WebQuest

Is That Your Final Answer?

•   members will make up a name for the team and design a logo

•   assessing team member strengths the team will decide who has the talents to be the soil scientist, lab scientist, and computer technician

•    assignments:

Ø Soil Scientist–will be in charge organizing the soil samples that the team gathers and will assist the lab scientist and  computer technician with their assignments; do research with the Internet, Encarta, Electronic Card Catalog, and printed material, and collaborate with team to form hypothesis of how to improve soil

Ø  Lab Scientist–do test on soil samples with the help of the soil scientist and computer technician; do research with the Internet, Encarta, Electronic Card Catalog, and printed material, collaborate with team to form hypothesis of how to improve soil

Ø  Computer technician–use Inspiration, word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation or web development software to gather data and produce with the help of soil scientist and lab scientist, a multimedia presentation or web site presenting the facts learned and their hypothesis; assist the soil scientist and lab scientist with their assignment, do research with the Internet, Encarta, Electronic Card Catalog, and printed material, collaborate with team to form hypothesis of how to improve soil

Activity 1 | Activity 2 | Activity 3 | Activity 4 | Activity 5 | Activity 6
Presentation  

Activity 1

•   each group member will need to gather a half liter of soil and label it (the sample from home or a friend's home, but not a member of your group)

•   the sample label will include (soil will be keep in a sealed plastic bag and used for many activities):

Activities

Activity 2 

What you will need:

•   soil samples

•   a magnifying glass

•   a screen

•   eye dropper

•   water

•   ph testing kit

•   characteristics of Soil Table

•   newspaper

What to Do

1. Finding evidence of humus. Spread a small amount of one of your soil samples on newspaper. Use a magnifying glass to examine it closely. What is its composition? Do you see mineral particles––pebbles, sand, or even finer particles? What evidence can you find of humus (things that once were living)? Try to identify what these things were. Use the screen if needed to separate different materials.

2. Test for ph.

3. Finding the texture. Add a small amount of water to you soil––just enough to make it slightly damp (not muddy). Now rub some of the soil between your fingers. Does it feel smooth or gritty? What other words can you use to describe how the soil feels?

4. What color is your soil––black, gray, reddish, yellow, or some other color? The color of the soil depends on many factors, including exposure to air, the climate of the environment, and the amount of humus present. Darker soils are usually rich in humus.

Activities

Activity 3

What you need:

•         a jar and lid for each sample

•         water

•         soil from Activity 2

•         spoon

•         label for jar with group name and sample number

What to Do

1. Fill the jar halfway with soil. Add water until the jar is nearly full. Put the lid on securely. Shake vigorously for two minutes or until there are no lumps in the soil.

2.  Place the jar on table for 15 minutes. 

3.  Evaluate the settlings and describe what you see.

4.  Let the water–soil mixture settle for 24 hours.

5.  Observe the layers. Take a picture or do a drawing of the jar and label the layers.

6.  Compare you results with a soil classification table.

7.  Slowly pour off the water and humus. Spoon off the clay and touch it to feel its texture. Observe the textures of the silt and sand particles as well.

Activities

Activity 4 ––Percolation Test

You will need

•    2 large plastic–foam cups

•     paper towels

•     2 glasses, beakers, or wide–mouthed bottles

•     your soil samples

•     sand

•     stopwatch or clock

•     graduated cylinder

•     small strips of cardboard

What to Do

Before starting; your soil sample needs to be air–dried by spreading it out on a paper towel for 24 hours.

1. Using a pencil, punch three holes in the bottom of  each cup.

2. Place two circles of paper towel in the bottom of each cup to cover the holes.

3. Fill one cup ¾ full with dried soil, the other cup ¾ full with dried soil from your sample. Place a glass of water on top of the sand or soil to pack it together. This gets rid of air spaces. Use the same glass of for each cup.

4. Place each cup, fill with packed soil, in the mouth of beaker, bottle, or glass so that the cup is supported above the bottom of the container.

5.  Add 250 ml. of water to the sand. Time how long it takes for the first drop of water to drip into the container.

6. Repeat step 5 for the other soil samples. Be sure to pour water into the soil at the same rate at which you poured water into the sand.

7. When the water has stopped dripping from both cups, measure the volume of water that passed through each cup by pouring the water into a graduated cylinder. 

Activities

Activity 5

 What you will need:

•         soil samples

•         a magnifying glass

•         a screen

•         eye dropper

•         water

•         ph testing kit

•         Characteristics of Soil Table

•         newspaper

What to Do

1. Finding evidence of humus. Spread a small amount of one of your soil samples on newspaper. Use a magnifying glass to examine it closely. What is its composition? Do you see mineral particles––pebbles, sand, or even finer particles? What evidence can you find of humus (things that once were living)? Try to identify what these things were. Use the screen if need to separate different materials.

2. Test for ph. 

3. Finding the texture. Add a small amount of water to you soil––just enough to make it slightly damp (not muddy). Now rub some of the soil between your fingers. Does it feel smooth or gritty? What other words can you use to describe how the soil feel?

4.  What color is your soil––black, gray, reddish, yellow, or some other color? The color of the soil depends on many factors, including exposure to air, the climate of the environment, and the amount of humus present. Darker soils are usually rich in humus.

Activities

Activity 6      

What you need:

•         a jar and lid for each sample

•         water

•         soil sample from your property

•         spoon

•         label for jar with group name and sample number

What to Do

1. Fill the jar halfway with soil. Add water until the jar is nearly full. Put the lid on securely. Shake vigorously for two minutes or until there are no lumps in the soil

2. Place the jar on table for 15 minutes. 

3. Evaluate the settlings and describe what you see.

4. Let the water–soil mixture settle for 24 hours.

5. Observe the layers. Take a picture or do a drawing of the jar and label the layers.

6. Compare you results with a soil classification table.

7. Slowly pour off the water and humus. Spoon off the clay, and touch it to feel its texture. Observe the textures of the silt and sand partials as well..

Activities

Presentation

What do you need:

•         research you have gathered

•         notes from activities

•         pictures

What to Do

Presentation Slides (the group could have more slides)
The presentation will include the following slides. Each slide will include specific information listed for each slide.