Week 6

Week six was the conclusion of the chemistry section in my physical science course. Before we could properly conclude the chemistry section in the course we had to read about mixtures (chapter 16), how chemicals react (chapter 17), and the two classes of chemical reactions (chapter 18).

My mother has always been the one to buy the groceries. When my siblings and I were younger she would always buy us juice, especially kool-aid, hawaiian punch, and capri-suns. As we got older she cut down on the amount of juice she would buy us until one day she just did not buy us any juice at all. We had noticed that she wasn't buying us juice anymore but we never questioned her about why we were not getting any juice.

As a result, we were left only water to drink. For about seven years now we have been mainly drinking water. My mother no longer buys juice every single time she goes to the commissary. Having only water in the house is normal to my family but not for our guest who get tired of drinking only water.

Since I drink a lot of water throughout the day I notice some things about water that other people might not notice. For example, I notice that San Bendetto branded water has a different taste that Culligan branded water. I refuse to drink San Bendetto branded water because I notice that the water has an unappealing taste, which is why I prefer Culligan or Celtic branded water. Most people would say that water does not have a flavor or taste, but contrary to popular belief, water does have a taste to it.

Water that is safe to drink has been purified by manipulating its physical properties; this water is referred to as potable. Facilities that purify water first collect potable water from natural resources and mix the water with minerals to remove the dirt particles and pathogens. After the dirt particles and pathogens in the water form into clumps, the water is filtered through sand and gravel.

Water gets its smell and flavor when the facilities aerate the water in columns of air. By aerating the water, volatile chemicals that give the water an odor is removed. Aerating the water also allows air to dissolve in the water which improves the taste of the water. So perhaps the reason why San Bendetto branded water taste "nasty" is because the water was not aerated long enough.

The next time you go buy some water, but a couple of different brands of water and take notice of how one bottle of water may taste different from another bottle of water.