Experiment
1
In this experiment we will discover whether or not the crowbar from
the scene of the crime was buried by a snodlop (most likely Mr. Plover)
or buried under sediment deposited from the the Stumporl Stream.
I]Hypothesis Soil from shoveling dirt into a hole will
look different than soil deposited in a hole from moving water, such
as a stream.
II]Materials needed
•
two clear 2-liter soda bottles or 2 large glass jars with lids.
• a large spoon or small shovel
• a bucket or pale to collect the dirt
• magnifying glass
• a permanent marker
• a funnel or rolled piece of paper (you will only need this of
you are using the 2-liter soda bottles.)
III] Procedure
Read
through all the steps of the procedure before starting your experiment.
Collect
enough soil to fill at least one 2-liter soda bottle. Make sure your
soil sample is made up of different size particles. You may want to
collect your soil sample from three different areas to ensure a good,
well-mixed soil sample.
Using a spoon, small shovel or stick mix your soil sample thoroughly.
If you are using 2-liter soda pop bottles cut one of the bottles in
half and discard its top in a recycling bin. Mark the lower half “shovel”
with a permanent marker. If you are using large glass jars mark one
of the jars “shovel”. Mark your other container“stream”
.
Using
a spoon or small shovel fill the container you marked “shovel”
with soil from the sample so it is about 10 centimeters (~4 inches)
deep and set it aside.
Using
a spoon or small shovel fill the container you marked “stream”
with soil from the sample so it is about 4 inches deep. If you are
using a 2-liter soda bottle you may need a funnel or rolled piece
of paper to get the soil into the bottle without spilling.
Fill
the rest of the container marked “stream” with water.
Leave about 3 centimeters (just over an inch) of space at the top
of the container to prevent spilling.
Cap the container marked “stream” securely and shake thoroughly
until all the soil is caught up in the swirling water. This represents
sediment suspended in the moving water of the stream.
Set
the well shook container down next to the container marked “shovel”
and let it rest overnight.
The next day, using your magnifying glass look carefully at the two
soil samples. What do you observe?
