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Investigation Question 1:
In what ways are soil and sand similar and how are they different?

Preparation

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What to do

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Assessment

Preparation

Teaching and Learning Focus

It is important that your students begin to understand that soil is a mixture of mineral particles and organic matter of varying size and composition. They need a general understanding that particles and matter make up about half of the soil’s volume and that air and/or water occupy the remainder. Your students may need help in learning that a mature, fertile soil is the product of centuries of physical and chemical weathering of rock, combined with the addition and decay of plants and other organic matter. In the investigations that follow, students examine and experiment with soil, and other material samples, to gain a better understanding of what soil is.

In these first investigations, your students will use their senses to investigate properties of soil and a similar natural medium, sand. The two media will be introduced with photos to show that soils often sustain abundant vegetation and sand, generally much less. This initial contrast will serve as an invitation for students to question and investigate the properties by which soil and sand differ.

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Materials Needed

  1. Photographs showing a forest scene, beach scene, farm-crops scene, and desert sand dune (Copy Master 1).
  2. Newspaper (to cover surfaces)
  3. Half-cup of soil in a baggie or clear plastic cup (one for each group of up to four students)
  4. Half-cup of coarse sand in a baggie or clear plastic cup (one for each group of up to four students)
  5. Hand lenses (enough for everyone or two sharing)
  6. Tongue depressors or wooden stirrers (enough for everyone or two sharing)
  7. Plastic spoons (enough for everyone or two sharing)
  8. Letter-size white paper (one per group)
  9. Letter-size black paper (one per group)
  10. Small flashlight (one per group)
  11. Dropper bottle of water (one per group)

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Safety

This investigation is considered generally safe to do with students. However, you must ensure that students do not allow sand or soil traces to inadvertently enter their mouths from their hands. Make sure everyone understands this from the beginning. Students should wash their hands after handling soil or sand. Please also review the investigation for your specific setting, materials, students, and conventional safety precautions.

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At Utah's Vermillion Cliffs a siltstone butte of the Carmel Formation erodes and forms unusual shapes. © Michael Collier Image courtesy of the Earth Science World Image Bank, photo ID: ixvt1a

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Last updated: November 16, 2009


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