First Name, Last name
Class Period
Soil Science Lab Report:
Horticulture/ Landscape Design – Northwest High School
DUE October 23, 2015 (Dropbox in netschool)
Directions for completing your lab report:
Follow the instruction for each section of the lab report. Provide the information and explanation
that as being asked using complete sentences and correct academic vocabulary.
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Tuesday, October 6th: Collecting soil samples (Lab Exercise 2-10)
o
o
o
o
o
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Address of where the soil sample was collected
Tools used to collect sample
Weather conditions during the collection
At what depth was the sample collected
Include an image of your map of the property from which the soil sample was
collected. (Take a picture of your existing map and insert into this document)
Monday, Oct 12th – Tuesday, Oct 20th : Determining Soil particle size observation:
(Lab Exercise 2-13)
o Why is it important to know what size soil particles you have in your lawn?
o Explain the process of the soil particle lab step by step.
o What did you observe at:
 5 minutes
 10 minutes
 15 minutes
 24 hours
 48 hours
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Class Period

Wednesday, Oct 21st Soil identification:
o What would you classify your soil as:
o Sand
o Clay
o Loam

Wednesday, Oct 21st : Determining soil texture: (Lab Exercise 2-15)
o Explain what you feel when handle moist:
 Clay
 Flour
 Sand
 Soil sample
o Answer the following questions:
 What is your soil sample classified as after preforming the ribbon test?
 How are soils classified?
 List the soil particle sizes from largest to smallest.
 Include a picture of your soil profile in your jar and label the layers.
 Why is air important in the composition of soil?
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
Class Period
Thursday, October 22nd : Reading the soil triangle
o Name the texture for each of the following soils:
 50% clay, 30% silt, 20% sand
 .
 50% clay, 50% sand:
 .
 12% clay, 10% silt, 78% sand:
 .
 22% clay, 60% silt, 18% sand:
 .
 35% clay, 42% silt, 23% sand:
 .
 30% clay, 60% silt, 10% sand:
 .
 50% clay, 45% silt, 5% sand:
 .
 40% clay, 10% silt, 50% sand:
 .
o Using the soil triangle, determine what is the minimum percentage of clay a soil
may contain and still be considered to be a:
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Class Period
Clay texture: _____________ Loam
texture
_____________: Sand texture: ____________

Friday, October 23rd Soil Erosion (Lab 2-17)
o Objective: To compare the different amounts and rates of soil erosion on various
lad applications.
o Student will make observations of the different rates of erosion based on three
types of land samples. They will formulate their observations in three sentences
per sample.
 Field Soil
 Newly- seeded soil
 Sod
o Why is erosion detrimental to plant growth?
Find a picture representing soil erosion: (Include the picture in your report)
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Describe why the erosion took place.
What are some measures that can be taken to ensure to slow the process of erosion in that
particular picture?