, but what about on other days? If we had more time or started earlier, we could have tested it out on cloudy days or extremely sunny days to see how it would effect the results.
This project was not like most of our other projects for me. Normally my group and I would design and make something all in the classroom and basically just only work at school. However this project was mainly done at home and in the wild while the brainstorming and planning took place in the classroom. I also preferred this work style since it allowed us to be more free with where we tested our design.