Sampling & Testing of Soils
Student Assessment Guide (SAG)
This subject is assessed directly from the following unit;
Unit Code
MSS025007A
Unit Title
Perform sampling & testing of soils
Successful completion of MSS025007A requires the following pre-requisite unit;
MSS024008A
Recognise common geological landforms and samples
www.cffet.net/env
Sampling & Testing of Soils
SAG
Subject purpose
This unit of competency covers the ability to obtain soil samples in accordance with a
defined sampling plan, prepare the samples for testing, conduct in-field and laboratory
testing of the samples and report the results. Personnel are required to check the validity
and reliability of data, recognise atypical test data, and troubleshoot common test
procedures and equipment problems.
Assessment
Assessment for this subject will consist of theory and practical components including;
•
Soil formation
•
Physical properties of soils
•
Chemical properties of soils
•
Soil nutrients and fertilisers
•
The theory of soil test methods
•
Practical chemical analysis of soils
There is substantial assignment and practical work required for this unit.
Assessment Task
Weighting
Study module (5)
50%
Practical exercises (5)
30%
Soil survey assignment
20%
TOTAL
100%
Subject content
This subject deals with a wide variety of topics including the following aspects;
•
Standards, codes, procedures and/or enterprise requirements
•
Fundamentals of soil science
•
Basic principles of sampling
•
Materials sampled
•
Different types of samples
•
Hazards and safety procedures and control measures
Chemical, Forensic, Food & Environmental Technology [cffet.net/env]
Version 2.0 27/07/2014
Page | 1
Sampling & Testing of Soils
SAG
•
Sampling tools and equipment
•
Testing equipment and instruments
•
Chemical soil tests
•
Physical soils tests
•
Typical problems
•
Workplace health and safety (WHS) and environmental management
requirements
Grading
The assessment for this unit/ module is recorded as a Class Mark. All assessment events
used to determine your result will be locally set and locally marked.
Your results will be reported as DISTINCTION, CREDIT, PASS (AC) or FAIL (NYC). To receive a
particular grade you must get at least the mark shown below:
Grade
Class mark
DISTINCTION
>=83
CREDIT
>=70
PASS (ACHIEVED COMPETENCY)
>=50
FAIL (NOT YET COMPETENT)
<50
Delivery strategy
This subject is assessed directly against the unit’s performance criteria.
Unit
MSS025007A
Elements
Performance
Criteria
Subject
Weighting
Unit
Weighting
All
All
100
100
NOTE: The subject weighting MUST add up to 100 for the subject, but the Unit Weighting MAY NOT add up to
100 as each unit is weighted differently in each subject it is used in. Refer to cffet.net/env/assessment for
further explanation.
What you will need
To complete this subject successfully you will need;
•
The course notes
Chemical, Forensic, Food & Environmental Technology [cffet.net/env]
Version 2.0 27/07/2014
Page | 2
Sampling & Testing of Soils
SAG
•
A USB flash or thumb drive.
•
Access to a computer with internet, email and general office programs
•
Administrator rights to download and install free software
•
General computer skills
Where to get help
Contact your teacher [www.cffet.net/env/contacts] if you run into any trouble this unit. You
would be surprised how flexible we are at accommodating your needs, but communication
is key. If you don’t let us know you are having trouble, we may have trouble trying to help
you.
Resources and references
References
Note that you are not required to purchase, download or read these references (unless
specifically directed to by your teacher). Some of these resources might be available from
your teacher or library for free.
Bates, G. (2010). Environmental Law in Australia. Australia: LexisNexis-Butterworths.
Burden, F. E. (2002). Environmental Monitoring Handbook. McGraw-Hill Professional.
DSEWPC. (2010, October 27). Australia's Biodiversity Conservation Strategy. Retrieved May
27, 2013, from environment.gov.au:
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/strategy/states-territories.html
Ferrier, R. C. (2010). Handbook of Catchment Management. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Grammeno, Gaby (Ed). (2009). Planning Occupational Health and Safety, 8th Ed. Melbourne:
McPherson's Printing Group.
Jorgensen, S. E. (2005). Handbook of Ecological Indicators for Assessment of Ecosystem
Health. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Manahan, S. (2000). Environmental Chemistry. Boca Raton: Lewis Publishers.
Manly, B. (2009). Statistics for environmental science and management. Boca Raton: Taylor
& Francis Group.
Newton, A. (2007). Forest Ecology and Conservation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rayment, G. E. (1992). Australian :aboratory Handbook of Soil and Water Chemcial
Methods. Incata press.
Rayment, G. E. (2010). Soil Chemical methods - Australasia. Canberra: CSIRO Publishing.
Schuenemeyer, J. E. (2011). Statistics for Earth and Environmental Scientists. New Jersey:
John Wiley & Sons.
StandardsAustralia. (2004). AS/NZS ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management Systems:
Requirements with guidance for use. Australia: Standards Australia.
Sutherland, W. (2006). Ecological Census Techniques. 2nd Ed. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
U.S.GeologicalSurvey. (Variously dated). National field manual for the collection of water
quality data: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques of Water Resources Investigation,
book 9, chaps. A1-A9. available online at http://pubs.water.usgs.gov/twri9A.
vanLoon, G. W. (2011). Environmental Chemistry: a global perspective. New York: Oxford
Chemical, Forensic, Food & Environmental Technology [cffet.net/env]
Version 2.0 27/07/2014
Page | 3
Sampling & Testing of Soils
SAG
University Press.
Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011. (n.d.).
Workplace Health and Safety Regulation 2011. (n.d.).
Resources
•
Free soil analysis software can be found here.
•
Soil survey information can be found here.
•
Australian Soil Resource Information System (ASRIS) is here.
•
Acid Sulfate SDoil maps are here.
•
Soil information from TERN is here.
Assessment Submission
Students are to submit all assessments by the due date to the subject teacher by email using
the following filename format;
yourname-assessmentname
Visit cffet.net/env/assessment for more information on submitting assessments, file names
and available file extensions that you can use.
Chemical, Forensic, Food & Environmental Technology [cffet.net/env]
Version 2.0 27/07/2014
Page | 4