EXPERIMENT 2.

soils.
AIM: To study the texture and moisture content of different

REQUIREMENTS
meshes of different pore sizes, measuring
cylinders,waterr, etc.
Digger. polythene bags, hand lens,

PROCEDURE
like crop field, roadside park, etc., in polythene
Collect soil sample from different types oflocalities,

bags and bring them to the laboratory.

STUDY OF SOIL TEXTURE

in as well as in moist
Examine the soil samples by a hand lens and feel it between fingers dry
amount of particles that
state. Place dried soil samples on meshes of different pore sizes and record the
pass through them.
Take about 50 g of soil from a sample in 250 ml measuring cylinder. Add 200 ml of water and
shake it well. Allow the soil particles to settle down. Record thickness of the layers formed by different
types of particles in the measuring cylinder, and calculate their relative percentage. Similarly, record
relative percentage of different types of soil particles present in different soil samples.
CortExpeTiIYNEnts
25

Humus

Water

Clay
Silt
Fine sand
Coarse sand

Fig. 2.1. Different layers formed by different types of soil particles in water

OBSERVATION
down first and lighter ones afterwards. Humus
floats on the water
surtace
Heavy particles settle
and record observations in tabular form as under.
Observe these layers carefully
your
Soil class
Relative percentage
S.No. Soil samples Colour Texture
Sand Silt Clay

Soil from a crop field

Garden soil
Roadside soil

Soil from a dried pond

River-bank soil

STUDY OF MOISTURE CONTENT Heat

crucible and weigh it. Record the weight.
Take small amount of soil from a sample in a dry record the weight
crucible again to
cool it. Weigh the
the crucible on a burner to dry the soil and then
for each soil sample.
of dry soil. Repeat the process

OBSERVATION the difference between initial

and final
of each sample and
Record the initial and final weights
moisture
initial and final weight shows higher
difference between
Weghts in the form of a table. Higher
content in the soil. Moisture content
Final weight
Initial weight y-)g
S. No. Soil samples (y)g
(x)g
26 Comprehenstue Laboratory Manual in Biology-XII

Crucible
Soll

uw.w

Flame

Stand

crucible.
Fig. 2.2. Heating of soil in

PRECAUTIONS
1. Soil samples should be separately packed and brought to the laboratory.

2. The thickness of layers formed by different particles in the cylinder should be carefully measured
and their relative percentage should be accurately calculated.

EXPERIMENT 2.2