Bacteria! Don't Drink It!

Overview

Objectives/Goals To see if Brita filters contained coliform bacteria. Methods/Materials Water samples collected in sterile containers from seven sources, including a new Brita filter and an expired Brita filter. Samples were taken to the lab. One Colilert tablet was added to each container and shaken until disolved. Samples were incubated for 24 hours at 35 degrees Celsius, then placed under an ultraviolet light to see if samples turned blue. Results The new Brita filter was negative for total coliform and negative for E.coli coliform. The expired Brita filter tested positive for total coliform but negative for E.coli coliform. Three of the remaining samples tested negative for both total coliform and E.coli coliform. The last two samples tested positive for total coliform but negative for E.coli coliform. Conclusions/Discussion Water sample from the new Brita filter don't contain coliform bacteria. Water sample from the expired Brita filter contained coliform bacteria and may not be safe to drink.

Competition history

• CSEF 2005 Materials Science (Junior Division Only) · Entry J1113

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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