Many people are not satisfied with the taste and quality of the water they can access from their taps at home. Indeed, although health authorities ensure that tap water is fully suitable for human consumption (at least in most European countries) it is convenient to know how to check the purity of water at home.

Water from the tap contains mineral salts and other nutrients that usually are the ones that confer it a particular taste and smell. Water quality is measured according to several parameters, and national and international laws, which include chemical, physical, and biological properties. Parameters that are frequently sampled or monitored for water quality include temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, ORP, and turbidity.

With this activity learners will not only learn how to make a water quality tester but also about the components of water we access every day. This activity can be developed individually by learners or as a group activity, and it’s objective is to help the learners to develop an instrument which will be useful for measuring water quality, while they learn about its components.