Investigatory Project Group No.

2
1 – Sapphire
Class Numbers 9 & 29

Soil Porosity and Pollutant Viscosity

(2nd Quarter Project)

Problem:
Does soil porosity and pollutant viscosity affect the absorbency of the soil to
pollutant?

Hypotheses:

• We think that if the soil is with less porosity then it is the most
absorbent.
• We think that if the pollutant is more viscous then it is more
absorbent.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

The constants in this study were:

• The filter used

• Amount of pollutants (250 ml)
• Amount of soil filtered (250 mg)
• Number of trials on 1 soil type with 1 kind of pollutant
• Temperature of pollutants (21°C )

The manipulated variable was the type of soil filtered and the kind of pollutant
being filtered. Each kind of soil (silt, sand, loam and clay) filtered each kind of
pollutant (oil, gas) three times.

The responding variable was the amount of pollutants that filtered through the
250 mg of soil.

MATERIALS

QUANTITY ITEM DESCRIPTION

1 Plastic Filter
750mL Sand, Clay
750mL Oil, Gasoline
30 (16oz) plastic cups
500mL Graduated Cylinder
1 Scratch Paper
1 Organized Table
Stop Watch or watch with a
1
second hand
PROCEDURES

1.) Create a clean and organized area near a working sink or tub of water.
2.) Place 1 plastic cup on the table.
3.) Set filter in the cup so it is sturdy.
4.) Carefully put 250mg of soil 1 in filter.
5.) Accurately measure 250mL of oil in a graduated cylinder.
6.) Pour oil onto soil 1 slowly and steadily.
7.) Once oil is completely out of the cylinder begin timing filtering for 60 seconds
with the stopwatch.
8.) After the 60 seconds are completed, immediately remove filter from the cup and
set it in the sink. Immediately clean up any spills if you have any.
9.) Once the filter is in the sink pour the remaining oil in the cup, into the graduated
cylinder. Record the amount on the piece of scratch paper, but this is not your final
measurement.
10.) On the same paper as the recorded measurement, write the following equation:
250 - pollutants remaining = pollutants absorbed, and solve it by filling in the
numbers where the variables are.
11.) Record the difference to the equation in step 10 on the organized table.
12.) Repeat steps 1-11 two times with the same pollutant and the same soil.
13.) Repeat steps 1-11 three times with the same pollutant and soil 2.
14.) Repeat steps 1-11 three times with gasoline and soils 1 and 2.