Getting the Dirt on Soil: Porosity

Overview

Objectives/Goals My objective was to find out the effect of the type of soil on its porosity. I believe that the clay soil from my garden will have a lower porosity than sandy soil. Methods/Materials I prepared soil samples: 100 mL samples, five samples for each of four soils (fine sand, coarse sand, sifted clay soil, potting soil). I poured in the water, stirred the soil, waited for the water to get absorbed by the soil, and continued to add water until the soil was saturated. I recorded the amount of water added. Results The average amount of water held by the sample of fine sand was 39 mL; the average for coarse sand was 29 mL; the average for clay soil was 25 mL; and the average for potting soil was 36 mL. Therefore the average porosity for the fine sand was 39%, for the coarse sand 29%, for clay soil from the garden 25%, and for the potting soil 36%. Conclusions/Discussion My data supported my hypothesis. The clay soil from the garden had the lowest porosity and the fine sand had the highest.

Competition history

• CSEF 2013 Earth & Planetary Sciences · Entry J0803

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