Groundwater Virtual Lab
http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/virtual_labs/CT02/CT02.html
Groundwater is ____________________that __________________ through
____________________________________________ below Earth's surface.
When groundwater moves through soil, the _______________________________________ affects its
_______________________. The _________________________particles that determine soil structure are
___________________________ clay. Sand particles can be seen with the naked eye and range in width from 0.05 to
2.00 mm. A microscope must be used to see silt particles, which are between 0.002 and 0.05 mm in width. An electron
microscope is required to see clay particles, which are less than 0.002 mm wide.
____________ type ___________________________ on how much of each kind of ________________________makes
up the soil. There are ___________types of soil.
Groundwater moves through the _________________________________________. These spaces are called
___________________. ______________ all soils have the ____________________________ of pore space. Porosity
depends on the number and size of pores in soil. You can find the volume of pore space in a soil by determining the
volume of water its pores are capable of holding. The volume of pore space _________________by the
_____________________of a _________________________________ determines its porosity. This measurement is
given as a ________________________________of the volume of the soil.
The _______________________________ in soil are _________________________________, allowing
________________ to _______________ through them. This means that _________________ is ___________________.
The______________________ with which water _____________ through the soil is called ________________________.
A soil with _________________________________ and many small pores can __________________________ of water,
but it _________________________________ for the water to __________________________________. This means
that when a soil has ____________________________________ it has ____________________________. A soil's
porosity and permeability are important to many people. Farmers must be aware of these soil conditions so they can
determine the best way to grow crops. Builders also consider these conditions in the area they plan to build.
_______________________________ are concerned with porosity and permeability when there is a
_______________that ______________________________________might be introduced into the groundwater supply.
Formula (Volume of Water / Volume of Soil ) 100
Soil Type
Sand
Sandy Loam
Loamy Sand
Silt
Silt Loam
Loam
Sandy Clay Loam
Sandy Clay
Sand
Clay Loam
Silt Clay
Clay
Heavy Clay
Volume of Water
Volume of Soil
Porosity(VW / VS)100
Lab Questions
1. What determines the texture of soil?
2. What is meant by the permeability of a soil?
3. What is porosity and how is it related to permeability?
4. Based on your experiment, which type of soil is the most permeable? Which is the least permeable? How do you
know?
5. Explain why surface runoff, or rain not absorbed by the soil, occurs much more often in areas with soils with
high clay content.
6. Soil type and texture are very important to farmers. Too little water in the soil may cause plants to wilt and die.
Too much water in the soil can disrupt a plant's ability to take in oxygen. Based on your data, which type of soil
do you think is best for agriculture? Explain your answer.
7. Farmers often have problems with soil erosion when they clear their fields after the growing season. Soil type is
one factor that influences erosion. Some soil types are more prone to erosion than others. Based on the data
you gathered in this experiment, which soil types do you think are the most easily eroded, soils with a high sand
content or soils with high clay content? Explain your answer.
8. The diagram below shows where the unsaturated zone is. To the right of it are three different types of soil layers
for the unsaturated zone, listed A, B, and C. In order, list the soil types using the letter choices given that would
be the least to most unsaturated and explain why.
_____________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________
A
Sand & Gravel
B
Silt
C
Clay
9. Why do you think rocks can store water?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
10. Sometimes people use old wells as dumps, and they throw their trash, motor oil and farm chemicals into
them. After this lab, why do you think that is not a good idea? (At least TWO sentences.)
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
11. What are two things that could possibly pollute the groundwater near either your home or here at
Winkler Middle School
a)___________________________________________________________________
b)___________________________________________________________________