SoIl
Determining the Capacity
to Retain Water
to the user
Thank you for downloading this file! I hope you find this
resource useful and I look forward to excellent feedback.
Please contact me with any questions, concerns, or comments at
thesciencepenguin@yahoo.com.
Copyright 2014 The Science Penguin Incorporated
All rights reserved by author.
Permission to copy for single classroom use only.
Not for public display.
Redistributing, editing, selling, or posting this item or any part thereof on the
Internet is strictly prohibited.
Placing any part of this product on the Internet is a violation of the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Download of this unit entitles the purchaser the right to reproduce pages for
single classroom use only.
Recommended Use
Set up 4 stations for students to record data. Include a different soil
sample at each station. I like using gravel, sand, potting soil or loam,
and clay. Each station should have a small container of the soil particles
(like a petri dish), a graduated cylinder, funnel, and coffee filter.
Go over the question and write a hypothesis.
As a class, put 40 mL of water in each funnel containing a coffee filter
with the particles inside. Allow time for the water to pass through the
coffee filter and into the graduated cylinder.
Then, have students visit the stations to record their observations. Create
a chart and graph of the data, draw conclusions, and answer the
question.
Question
What type of soil has
the greatest capacity to
retain water?
Hypothesis
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Copyright 2012 The Science Penguin Inc.
Soil Stations
Soil Sample 1 _____________
Soil Sample 2 _____________
My Observations
My Observations
Size of parAcles __________________
Color of parAcles _________________
Size of parAcles __________________
Color of parAcles _________________
Retention of Water
Retention of Water
50 mL
40 mL
30 mL
20 mL
10 mL
-
50 mL
40 mL
30 mL
20 mL
10 mL
Amount of Water Poured In Funnel: 40 mL
Amount of Water in Graduated Cylinder ____mL
Amount of Water Retained by this Soil ____ mL
-
Amount of Water Poured In Funnel: 40 mL
Amount of Water in Graduated Cylinder ____mL
Amount of Water Retained by this Soil ____ mL
Copyright 2012 The Science Penguin Inc.
Soil Stations
Soil Sample 3 _____________
Soil Sample 4 _____________
My Observations
My Observations
Size of parAcles __________________
Color of parAcles _________________
Size of parAcles __________________
Color of parAcles _________________
Retention of Water
Retention of Water
50 mL
40 mL
30 mL
20 mL
10 mL
-
50 mL
40 mL
30 mL
20 mL
10 mL
Amount of Water Poured In Funnel: 40 mL
Amount of Water in Graduated Cylinder ____mL
Amount of Water Retained by this Soil ____ mL
-
Amount of Water Poured In Funnel: 40 mL
Amount of Water in Graduated Cylinder ____mL
Amount of Water Retained by this Soil ____ mL
Copyright 2012 The Science Penguin Inc.
Soil Stations
____________________________________________________
Soil Sample
Amount of Water
Poured In
Amount of Water
Collected in
Graduated Cylinder
______________________________________
Amount of Water
Retained by Soil
Conclusion
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
What would increase the reliability of this
experiment?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
Copyright 2012 The Science Penguin Inc.
Credits
Copyright 2012 The Science Penguin Inc.