The Chemistry of Swimming

IntroductionSwimming is the act, sport or technique of one that swims.

I chose swimming for my dot dot dot because I did swim team for senior last year and I absolutely loved it. Plus it is great exercise and its a life skill to learn as well. Swimming affects my life because it has made me stronger. I also changed the perception of what my family thought what swimming was about.

Composition of ...

  • pool water(bromine)
  • sweat
  • goggles
  • cap
  • suit
  • hard work and dedication

Background Research

Why does the pool turn Blonde Hair green?

It’s not the chlorine that turns blonde hair green. It’s the Oxidized metals in the water bind to the protein in the hair shaft and deposit their color. If your hair turns green you can remove the discoloration by using a shampoo that chelates the metals.

Swimming pools are used for recreational and for competitive events.While the water in most below-ground pools is drawn, pumped through a filter or a heater, and circulated back to the pool at a legislated rate, the time to replace the entire volume of water can still be less than in a free-flowing stream, pond, or lake.

One approach to maintaining swimming pool water quality involves filters, which can remove microbes and larger debris from the water. The latter are removed by a filter basket that acts as a strainer. This process is purely physical; water enters the open end of the filter, and debris that is too large to pass through the mesh basket remains trapped.

A second filter utilizes physical and chemical means to trap smaller material.Over time, as debris collects, the ability of the filter bed to bind particles decreases. Then, by forcing water back through the bed in the reverse direction in a process called backwashing, the collected debris can be driven out. Once the sand or earth grains have settled, the filtering action of the bed is restored.

Disease-causing (pathogenic) bacteria are controlled by the use of disinfectants. The most popular swimming pool disinfectant is chlorine, which is typically introduced in the form of a solid (calcium hypochlorite) or a liquid (sodium hypochlorite). (Instead of chlorine, a chemical called bromide can be used. But it is pretty expensive compared to chlorine so chlorine is used verses bromide.Another aspect of swimming pool chemistry concerns the pH level of the water—the acidity of the water.

Resources

http://chemistry.about.com/od/howthingsworkfaqs/f/greenhair.htm

http://www.faqs.org/sports-science/Sp-Tw/Swimming-Pool-Chemistry.html

http://www.saveonpoolsupplies.com/shopping/product.aspx?productid=32&scode=I9SOPS05&e5=Y&pp=Y&e6=Bromine&keyword=Bromine&s_kwcid=TC|13693|bromine||S|p|5959122203&gclid=CI-7vZOa4K4CFcoZQgodtCN2Ww

http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/br.htm#ixzz1orVp66WM

About the Author

Brittney Dick is a junior at Senior High who loves to help others. One of the sports I’ve grown to love is swimming. She started sophomore year and continued this year. Its amazing seeing the difference in my speeds from last year to this year. Swimming is such an amazing sport.