What does hard water make?
Scum and scale
How is scum produced?
Reacting soap with water
How is scale produced?
When water is heated
How do you get a lather from washing hands using hard water?
Use more soap
What are the disadvantages of washing your hands in hard water?
More soap has to be used so more money needs to be spent to buy it
Why is scale bad? (2)
- Can eventually block pipes
What is water hardness caused by?
Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions
How does water become hard? (2)
- and calcium sulphate
What are the advantages to hard water? (2)
- People who live in hard water areas are less likely to develop heart disease
What is temporary hardness caused by? (2)
- HCO3- (3 oxygen’s all -ve charge)
What is permenant hardness caused by?
Dissolved calcium sulfate
How is temporary hardness removed?
Boiling
What happens when temporary hard water is heated? (2)
What is the word equation for the removal of temporary hardness?
Calcium hydrogencarbonate -> Calcium carbonate + water + carbon dioxide
What is the symbol equation removal of hard water?
Ca(HCO3)2 -> CaCO3 + H2O + CO2
How can temporary and permanently hard water be softened?
By adding washing soda
What is washing soda?
Sodium carbonate
What is the chemical name for washing soda?
Na2CO3
How does washing soda soften temporary and permanently hard water?
It reacts with the Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions to make an insoluble precipitate of calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate
How can both types of hardness be removed?
Running the water through an ion exchange column
How does an ion exchange column work? (2)
- and exchange them for the calcium and magnesium ions in the water
What can you use to compare the hardness of water samples?
Titrations
How do you do a titration? (6)
What is the first part of water treatment and why is it done?
- Removes big parts like twigs