Our Year 7 Specialist STEM students have been working on Designing Water Filtration Systems as part of the practical component of their ‘Clean the Drink’ assignment. Students learnt about separation procedures in science and then designed and built a filter in Design and Technology that can be deployed to clean dirty water in a disaster situation. Different methods were used, but the best and most cost effective system was the ‘packed sand’ style of filter, using course, medium and fine aggregate (stones and sand) to filter out particles from the water and activated carbon to remove more volatile organic compounds.
They used their math skills to help with production management, design (measurement and quantities), and cost effectiveness for large scale production.
To test the filters they mixed up a shovel full of black sand and organic matter from the garden then passed it through the filter. All filters worked and a couple filtered out all excess material from the water, returning a clear liquid.
Mr Gobby – Design and Technology STEM Teacher