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Which component of urine may have the greatest effect on the absorbing…
Which component of urine may have the greatest effect on the absorbing power of a hydrogel polymer
Components of healthy urine
Water 95%
Solutes 5%
Other solutes (in order of most to least abundant)
chloride
Sodium
Potassium
Creatinine
Sulfur
Ammonia
Urea 40% of solutes
Aside from H20 urea makes up a large amount of Urine, around 40% of all the solutes in the water. Water's reaction to hydrogel
What are hydrogel polymers
Definition
Hydrogel polymers are polymers that expand in water rather than dissolving in it
Three dimensional networks of polymer chains that have the capability of holding large amounts of water, 1g of these hydrogel polymers can hold up to 90ml of distilled water
Types of hydrogels
The groups hydrogels are sorted into four different groups based on the overall charge of the network, these groups range from anionic, ionic, nonionic and ampholytic. Aside from the nonionic group the rest of these hydrogel polymers are PH sensitive due to their electric charge.
How do they work
Hydrogel polymers are hydrophobic polymers that are able to swell, retaining water as well as their original structure
General uses
Hydrogel polymers are used in gardening to aid soil by retaining large amounts of water
They're used in baby nappies to soak up urine
Components of hydrogel polymers
polyacrylamide hydrogel
super absorbent polymer
How to measure what has the greatest effect
One way to measure which component has the greatest effect is to dilute each substance with distilled water and pour the same amount of each solution into beakers containing the same amount of hydrogel then record how much water each batch absorbs
It's also important to take into account how much of each component is present in the urine, aside from water the most abundant components of urine are NaCl and urea
What is the absorbing power
Absorbing power refers to the amount a particular hydrogel polymer can absorb, usually of water.
How to test/measure absorbing power
By weighing the final weight of the gel
Hydrogel polymers can usually absorb around 80 to 180 times it's original volume or 400 times it's original volume, one way it's possible to record how much water the hydrogel has absorbed is to first drain any unabsorbed water and then weigh the overall weight of the hydrogel remembering to take into account the unabsorbed water
By adding water bit by bit
Another way to test hydrogel polymers absorbing power is to start of with a predetermined amount of hydrogel and slowly add water going up in increments of 10 - 20 ml recording each time water is added until the hydrogel can no longer absorb any more water, strain extra water into a measuring cylinder and take this amount away from the total amount of water added
Chosen method
The chosen method is to add water bit by bit into a predetermined amount of hydrogel as this provides a more accurate number of the overall water added and the total amount absorbed
Base components of 'fake' urine
Water 1 liter
Urea 9 grams
3.5g NaCl
1 gram glucose
ceratine
Variables
Independent variables
concentration of NaCl present
Concentration of Urea present
Dependent variables
Urea concentration
NaCl concentration
polar non-polar
Controlled variables
The time each batch of hydrogel and “urine” solution is left to sit will also be controlled by using a timer to ensure each sample gets roughly the same amount of time to sit to ensure accuracy
The amount of water each batch of urea is diluted in will be controlled ranging from 10-20ml at a time but will remain consistent throughout all the batches
Chosen variables
IV: The concentration of urea in each "urine" sample
DV: The amount of "Urine" absorbed by the hydrogel
Potential risks
Electricity
Cuts due to glassware
slips
Contact with stubstances
Limitations
Equiptment
The equipment in a school is limited in comparison to a professional environment so the equipment available
Expertise
As this experiment is designed to be conducted in a school environment by students a level of simplicity has to be added as the ability high school students have as opposed to chemists practicing on a professional level.
Environment
Chosen base components
250ml water
2.25g of Urea (amount slowly increasing)