Pre-Assessment Properties of Soil

A sieve is a container with very small holes in the bottom that are all the same size. What would this tool be useful for?

• Sorting soil by particle size

• Finding the mass of soil

• Growing plants in soil

• Determining soil color

Students tested the capacity of a soil to retain water. They poured 200 mL of water through a funnel holding the soil. How many milliliters of water was retained by the soil sample?

(a)  

3 Students planted 12 bean seeds in each of four different soil

samples. The students kept all other conditions the same, grew them for 15 days and recorded the results.

Which soil sample produced the tallest plants?

• Sample A

• Sample B

• Sample C

• Sample D

Students are comparing samples of different soils to the bars on a chart their teacher gave them. What property of soil are they are trying to determine using this chart?

• Size

• Texture

• Color

• Shape

If students are investigating the texture of different soil samples, what would be the best procedure to follow?

• Moisten the samples and rub them with their fingers

• Attempt to grow plants in each soil sample

• Pour water into each of the soil samples

• Compare each of the samples with a color chart