Soil Testing Lab
Soil is a complex mixture of sand, silt, clay, humus, and microorganisms that is absolutely essential for plant agriculture. In this lab, students will mix up a soil sample with water in a Mason Jar, allow it to separate, and measure the composition of each component. Then, they will perform four chemical tests on the soil: pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Students will then perform calculations to determine what (if any) amendments would need to be made to the soil before it could be used for plant agriculture.
Essential concepts: Soil composition, silt, sand, clay, soil types, soil triangle, soil nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, pH.
