Guided Inquiry Lesson Plan # 7: Soil Permeability
Length of Lesson: One class period
Scientific Processes Addressed: Classifying, Measuring, Predicting, Identifying and controlling variables, Interpreting data, Constructing models.
Science Concepts Addressed: Soil Permeability (Lesson 2 of 3)
National Standards Addressed: A, B, C, D, G
Objective: Students will investigate the permeability of clay, sand, and organic soil by measuring the time it takes for water to flow through each.
Materials:
Ring stand
Circular clamp
Clear PVC or other type of tubing at least 20 cm long
Filter paper or fine screen
600 ml beaker
250 ml beaker
Plastic funnel to fit around bottom of PVC tubing
Stop watch
Samples of sand, clay, and organic potting soil or garden soil
Data Sheet:
|
Soil Type |
Length of Time for Permeation |
Introductory Activity: Review the previous lesson, which introduced permeability. Talk with students about what permeability is and what method they used to investigate it. Ask students if they can think of different ways to test a soil’s permeability.
Description of Activities & Typical Discussion Questions: Model the experiment for the students, using soil #1. Have students predict which soil will the water flow through the quickest? The slowest?
1. Place the PVC tubing into the circular ring clamp and connect to the ring stand high enough to allow a 600 ml beaker to be placed beneath the tube.
2. Place filter paper or screen into the plastic funnel and attach the wide part of the funnel to the tube with tape. Be sure to tape all the way around the funnel so at to create a watertight barrier.
3. Place 100 ml of sand into the tube.
4. Add 250 ml of water into the tube. Have a lab partner time how long it takes for water to flow through the sand until all dripping has stopped.
5. Students repeat steps 3 and 4 with the clay and organic soil.
6. Have students create a data table displaying data.
After all groups have tested all soil, discuss the following questions.
1. Which soil sample demonstrated the most permeability?
2. If you were to plant a garden which soil type would you use and why?
3. How does soil particle size affect the permeability?
Expected Conclusions: The sand will be most water permeable and the clay the least.
Assessment: Did students successfully carry out the experiments? Did students arrive at expected conclusions? Were responsibilities shared among the group members?
Extensions:
Language Arts - Have the students write a brief journal entry which contains their thoughts on what they have learned about soil and what they think is the most interesting and relevant fact/piece of information for them.
Math - Have students graph material vs. time in a bar graph, using the data that they collected during this activity.
Social Studies - Have the students call a local farmer and talk to him about soil permeability, and what qualities he looks for in his ideal soil.
Computer Skills - Have the students go onto the Internet and see what new information they can find on soil permeability. They may find some new and interesting activities of their own!