BrianLan

Grade10
EvironmentalScience
10/18
TheSeparationofSoilandthe
ChemicalsWithin
Intro:
Soilisoneofthemostbasicresourcesonearththatisrequiredtosustainlife.
Withoutsoilwewillnothavetheproducerssuchasplantsandfungitoformthefoodchain
andorganismswillstarveandbeunabletosurvive.Alsoourextremeatmosphereis
stablalizedbyplantsthatcreateoxygenwhichhelpsearthbeaplacesuitabletolive.If
therewasalackofsoilonearththerewouldbeanoverquantityofcarbondioxideanda
shortageoffoodeveniforganismswereabletosurviveourworldwouldbeahorrible
placetoliveandlifewouldntbeaspeacefulasitistoday.
Inthisexperimentweexplorethechemicalssoilcontainandhowsoilcanbe
seperatedintodifferentparticles.Soilcanbeseperatedintosand,siltandclay.Depending
onhowmuchofeachofthesematerialssoilcontain,groundwaterwillbeaffected.
Permeabilityisameasureofhowmuchfluidasoilisabletotransfer[1].Dependingonthe
differentmixturesandamountsofsand,siltandclaythepermeabilitycanbecalculated.
Thisisveryimportanttoourunderstandingbecausemostofourdrinkingwaterisfrom
groundwater.Ifwedontkeepthesoilingoodshape,wewontbeabletogetenough
drinkingwater.
Anothergoalwearegoingtoexamineinthisexperimentisthechemical
compositionofsoil.Chemicalcompositionwithinasoilisveryimportantasthemost
importantchemicalsarenitrogen,potassiumandphosphorus.Nitrogenisimportantfor
plantgrowthandphotosynthesiswhilephosphoruscreatesthestructureoftheplantand
regulatesphotosysnthesis.Potassiumaidswaterasorbtionandwillmakeaplanthealthier
andstronger.Eachofthesechemicalsarenecessaryforplantstothriveandwithoutthem
inthesoilplantscannotlive.Itisimportanttotestthesoiltoseewhetherthesechemicals
aredeficientornotorelseplantswillnotgrowwell.
Materials:
60mlSoilFlocculating
60mlSoilFlocculatingReagent
60mlTextureDispersingReagent
1SoilTextureStand
3TestTubes,Soiltexture,50ml,caps
2Pipets,1mL,plastic,caps
DistilledWater
Plasticteaspoon
Watch(asatimer)
pipet
Soil
PhosphorousTablet
PotassiumTablet
NitrogenWRCTATablet
FlocExTablet
Extractiontube
ProtectiveSleeve
ChemicalColorChart
PhPaper
Procedure:
Figure1:SoilSampleAFigure2:SoilSampleB
PartA:(OnceForSoilSampleA,SecondTimeForSoilSampleB):
1)PlacethethreeSoilSeparationTubeintherack
2)AddthesoilsampletoSoilseparationTubeAuntilitisevenwithline15.
3)useapipettoadd1MLofTextureDispersingReagenttothesampleinSoilSeparation
TubeA.Dilutetoline45withtapwater
4)Capandshakegentlyfor2minutes,makingsurethesoilandwateraremixed
5)PlaceSoilsperationtubeAintherack.Allowtostandundisturbedfor30seconds.
6)CarefullypourallthesoultionintosoilseparationtubeB.ReturnTubeAtotherack.
AllowTubeBtostandundisturbedfor30minutes
7)CarefullypouroffthesolutionfromSoilSeparationTubeBintoSoilSeparationTubeC.
ReturnBtotherack
8)Add1mLofSoioloFLocculationReagenttoSoilSeparationTubeC.Capandgently
shakefor1minute
9)PlacetheSoilSeparationTubeCintherackandallowittostanduntilalltheclayin
suspensionsettles.Thismayrequireupto24hours.
Note:Unlessthereisfurtheruseoftheclaysampleforairdryingandstudyasdescribed
later,itisnotnecessarytowaitforthesuspensiontosettle.Duetothecolloidalnatureof
clayinsolutionanditstendencytoswellandformagel,theportionofclayremainingin
TubeCisnotusedtodeterminetheclayfractionpresentinthesoil.Theclayfractionis
calculatedbyaddingthesandandsiltfractionsandsubtractingthistotalfromtheinitial
volumeofsoilusedfortheseparation.
Exampleone:
TubeASand 2 InitialVolume 15
+TubeBSilt +8 TotalA&B 10
TotalA&B 10 Clay 5
10)ReadSoilSeparationTubeAatthetopofsoillevel.Tocalculatepercentagesandin
thesoil,dividereadingby15.Multiplyby100.Recordas%sand.
11)ReadSoilSeparationTubeBattopofsoillevel.Tocalculatepercentagesiltinthesoil,
dividereadingby15.Multiplyby100.Recordas%silt.
12)Calculatevolumeofclayasshownabove.Tocalculatepercentclayinthesoil,divide
valueby15.Multiplyby100.Recordas%clay
Figure3:SoilSampleAPartAFigure2:SoilSampleBPartA
PartB:(OnceForSoilSampleA,SecondTimeForSoilSampleB)
Extraction
1.Filltheroundextractiontubetothe30mllinewithDistilledWater.
2.Addtwo*FlocExTablets.Capthetubeandmixuntilthetabletshavedisintegrated
3.Removethecap.Addoneheapingteaspoonofsoil
4.Capthetubeandshakeforoneminute
5.Letthetubestanduntilthesoilsettlesout.Theclearsoltionabovethesoilwillbeused
fortheNitrate,Phosphorous,andPotassiumtests.
Nitrogen
1.Usethepipettotransfertheclearsolutionabovethesoiltoasquaretesttubeuntilitis
filledtotheshoulder.
2.AddoneNitrateWRCTATablet.Immediatelyslidethetubeintotheprotectivesleeve.
3.Capandmixbyinvertingfortwominutestodisintegratethetablets.Bitsofmaterialmay
remaininthesample.
4.Wait5minutesforthecolortodevelop.RemovethetubefromtheProtectiveSleeve.
ComparethepinkcolorofthesolutiontotheNitrogenColorChart.
5.Choosetherightcolormatchingthecolorchartandmakenoteoftheamountof
Nitrogen.
Phosphorus
1.Usethepipettotransfer25dropsofclearsolutionabovethesoiltoasquaretesttube.
2.Fillthetubetotheshoulderwithdistilledwater.
3.AddonePhosphorusTablet.Capandmixuntilthetabletdisintegrates.Wait5minutes
forthecolortodevelop.
4.ComparethebluecolorofthesolutiontothePhosphorusColorChart
5.Choosetherightcolormatchingthecolorchartandmakenoteoftheamountof
Nitrogen.
Potassium
1.Usethepipettotransfertheclearsolutionabovethesoiltoasquaretesttubeuntilitis
filledtotheshoulder.
2.AddonePotassiumTablet.Capandmixuntilthetabletdisintegrates.
3.ComparethecloudinessofthesolutioninthetesttubetothePotassiumColorChart.
Holdthetubeovertheblackboxesintheleftcolumnandcompareittotheshadedboxesin
therightcolumn.
4.Choosetherightcolormatchingthecolorchartandmakenoteoftheamountof
Nitrogen.
Nitrogen
L=40lbA/6soil
M=160lmA/6soil
H320lbA/6soil
Phosphorus
L=8lbA/6soil
M=20lbA/6soil
H=64lbA/6soil
Potassium
L=40lbA/6soil
M=80lbA/6soil
H=160lbA/6soil
Figure5:SoilSampleApartBSampleFigure6:SoilSampleBpartBSample
Calculations:
SoilA
SoilTubeAreads12
SoilTubeBreads2
SoilTubeCreads1
%Sand=12*100=80%
15
%Silt=2*100=13.33%
15
%Clay=1*100=6.6%
15
Threetubesaddedup:80%+13.33%+6.6%=99.93%(0.07%washumanerror)
Phofthesoil:6
Nitrogen=40lbA/6soil
Phosphorus=20lbA/6soil
Potassium=160lbA/6soil
SoilB
SoilTubeAreads12
SoilTubeBreads0.5
SoilTubeCreads0.5
%Sand:14*100=93.33%
15
%Silt:0.5*100=3.33%
15
%Clay:0.5*100=3.33%
15
Threetubesaddedup:93.33%+3.33%+3.33%=99.99%(0.01%washumanerror)
Phofthesoil:7
Nitrogen=40lbA/6soil
Phosphorus=20lbA/6soil
Potassium=160lbA/6soil
Results:
Table1:ComparisonofSand,SiltandClayAmountinSoilSampleAandB
SoilSampleA SoilSampleB
Sand(TubeA) 12 12
Silt(TubeB) 2 0.5
Clay(TubeC) 1 0.5
Thistableshowsthedifferentamountsofsand,siltandclaythatsoilsampleAandB
contain.Theresultshowsthatthetwoarefairlysimilarinsand,siltandclay.
Table2:ComparisonofSand,SiltandClayPercentageinSoilSampleAandB
SoilSampleA SoilSampleB
Sand(TubeA) 80% 93.33%
Silt(TubeB) 13.33% 3.33%
Clay(TubeC) 6.6% 3.3%
Thistableshowsthepercentagesofsand,siltandclayinsoilsampleAandB.Thetwoare
fairlysimilarinpercentage.
Table3:ComparisonofNitrogen,SiltandClayamountinSoilSampleAandB
SoilSampleA SoilSampleB
Nitrogen 40lbA/6soil 40lbA/6soil
Phosphorus 20lbA/6soil 20lbA/6soil
Potassium 160lbA/6soil 160lbA/6soil
ph 6 6
Thistableshowstheamountofnitrogen,phosphorusandpotassiuminsoilsampleAand
B.ThereisaextremelysimilarcomparisonwithsoilsampleAtoSoilsampleB.Thetwo
containaboutthesameamountofthechemicalsandcouldbetheexactsamesoil.
Discussion:
Throughoutthisexperimentthetwodatawehaveforthetwosoilsamplesseemsto
beverysimilar.ThesoilsampleAhas80percentofsandcomparedto93percentinsoil
sampleB.Thesiltinthetwosoilsamplesis13percentto3percent.Theclayis6percent
3percent.Thisshowsthatthetwosoilsamplesarecomposedofdifferentmixturesofthe
threebasiccompositionsofsoil,sand,siltandclay.Thiswillmakewaterrundifferentlyin
thetwosoilsandifplantswereplantedineachsoiltheplantswillthrivedifferently.The
Nitrogen,PhosphorusandPotassiumamountsinsoilsampleAandBareextremely
similar.Thecoloroftheresultofthesoilinnitrogen,phosphorusandpotassiumendedup
tobethesame.Thisshowsthatthechemicalsinthetwosoilsamplesaresimilarandcould
bethesamesoil.Alsothephofthesoilisthesamewhichmakestheacidityorthebasicity
thesame.InconclusionIbelievethetwosoilsamplesarefromthesameareabutbecause
ofthemanyyearsthesoilhasbeentherethemixtureswillturnouttobedifferent.
ReflectionTable:
Limitationstothe
Experiment
EffectsofLimitations Howtheexperimentcould
beimproved
1.HumanError:Oneof
thebiggestlimitationsin
thisexperiment.Ifthe
someonemessedupone
thingthewholeexperiment
couldberuined.
Ifoneofthestepsinthe
experimentwasdone
wrongwecouldhaveruined
thewholeexperiment.For
exampleinpartAofthe
procedureifwedidnt
measurethesandamount
correctlyourresultswill
differ.Thepercentageof
sandwillbeincorrectand
alsooursilt,clay
percentagewillbeaffected.
Theonlywaytoimprovethis
isbyworkingcarefully.A
longerworktimecould
reducetherisksofhaving
humanserrors.Being
carefulisreallyimportantin
experimentslikethis.
2.Limitedmaterialsand
tools:Thetoolsthatwe
usedthisexperimentisnt
themostexactandthere
willbesomedifferences
fromtheexactanswer.
Thelimitedtoolswillaffect
theprescisenessofthis
experimentandtherefore
ourresultswillnotbefully
accurate.Alsowecannot
assurethatduringthe
transferofthewaterinsoil
wedidnotloseanywater
Wecouldusemoreprecise
equipmenttomakesure
thatourexperimentismore
accurate.Thechangein
equipmentwillgreatly
produceagreaterresultin
ourexperiment.
andchangedtheresults.
3.InaccurateSoil
Samples:Thesoilsamples
weusedarenotfullyplain
soilandmaycontainmetals
andotherthingssuchas
plastic.Thiscouldchange
theresultinourexperiment
andwhatthesoilcontains.
Thesoilsamplescould
containmaterialsthatmake
thesoilnotjustpuresoil.
Thiswillmakethe
chemcialsandthe
compostitionofthesoil
different.Normalsoildoesnt
containothermaterialso
thiswillmakethesamplesa
bitinaccurate.
Wecouldusesoilsthat
havebeencleanedand
removedfromunatural
resources.Wecould
elimatethemetalsand
plasticandmakethesoil
morenatural.
WorkCitation:
1."SoilPropertiesThatAffectGroundwater."SoilPropertiesThatAffectGroundwater.N.p.,n.d.
Web.18Oct.2013.
2."ProSoil|SustainableSoilManagementNitrogen,PhosphorousandPotassiumandTheirRolein
AgriculturalCropProduction."ProSoilRSS2.N.p.,n.d.Web.18Oct.2013.