Knowing the Texture and Type of a Soil

Knowing the Texture and Type of A Soil

Ernest Aaron D. Valente1

1STEM Student, Senior High School Department, Polytechnic University of the Philippines

ABSTRACT

Knowing the texture and type of a soil is essential for it gives the idea on how the
soil in a particular place differs from other soil. In this activity, soils from different
locations inside the PUP Lagoon was gathered and used to study soil texture.
The soil was filtered and undergoes Hydrometer method where container and
soil triangle was used to identify the percentage of sit, sand and clay in the soil. The
other method used was Ribbon and Ball Method. Unfortunately, the results of the two
different methods were different due to intervention and not precise measurement of
distribution of soil.

Keywords: Nerve physiology, central nervous system, sciatic nerve, pithing

characteristics. This sequence of layers is

INTRODUCTION normally described as the “soil profile”.
Surface horizons with a mixture of mineral
Soil is normally considered as the and organic materials are usually identified
fine earth which covers land surfaces as a as “A horizons” and may be further
result of the in situ weathering of rock described by the amount and nature of the
materials or the accumulation of mineral organic matter present within the horizon.
matter transported by water, wind, or ice Where there is a substantial proportion of
(Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, organic material in the surface layer it may
Weinheim, 2012). be called “O horizon”. The A and O horizons
Soil plays a major role for all living are generally considered the biologically
organism especially on plants and most active part of the soil and are also
vegetation. It is where vegetation settles in subject to considerable changes as a result
order to produce their own food and food for of the weather, being frequently exposed to
other organisms. It serves as a reservoir for wetting and drying cycles and to a wide
nutrients and water providing plants’ needs range of temperatures, which results in high
for these requirements throughout their rates of activity in physical and chemical
growth. The soil may also provide an processes. Below the A horizons usually “B
environment for the breakdown and horizons” are encountered where the
immobilization of materials added to the balance shifts from predominantly biological
surface such as fertilizers, plant and animal processes as in the A horizons to
remains, pesticides and waste products. predominantly chemical and physical
The soil usually consists of a vertical processes. The “C horizon”, below the B, is
sequence of layers or horizons differentiated the relatively unaltered material from which
by physical, chemical or biological the A and B horizons may have developed.

.
 Knowing The Texture and Type of a Soil 2

METHODOLOGY After 1 minute, locate the sand and draw a

line at the top of the sand layer. Wait for an
Soil was gathered in three different hour, then locate the silt which is heavier
locations inside the PUP Lagoon to know than clay and draw a line at the top of the silt
their texture and their types. layer. Then, they wait for twenty four hours
for the clay to settle and mark it at the top
Gathering of Soil in a Certain Location layer. Empty the jar after conducting the
The researchers went to their procedures and measure the bottom of the
assigned location to grab and collect jar to the first mark. For silt, measure the
samples in order to know its type and tex- distance between the 1st and 2nd mark.

ture. First on their location was under the

bench. They used safety gloves for
sanitation and a trowel to transfer samples
of soil in their containers. Then, they went to
another location to gain more soil samples
inside the PUP Lagoon. Luckily, they
stumbled two more locations were soil is
abundant. The researchers collected it and
put it on the other two containers. After that
they head back to the “laboratory” to
proceed on their experiment.

Image 3: Jars filled with soil to be observed for the

experiment.

Image 1&2: Researchers gathering soil samples for

their experiment.

Identifying Soil Texture by Using

Hydrometer Method
The researchers put the soil out of
the containers and lay them over on the
newspapers to preserve cleanliness in their
workplace. First, they separate the soil from
unnecessary debris like stones, plant roots,
earthworms and other living organisms.
Second, they get 3 empty containers and Image 4: Measuring of the distance of the soil
label them as “SET-UP A”, “SET-UP B” and layers on each other.
“SET-UP C” respectively. Then, they took
the filtered soil and put it inside those 3
containers separately according to their
locations. Each jar is about three quarters
full. After that, they add water to almost fill
the jar. They mixed it and shake the jar
properly to evenly mix the soil inside it. Let
the jar sit for 1 minute and observe how the
3 different soils taken settle inside the jar.
 Knowing The Texture and Type of a Soil 3

Identifying Soil Texture by using Ball and Image 6: Computation of percentage of sand, silt
and clay.
Ribbon Method
The researchers take handful of soil
and wet it so that it begins to stick together.
They roll the wet soil into a ball that is about
3 centimeters in diameter and put it down to
observe the occurrences that will happen to
the ball. Based on the observation, the ball
remains as it is. After that, they make it into
sausage shape that measures 6-7 cm long.
Suddenly, it does not remain on its form.

Figure 1: Plotting of Measurements In Soil Triangle

Image 5: Soil that have been rolled into a ball to test

the ball method.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In the hydrometer method, the Unfortunately, the researchers claimed a

researchers computed the distance of the result of “Loamy sand” using ball and ribbon
markers and they come up with an answer method. The reason sthat the researchers gave
that is depicted on table 1. After listing the are due to human intervention and unequal
measurement, the researchers perform the measurement of soil in each jar while using
operations in Image 6. Then, after gaining
results, the researchers found out that the hydrometer method.
soil is “Clay loam” using the soil triangle
(Figure 1). CONCLUSION AND RECCOMENDATION

Table 1: Data collected using Hydrometer method Based on the findings, the following
A B C AVE conclusions were made: (1) the procedures must
followed as correctly as possible to avoid
Sand 31mm 22mm 16mm 23mm mistakes, (2) soils from every location differ in
Silt 17mm 16mm 33mm 22mm many ways and (3) soil is flexible on its
environment depending on its humidity and
Clay 29mm 24mm 25mm 26mm weather.
TOTAL 71mm Upon conducting this experiment, it is
recommended to pick the best place to get soil
samples and be more accurate and precise while
performing methods of knowing the soil texture.
 Knowing The Texture and Type of a Soil 4

LITERATURE CITIED

Willey-VCH. 2011. Ullmann's Encyclopedia

of Industrial Chemistry, 7th Edition, Chapter:
Land Utilization and Soil Destruction
(Statistics).