Build your own water filter
This activity informs the students about simple and natural ways to clean water, and how they could potentially be used to treat drinking water.
Please note: the water cleaned by this simple filtration method is NOT suitable for drinking, as it may still contain harmful components.
Objective
Students understand how water is naturally treated through sediment filtration by applying the same method in a small scale experiment.
Materials
• 2 liters of “dirty” water
• 1 x two liter plastic soft drink bottle with its cap (or cork that fits tightly into the neck)
• 2 x two liter plastic soft drink bottles, one with its bottom cut off to use as a funnel and one with the top cut off to use for sedimentation.
• 1½ cups fine sand
• 1½ cups coarse sand
• 1 cup small pebbles
• 1 filter
• 1 rubber band
• 1 large spoon
• A stopwatch.
