Soil Erosion Bears Elective 15b

                                                               soil erosion picture from www.environmedia.com
 
Bears Elective 15b Explore three kinds of earth by conducting a soil experiment.

As a Bear leader years ago, I saw a soil erosion experiment that combined the following two soil experiments. It had 5 soil sections: the four from the first experiment, then a fifth section which was soil with grass. I was very, very impressed and even though I "knew" these things from reading it in books, watching the effects grass had on erosion had a huge impact on me.

Soil Types

• Experiment with different soils to determine which types will best resist erosion. Place two pounds each of potting soil, sand, clay, and soil from your yard into four separate pans. Prop one end of the potting soil pan on a board. Place the other end in an empty dish. Pour three cups of water into a watering can and sprinkle the water over the soil from the top edge of the pan. Observe what happens. Measure and dump the water gathered in the dish into a clear jar. The darker this water is, the more soil has run off. Repeat this experiment for each soil type. Compare the amount of water collected and the soil present in each dish to draw your conclusions about which soil type withstands erosion best.

Read more: Soil Erosion Experiments | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8219640_soil-erosion-experiments.html#ixzz22sKtXT1I



http://library.thinkquest.org/J003195F/newpage6.htm

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Materials:
    1. a few books
    2. two shallow pans
    3. a deeper pan
    4. soil
    5. soil with grass growing in it
    6. water in a container

Step 1: Gather all your materials listed above. Then prop up the end of the shallow pan on the books. Put the other end of the shallow pan in the deeper pan. Fill the shallow pan with soil up to the rim.
Step 2: Carefully pour the water from the top end of the pan, and let it flow down.
      Did you notice anything? The soil should have been carried from the shallow pan down to the deeper pan. That is how erosion works. The water carries away
       the soil and soon it settles in the water.
Step 3: Take your other shallow pan. Put the soil with plants in it and put it where your other shallow pan was.
Step 4: Pour the water from the top of the pan, as you did before.
       Did you notice anything? The plants and grass helped keep the soil in place.
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