Soil Erosion

What is the goal of this project? What question is it trying to answer or what problem is it trying to explain?

Choose ONE of the questions below:

• What is the effect of slope on soil erosion (the washing away of the soil) by water? Design and carry out an experiment to compare at least 4 different inclines to see how much soil is lost from each one when rain hits the soil. (You can make simulated rainfall.)
• What is the effect of soil type on how fast water flows through the soil? Design and carry out an experiment to compare at least three types of soil (e.g., sand, potting soil, clay soil) to see how fast a given amount of water will drain through each
• In what order do materials settle in water? Design and carry out an experiment to determine the order in which different sized materials (e.g., sand, gravel, topsoil) settle out in water after they have been mixed

Possible Treatments

What are some possible treatments you can use to answer your question? What are some variables that may influence your question, and are they variables that you can easily manipulate and test?

Hypothesis

Record your best “educated guess” about what will happen in the experiment. Give your reasons and outline any assumptions that lead you to this hypothesis. Write your hypothesis in the form of an “If… then…” statement.

Experimental Design

List the procedures you used to complete this lab in order. Remember to carry out at least 3 repeated trials.

Observations/Data

Record the observations and/or data you collected here. Also, calculate the average of your repeated trials.

Draw any appropriate tables or graphs for your data.

Conclusion

After conducting the experiment, how would you now explain the problem or answer the question raised when you described the purpose of the lab? Be sure to base your answer on the data you collected and state whether your data supported your hypothesis. Consider whether your conclusion is the only explanation for the data you collected or if there could be alternate explanations.

Project Evaluation

What strengths and weaknesses did you find in your experimental design? Is there anything you would do differently next time? How, if at all, would you do the experiment differently if you were to do it again?