potable water

Question 1

what is potable water?

Answer 1

water that has been treated or is naturally safe to drink

Question 2

how is potable water different to pure water?

Answer 2

pure water contains no dissolved substances, and potable water contains small amounts of dissolved substances

Question 3

in the uk, rain water provides most of our potable water, where do we collect rainwater?

Answer 3

lakes, rivers, reservois and aquifers

Question 4

what is the first stage of producing potable water?

Answer 4

we first choose a source of fresh water and collect the water

Question 5

what is the second stage of producing potable water?

Answer 5

water is then passed through filter beds to remove materials such as leaves and suspended particles (filtration)

Question 6

what is the third stage of producing potable water?

Answer 6

water is sterlised to kill microbes

Question 7

in some countries, where there is not enough surface or ground water to collect water, what must be done?

Answer 7

sea water must be desalinated

Question 8

what are the 2 ways of carrying out desalination?

Answer 8

distillation and reverse osmosis

Question 9

why is reverse omsosis and distillation impractical?

Answer 9

because it costs a lot of money and required lots of energy