Soil Erosion Experiment

Group members :

A. Objective
1. To understand the process of soil erosion
2. To understand the role of vegetation in protecting soil from erosion

B. Basic Theory
Soil erosion refers to the erosion of the top layer of dirt known as topsoil,
the fertile material vital to life. The rate of soil erosion depends on many
factors, including the soil’s makeup, vegetation, and the intensity of wind
and rain.

In theory, soil with more vegetation will be able to better resist erosion,
due to the ability of the plants to hold the soil together and slow down the
flow of water, causing less soil to be eroded

C. Materials and Equipments

1. 1.5 L bottle (3)
2. Soil + Grass
3. Rocks
4. Scissors
5. Clear container (4)

D. Procedures
1. Prepare 3 used bottles, cut all of the bottle exactly as in the picture below

2. Fill all of the bottles with soil

3. Fill one of the bottle with grass, one with rocks, and leave the last one as
it is
4. Put the clear containers under the bottle exactly where the water will
pour down
5. Put the bottles on an incline to make sure that the water can flow down
to the container as illustrated in this picture

6. Pour onto all 3 bottles using 100mL of water, make sure that the flow of
water is is fast and for the water to not be poured slowly, collect the water
and observe

E. Observation Result
Bottle 1 Bottle 2 Bottle 3

Water Volume

Water
Condition

F. Discussion
1. How is the difference in water quality in all 3 bottles? Explain why!
2. Which bottle absorbs the most amount of water? Explain why!
3. What can you conclude from this experiment?