Exploring the different types of soil

Introduction: We are going to build an artificial flood bank(levee using sand bags), to control the flooding, thereby preventing the strong currents from destroying the house on the banks of the river.  We must first understand the aim of the project before embarking on this 3 different types of soil beds: Top soil, Clay and Sand and the differences between them.

Aim of project: To find out which soil is most suitable to build a levee to prevent flooding.

Top soil: It has less water holding capacity, which means it is more porous and lighter.

Clay: It has greater water holding capacity, which means it is less porous and thicker.

Sand: It is grainy, loose and not very good at absorbing water, so the sand is light and drains well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Task 1:

 

 

For this task, we will be measuring the water collected in each beaker after 1 minute.

Aim: To find out which type of soil to be used in the sandbags to build the levee.

Plan of Experimental Design:

Factors that affect how much water a soil can hold:

- Amount of soil

- How the soil is spread out

Hypothesis:

- The volume of water collected will be the least when clay is used.

Question investigating:

- Which type of soil will reduce the volume of flooding?

Independent variable: The type of soil

Dependent variable: The amount of water passing through it

Constant: The amount of soil, the volume of water poured, the soil layout

 

Procedures:

 

Step 1: Put a bottle head with a wire mesh near its bottle neck on top of the electronic balance and zero it.

 

Step 2: Pour the top soil into the bottle head until the electronic balance reads 150g.

 

Step 3: Put the bottle head on top of the bottle bottom and pour the 100ml of water into the bottle head. Meanwhile, starting the timer.

 

Step 4: Wait until the timer reaches 1 minute.

 

Step 5: Measure the volume of water collected using a measuring cylinder and record it down.

 

Step 6: Repeat the experiment one more time.

 

Step 7: Repeat Step 1 to 7 but using sand and clay.

 

Type of soil	Volume of water collected at the end of the experiment/ml	Repetition
Sand	45	52.5
Top soil	33	43
Clay	13	23

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Task 2:

 

For this experiment, we will be measuring the time taken for water to pass through the soil until the water level reaches a certain marking of 50ml.

 

Aim: To find out which type of soil is most suitable to be used in the sandbags to build a levee that slows down flooding.

 

Factors that affect how much water a soil can hold:

- Amount of soil

- How the soil is spread out

 

 

Hypothesis

- The clay will take the longest time for the water level to reach the level of 50ml.

 

 

Question investigating:

-Which type of soil will slow down the flooding the most?

 

 

Independent variable: The type of soil

Dependent variable: The time for the water to pass through the soil

Constants: The amount of soil, the amount of water poured, the soil layout

 

Procedures:

 

Step 1: Measure 50ml using a measuring cylinder and pour it into the bottle bottom.

 

Step 2: Use a black marker to mark the water level of 50ml.

 

Step 3: Put a bottle head with a wire mesh near its bottle neck on top of the electronic balance and zero it.

 

Step 4: Pour the top soil into the bottle head until the electronic balance reads 150g.

 

Step 5: Put the bottle head on top of the bottle bottom and pour the 100ml of water into the bottle head. Meanwhile, starting the timer.

 

Step 6: Stop the timer immediately when the water reaches the marker and record the timing.

 

Step 7: Repeat the experiment 1 more time.

 

Step 8: Repeat Step 1 to 7 but using sand and clay.

 

 

 

Type of soil	Time taken for the water to reach 50ml	Repetition
Sand	8	24
Top soil	29.5	48
Clay	27.5	30

 

Analysis and discussion of results:

Scientific explanation: The clay took the longest time to reach the water level because it does not allow much water to pass through compared to the other types of soil. The amount of water collected after 1 minute will be the least when clay is used because the particles inside the clay prevents so much water from passing through.

 

Errors found: We found that the difference between our results and the repetition is too much. After close observing, we observe that the rate of the water flowing into the bottle top is always different. This is a experimental error which cannot be prevented but can be reduced.

 

Conclusion

The clay has the least amount of water passing through it  and the clay allows the least water to pass through. The conclusion that we have made are supported by the data we have collected.

 

Areas for further research and study

To make improvements to the investigations,  the soil  should be spread evenly, the amount of soil should be the same, the amount of water poured should be the same.

 

 

 

Duty list and acknowledgement of group members

Page 1 done by Hong Ze

Page 2 done by Nicholas

Page 3 done by Yi Sheng

Page 4 done by Zhang Yi

Page 5 done by Zhi Hao

Done by Hong Ze

PowerPoint slides by Zhi Hao