Soil Porosity

 Cover PagePage 1  Research QuestionPage 2  Written ResearchPage 3  Hypothesis/PurposePage 4  Materials ListPage 5  ProcedurePage 6  Data CollectionPage 7  Lingering QuestionsPage 8  ConclusionsPage 9  BibliographyPage 10

Soil Porosity Classroom Demonstration

Formulating a Research Question  START with the END in MIND  Independent Variables are changes that occur in an experiment that are directly caused by the experimenter (you.)  Dependent Variables are changes that occur due to independent variables.  A Controlled Variable is anything else that could influence the dependent variables. Monday’s Notes ISN page 2

 What is the most efficient angle for windmill blades? What is the most efficient angle for windmill blades?  Ability of water surface tension to hold weight Ability of water surface tension to hold weight  How does the shape and mass of an object affect its velocity when sinking through water? How does the shape and mass of an object affect its velocity when sinking through water?  Can quarters and feathers fall at the same speed? Can quarters and feathers fall at the same speed?  Do different types of firewood produce different amounts of heat? Do different types of firewood produce different amounts of heat?  What affects the rate of evaporation of water. What affects the rate of evaporation of water. Monday’s Assignment ISN page 1

 What will have the greatest amount of porosity, soil or sand?

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 The Internet Public Library (IPL)   The IPL, is a public service organization and learning/teaching environment at the University of Michigan School of Information. Originally an experiment that started in 1995, the IPL tries to discover and promote the most effective roles and contributions of librarians to the Internet and vice versa. Like a library, the information is high quality and well organized into a category format.  For students and supporting information for school subjects browse through Tuesday’s Notes ISN page 4 Colored Words Only

 SCIRUS - A Scientific Information Only Search Engine   In their own words...  Scirus is the most comprehensive science-specific search engine on the Internet. Driven by the latest search engine technology, Scirus searches over 200 million science-specific Web pages, enabling you to quickly: ◦ Pinpoint scientific, scholarly, technical and medical data on the Web. ◦ Find the latest reports, peer-reviewed articles, patents, pre prints and journals that other search engines miss. ◦ Offer unique functionalities designed for scientists and researchers.  Scirus has proved so successful at locating science-specific results on the Web that the Search Engine Watch Awards voted Scirus 'Best Specialty Search Engine' in 2001 and 2002 and 'Best Directory or Search Engine Website' WebAward from Web Marketing Association in Tuesday’s Notes ISN page 4 Colored Words Only

 What Is a Paraphrase?  A paraphrase is a rewording of another writer's text, but is substantially different in wording and sentence structure.  Why Paraphrase?  to make sure that you fully understand what the text says  to discuss someone's argument or text directly  to use as expert evidence for a point you are making  How to Paraphrase a Text  Use alternative wording  If you use the author's words to name important ideas, enclose his or her phrases in quotation marks.  Present the ideas of the original using your own sentence structure and word choice.  Cite your source Tuesday’s Notes ISN page 4 Colored Words Only

 The flow of water within rocks depends upon two properties: the rock's porosity and permeability. Porosity is that part of a rock's volume, which is made up of empty space or with vessels that allow liquids to flow through. Crystalline rocks have low porosity which is why water finds it difficult to go through. However, sedimentary rocks have high porosity, hence water cuts through easily.  Tuesday’s Assignment ISN page 3 Paraphrase the Paragraph

 Some people have made it their life's work to study such rivers. Speleologists - or scientists who study and explore caves - have tried to follow the course of some underground rivers but many passages are too narrow to get through. What they do then is to mix a dye in the water so that when it surfaces they can accurately identify where the underground river started, and where it finally surfaced.  Tuesday’s Assignment ISN page 3 Paraphrase the Paragraph

 POROSITY & PERMEABILITY  Description:  Porosity and permeability are the key factors in determining how water moves through or is held by the earth's surface materials. Using models to determine grain size and real soil samples for testing, discover one of the mysteries of how the water cycle serves us.  Tuesday’s Assignment ISN page 3 Paraphrase the Paragraph

 Soils are made of particles of different types and sizes. The space between particles is called pore space. Pore space determines the amount of water that a given volume of soil can hold. Porosity is the percentage of the total volume of soil that consists of pore space. This is an important measurement in areas where drinking water is provided by groundwater reserves.

 Your hypothesis is a prediction of the outcome  Your prediction is based on your understanding of the science  First find out what are you measuring or manipulating  The term variable describes what you are measuring  An independent variable is the variable you are controlling  A dependent variable is what you measure in the experiment  The dependent variable changes because of the independent variable Wednesday’s Notes ISN page 6

1. Does music affect on animal behavior? 2. Does the color of food or drinks affect whether or not we like them? 3. Where are the most germs in your school? 4. Does music have an affect on plant growth? 5. Which kind of food do dogs prefer best? 6. Which paper towel brand is the strongest? 7. What is the best way to keep an ice cube from melting? 8. Can the food we eat affect our heart rate? 9. How effective are child-proof containers and locks. 10. Can background noise levels affect how well we concentrate? 11. What is the best way to keep cut flowers fresh the longest? 12. Does the color of light used on plants affect how well they grow? 13. Does the color of a room affect human behavior? Wednesday’s Assignment ISN page 5

 I believe that sand will have the greatest amount of porosity because sand has much tinier particles that will provide more space in between. Purpose To measure the amount of water stored in the pore space of a soil sample.

 Have you listed all necessary materials?  Have you described the materials in sufficient detail?  Must be done in advance  Must represent good planning  All supplies and materials should be listed  Must show thorough research Thursday’s Notes ISN page 8 Colored Words Only

 Does music affect on animal behavior?  Does the color of food or drinks affect whether or not we like them?  Where are the most germs in your school?  Does music have an affect on plant growth?  Which kind of food do dogs prefer best?  Which paper towel brand is the strongest?  What is the best way to keep an ice cube from melting?  Can the food we eat affect our heart rate?  How effective are child-proof containers and locks.  Can background noise levels affect how well we concentrate?  What is the best way to keep cut flowers fresh the longest?  Does the color of light used on plants affect how well they grow?  Does the color of a room affect human behavior? Thursday’s Assignment ISN page 7 Write a materials list for 7 of the questions above

 dry soil sample or sand  two 500 ml beakers  water

 Step by step instructions on how to do the experiment  Each procedure is numbered  Skip a line between each procedure  Use as many steps as possible  Be very specific  Each procedure should be only 1-2 sentences Friday’s Notes ISN page 10 Colored Text

 Does music affect on animal behavior?  Does the color of food or drinks affect whether or not we like them?  Where are the most germs in your school?  Does music have an affect on plant growth?  Which kind of food do dogs prefer best?  Which paper towel brand is the strongest?  What is the best way to keep an ice cube from melting?  Can the food we eat affect our heart rate?  How effective are child-proof containers and locks.  Can background noise levels affect how well we concentrate?  What is the best way to keep cut flowers fresh the longest?  Does the color of light used on plants affect how well they grow?  Does the color of a room affect human behavior? Friday’s Assignment ISN page 9 Write a detailed procedures list for 4 of the above questions

 Fill one beaker, up to the 500 ml mark, with dry soil or sand. Place it on a table or flat workspace.  Fill the other beaker, up to the 500 ml mark, with water.  Slowly pour the water from the second beaker into the soil sample. Stop pouring when the water level reaches the top of the soil. The soil has reached saturation and cannot hold any more water.  How much water is left in the second beaker?  How much water is now held in the pore spaces of the soil sample?  Use your answer from question 5 to compute the porosity (the percentage of pore space) of the soil sample.

 Gather data and observations and present them in a chart or graph Monday’s Notes (None) ISN page 12 Complete the Experiment

 Can consist of the following: ◦ Logs or journals ◦ Graphs ◦ Charts ◦ Pictures ◦ Observations Monday’s Assignment ISN page 11 Gather data and put it in a chart, graph, or table

 There should be at least 3 questions.  Questions must deal with the experiment itself.  Answers should come from your observations.  Answers should be in complete sentences and should include the question.  Skip a line between questions.  Write on front page only. Tuesday’s Assignment ISN page 14 Colored Text

 Does music affect on animal behavior?  Does the color of food or drinks affect whether or not we like them?  Where are the most germs in your school?  Does music have an affect on plant growth?  Which kind of food do dogs prefer best?  Which paper towel brand is the strongest?  What is the best way to keep an ice cube from melting?  Can the food we eat affect our heart rate?  How effective are child-proof containers and locks.  Can background noise levels affect how well we concentrate?  What is the best way to keep cut flowers fresh the longest?  Does the color of light used on plants affect how well they grow?  Does the color of a room affect human behavior? Tuesday’s Assignment ISN page 13

 What soil should be used when building houses?  What soil should be used when planting new plants?  Why do different soils have different porosity and how could this knowledge be used in different professions?

 Your conclusions summarize how your results support or contradict your hypothesis  Summarize your science fair project results in a few  Include key facts from your background research to help explain your results as needed  State the relationship between the independent and dependent variable.  Summarize your experimental procedure, comment on its success and effectiveness.  Suggest changes and possibilities for further study. Wednesday Notes ISN page 16 Colored Text

 Complete sentences  Incorporate data  List real world applications Wednesday’s Assignment ISN page 15

 Two to three paragraphs  Conclusion about the experiment only  What happened?  What do you think you did right?  What might you change?  Revisit your hypothesis.  Check your data and the answers to your questions.

Thursday’s Notes ISN page 18 TBA

 projects.com/science_fair_projects/25/302/4 82e064ec45c82c25b7cd893a69246df.html projects.com/science_fair_projects/25/302/4 82e064ec45c82c25b7cd893a69246df.html Thursday’s Assignment ISN page 17 Complete Bibliography using online application