The Effect of Soil Type on Physical Characteristics of Soil

Conducted By: Gustavo Gomez

Assisted By (Lab Partners): Last Name, First Initial

Date(s) of Experiment: 9/19/11, 9/22/11, 9/26/11, 9/27/11-9/30/11

Course Name & Block

Ms. Umscheid

I. Introduction

The purpose of this lab is to investigate: IF....THEN...

Background Information -(SUMMARIZE THE KEY CONCEPTS OF THE LAB FROM THE "DISCUSSION' SECTION OF THE APLAB)

The independent variable is: soil type as defined by muddy soil; grassy soil; dry creek bed soil; leaf litter soil and rocky soil.

The dependent variable is: physical characteristics of soil as measured by slope of the land; texture; consistency; structure; capillary action; permeability; soil horizons; particle size and water holding capacity.

The control is: the physical characteristics of soil with standard soil type as defined by sand and clay.

II. Procedure

Materials

50mL of soil from muddy area

50mL 50mL 50mL 50mL

of of of of

soil soil soil soil

from from from from

grassy area rocky area dry creek bed area leaf litter covered area

Experimental Design Refer to the procedure on page ??? with the following modifications 1. Use soil samples collected from areas in the Outdoor Classroom.

2.

3.

Constants

The following must be held constant: 1. ??? 2. ??? 3. ???

III. Results

Data Table 1: Soil Horizons

Horizon Type O A E

Horizon Thickness (cm) 3.7 1.2 1.7

Horizon Color Brown Brown Dark brown

Horizon Description O and A layer look about the same E layer looks darker due to more compaction

Data Table 2: Slope of Land

Soil Type Muddy Soil Leaf Litter Soil Grassy Soil

Trial 1 % Slope 21 16 .2

Trial 2 % Slope 19 .6 2

Trial 3 % Slope 14 -

Ave % Slope 20 10.2 1.1

Dry Creek Bed Soil Rocky Soil

.6 1.4 1.6 .6 1.5

Data Table 3: Texture, Consistency, and Structure of dry creek bed Soil

Soil Type Dry creek bed- Sample 1 Dry creek bed- Sample 2 Dry creek bed Soil - Average Control Soil Clay

Texture (cm)

Consistency Dry Hard

Consistency Wet Non-plastic, non-sticky Non-plastic, non-sticky Non-plastic, non-sticky plastic

Structure

Source

round

Loamy sand

1.6 1.6 hard 1.6 hard

round

Loamy sand

Round

Sandy loam

.7

Hard, firm

round

clay

Data Table 4: AVERAGE Texture, Consistency, and Structure of ALL Soil Types

Soil Type

Average Texture (cm) 4.5 3.6

Average Consistency Dry hard friable Loose dry hard loose

Average Consistency Wet Non-plastic, non-sticky Non-plastic, non-sticky Non-sticky Non-plastic plastic Sticky plastic

Average Structure Angular Round Round Round round angular

Average Source Sandy clay loam Silty Sandy clay Loamy sand Silt loam clay

Muddy Soil Grassy Soil

Leaf Litter Soil 4.0 Dry Creek Bed 1.6 Soil Rocky Soil 2.8

Control - Clay 1.5

Data Table 5: Particle Size of dry creek bed Soil

Soil Type

Depth of Clay Layer (cm)

Depth of Silt Layer (cm)

Depth of Sand Layer (cm)

Dry creek bed Soil Sample 1 Dry creek bed Soil Sample 2

0 -

.3 .3 1.3

6.5 6.5 5.0

AVERAGE Particle Size 0 dry creek bed soil Clay/Silt/Sand Mixture 3

Data Table 6: Particle Size Distribution of dry creek bed Soil

Soil Type Dry creek bed Soil - Sample 1 Dry creek bed Soil - Sample 2

% clay 0 -

% Silt 37.5 -

% Sand 62.5 -

Soil Class Sandy loam -

AVERAGE % Particle 0 Distribution dry creek bed soil Control: Clay/Silt/Sand Mixture 32.75

37.5

62.5

Sandy loam

13.97

53.76

Sandy loam

Data Table 7: Particle Size Distribution of ALL Soil types

Soil Type Muddy Soil Grassy Soil Leaf Litter Soil Dry Creek Bed Soil Rocky Soil Control: Clay/Silt/Sand

% clay

% Silt

% Sand

Soil Class

Mixture

Data Table 8: Bulk Density of dry creek bed Soil

Initial Mass (g) ??? Soil - Sample 1 ??? Soil - Sample 2 AVERAGE Bulk Density

Final Mass (g)

% Bulk Density (Final/Initial)

Data Table 9: Bulk Density of ALL Soil Types

Soil Type Muddy Soil Grassy Soil Leaf Litter Soil Dry Creek Bed Soil Rocky Soil Control: Clay/Silt/Sand Mixture

Bulk Density (%)

Bulk Density Soil Type

Data Table 10: Permeability of dry creek bed soil Time to First Drop (sec) Dry creek bed Soil Sample 1 Dry creek bed Soil Sample 2 1.1 239 Time to Full Contents (sec) 96 240+ Average Time of Permeability (sec) 94.9 1+

AVERAGE Soil Permeability

120.05

168+

95.9+

Data Table 11: Permeability of ALL Soil Types Soil Type Muddy Soil Grassy Soil Leaf Litter Soil Dry Creek Bed Soil Rocky Soil Control: Clay/Silt/Sand Mixture Data Table 12: Capillary Action of dry creek bed soil Initial Volume (ml) ??? Soil - Sample 1 ??? Soil - Sample 2 AVERAGE Soil Permeability 10 10 10 Final Volume (mL) .5 2.3 1.4 Change in Volume (mL) 9.5 7.7 8.6 Average Time of Permeability (sec)

Data Table 13: Capillary Action of ALL Soil Types Soil Type Muddy Soil Grassy Soil Leaf Litter Soil Dry Creek Bed Soil Rocky Soil Control: Clay/Silt/Sand Mixture 8.6 Average Change in Volume (mL)

Data Graph 1:Soil Horizons - Detailed Sketch

Data Graph 2: Comparison of %Slopes

Data Graph 3: Comparison of Soil Sources

IV: Conclusions

The hypothesis was/was not supported because the data

The results may be inconclusive because of the following errors: 1. ???. 2. ??? 3. ???

The results indicated that (what I learned)