Science at home! Fun homemade experiments for the little ones. Let's learn about Soil Texture!

lasocia (60)in #steempress • 6 years ago (edited)

Hello friends of @steemiteducation, nice to meet you, the home experiments open us a universe of knowledge and teaching possibilities for our children, sometimes we believe that to educate our children we need a highly prepared and somewhat complicated material, no! Today I want to show you a very simple Home Experiment that demonstrates that science does not have to be boring and that most of the experiments we can do with our children do not need complicated and elaborated materials, you will be fascinated by all the information and knowledge that you can transmit with this simple experiment.

The soil is a mixture of minerals, organic matter, microorganisms, water and air. Soil minerals can be classified according to their size in: rock, stone, gravel, sand, silt and clay. With this experiment we are going to separate into layers the smallest soil particles: sand, silt and clay. The relative proportion of these three types of particles is called soil texture.

So let's start with the experiment: Let's learn about the texture of the soil by placing sand in a jar!

Materials:

Something to dig. We use a fork.

A handful of land.

A tall and transparent jar with lid.

Water.

Process:

Dig a little on the ground to get a small sample. With a handful is enough.

Remove the vegetable layer and put the earth in a jar.

Add water to about 4 cm from the edge.

Cover and shake until you're tired. If the jar is made of glass, be careful not to introduce any stone that could break it with the earth.

Leave it upright and watch the larger particles settle to the bottom quickly.

Wait one day and you can observe several layers of soil particles. The sand below, the silt below and finally the clay.

We put the water, close and do a little exercise!

After shaking for a few minutes, the sand falls to the bottom right away.

The soil particles have been ordered by size. And the organic remains float!

What happen?

When the jar is shaken, the different particles that make up the soil mix with the water. As soon as the jar is at rest, these particles in suspension, begin to settle in the bottom, starting with the heaviest ones and ending with the lightest ones. After a while we can see the different layers and the organic matter floating in the water. The texture of the soil, together with the climate of a place, helps us to decide what type of crop is most suitable in that area. A sandy soil is very porous and does not retain water or nutrients, but nevertheless very well aerates the roots. When it rains, puddles do not form because the water seeps in. A clayey soil is very compact due to the small size of the particles. That is why it retains water and nutrients and does not let air through. The puddles are formed quickly. The silty soils have intermediate characteristics. The right combination of the three will give us the ideal soil for each plant and climate. The soil sustains life on Earth. Plants live in it, that's why it's so important to keep it.

Children love to do experiments. With them, while having fun, they learnand ask questions about the world around them. Among its many benefits, scientific exploration feeds the child's natural curiosity, fosters his interest in science, stimulates reasoning and logic, improves his ability to solve problems, increases his self-esteem and prepares them to understand more complicated scientific concepts in the future.To enjoy science is not necessary to have a laboratory, you will be surprised by the amount of experiments that can be done with some home materials. So do not wait any longer, get to work and have fun with your children or students.I hope that this article has been of your interest and help, and I hope you in my next publication.