Activities/ experiments

An experiment to find out the amount of water absorbed and also water absorbed as a percentage of the weight of soil:

Requirements:

• Two conical flasks of equal capacity, two funnels, 30 g sand, 30 g clay, filter paper, water

Procedure:

• Place the funnels over the conical flasks as shown.
• Line the funnel with filter paper.
• Place 30 g of sand in one funnel and 30 g of clay in another.
• Pour 600 ml of water in each funnel.
• Observe the amount of water collected in each flask.
• Note down the amount of water collected in each flask.
• Find out water absorbed by the formula:

A = Initial water - Final water collected

A = 600 ml (in this case) - Water collected

• Percentage of water absorbed = (A/Volume of water taken) x 100
• Water absorbed as a percentage of the weight of soil = (AA/weight of soil) × 100

Observation:

• Clay absorbs more water than sand.

Conclusion:

• The water absorption capacity of clay is more than sand.

An Experiment to Separate the Various Constituents of a Soil Sample into Different layers:

Requirements:

• Soil sample, beaker, glass jar, water

Procedure:

• Take two-three handfuls of soil from a nearby garden. Mix it with a glass of water in a beaker.
• Stir the mixture well and pour it into a glass jar.
• Allow it to stand undisturbed for one or two hours. Observe the jar.

Observation:

• Formation of different layers of soil can be observed.

Conclusion:

• Soil is made up of various constituents that occur in layers.