A Cup of Dirt

By: 1-13

Question
Does the moon phase affect the amount of dirt
left over when a hole is dug and filled in with
a 1.5 x 1.5 x 36.0125 wooden post in it?

Rationale
This will benefit society because it will help people in
construction when doing things like making retention ponds and
digging manholes so that they dont need to bring in truckloads
more dirt. Itll also help agriculture by knowing when to dig holes
so they dont have to spend hard earned money on more soil.
This interested me because my dad told me that his dad (my
grandpa) used to be in construction and dig these massive
manholes to help route sewer pipes. They dug out about 20' x 20'
holes, and put boxes in it, and still not enough dirt to fill in the
hole. I wanted to try it out.

Abstract
Is the post-hole phenomenon real? If a hole is dug and a post is
put in it, does the amount left over relate to the moon phase?
Everyday around 5 p.m. for 24 days, I went and dug 3 holes that
were 10" x 10" x 3" and put a 1.5 x 1.5 x 36.0125 wooden
fence post in it, and weighed the extra dirt left over in pounds. I
did this because I had no other way of measuring the dirt. I
measured it by standing on the scale with the bucket and
weighing myself beforehand. The moon phases didn't seem to
relate with the amount of dirt left over.

Hypothesis
If a hole is dug and you fill it with dirt multiple times
in different phases of the moon, then when there is a
new moon, then the dirt will be lighter, looser and
there will be dirt left over. When dug in a full moon,
then it will be heavier, more compact, and youll need
more dirt to fill the hole.

Materials
Shovel
Places to dig in my yard
Bowls and buckets to hold the dirt
A calendar of the year- for this year its 2016
Knowledge of the moon phases at the time
Extra dirt- dirt from other places around the yard
Ruler for measuring the holes
A 1.5 x 1.5 x 36.0125 wooden fence post

Procedure

1. Take note of the moons phase for the first day. Always
dig at 5:00 p.m.
2. After you are sure that you dug the right hole (10 x
10x 3) then put a 1.5 x 1.5 x 36.0125 pole in the
hole. Dont try to compact it or anything like that. No dirt
left behind.
3. Weigh the dirt in a bucket using pounds (it was the
only choice I had).
4. Record the results and the moon phase at the time.
5. Repeat this for 3 more holes.
6. Repeat this process for about a month, or the time it
takes the moon to complete the phases.

Pictures

(All two of them)

These were both taken on the

first day

Results
The beginning number is the day of the experiment, % is the amount of moon
illumination, the last number is the average amount of dirt left over in pounds for that
day, and date is the day performed. The '..' after a number means that it repeated.
1. (99.2%) 10/16/16
2. (97%) 10/17/16
3. (92%) 10/18/16
4. (84%) 10/19/16
5. (75%) 10/20/16
6. (65%) 10/21/16
7. (54%) 10/22/16
8. (43%) 10/23/16
9. (33%) 10/24/16
10. (24%) 10/25/16
11. (16%) 10/26/16
12. (10%) 10/27/16

3.4
2.4
4.1
5.2
2.866..
3.733..
0.8
1.933..
2.733..
3.8
2
4

13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.

(5%)
(2%)
(1%)
(1%)
(3%)
(7%)
(13%)
(20%)
(28%)
(37%)
(47%)
(58%)

10/28/16
10/29/16
10/30/16
10/31/16
11/1/16
11/2/16
11/3/16
11/4/16
11/5/16
11/6/16
11/7/16
11/8/16

2.8
3.4
2.933..
2.6
3.866..
3
2.733..
4.066..
2.866..
3.2
5.133..
4.6..

Graph
I know it's
hard to read;
that's why I
included the
labels for the
days. It's a
jumble on
the x-axis.

Conclusion
The experiment shows that there isn't
causation from the moon phase to the amount of
dirt left over when a hole is filled with a wooden
pole that is 1.5 x 1.5 x 36.0125. Of course,
this could mean that it isn't a big variable to
worry about when digging 10" x 10" x 3" and
putting a post in it. However, when digging a
bigger hole, like a man hole, it could be more
prominent, and noticeable. Also, a bigger variable
in this could be the density of the dirt, and there
were a lot of roots in the way.

Bibliography
"Today's Moon Phase!" Today's Moon Phase. N.p., n.d. Web. 30
Sept. 2016.
"Re: Full Moon and Not Enough Dirt." Re: Full Moon and Not
Enough Dirt. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.
"Moon Phases Facts." Moon Phases Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 30
Sept. 2016.
"Farming by the Moon Phases...Made Simple." Farm Hands
Companion. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.
"The Unexplained Metaphysics of Dirt." Tips and Advice on
Outdoor Gardening, Flower Gardens, Plants, & Seeds. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.