Uses of soil

By: Abby Lesher

I had loamy sand. It was 81.03% sand, 12.08% silt, and 6.89% clay. It would
barely stay together even when it was a little damp. It would crumble when you tried to
roll it and it was really light in color when it wasnt wet like when we brought it from
home.
I got when the soil was wet after it rained. I found it in a rocky area by the paved
part of our driveway, where we were trying to get grass to grow so people wouldnt drive
in the grass, also it was close to the spot where we dumped the extra cement after we
paved our driveway last year.
First we came up with a prediction, I thought mine was 75% sand, 20% silt, and
5% clay. To find out what type of soil I had, we brought, I filled a water bottle about of
the way full with the soil sample we brought in. Then, I filled it of the water bottle
about half way full with water. After, we made sure the lid was tight and shook the bottle
to mix up the soil and sand so there was no sediment on the bottom. We left the bottles
to sit for the weekend. After the weekend, we got the bottles out, careful not to shake
them up. Then I drew the bottle on a sheet of paper, labeling each soil type and coloring
the paper to match the bottle as much as possible. We calculated the percentages of
how much of each type of soil was in each by measuring how much sediment was in the
bottle and how much of each type was in the bottle. Then multiply the fraction of how
how much of each type there was by 100, convert the fraction to a decimal, and put a
percent sign on it. Lastly, we marked how much of each soil type, on a graph. We put
lines going from the amount, parallel to the lines coming from that side. All the of the
lines should intersect on the type of soil you have done the experiment on (Mine didnt
touch, but they were close together and made a triangle). That is how we found out
what type of soil we brought in.
Loamy sand is useful for a lot of things like, growing things, building bases,
recreational uses, and animal habitats. It is also good for creating sand sculptures. Its
home to lots of worms, ants,and moles. It is a huge part of almost every ecosystem in
and on the earth, land and sea.
Conserving soil is important because we use it for tons of things. If we run out for
a long time things will change for the worst because its mostly a nonrenewable
resource. It will have a huge impact on our everyday life. We wouldnt be able to grow
crops to eat, make things, or to feed livestock. We also wouldnt be able to make art like
pottery, glass, buildings, or sand sculptures. We couldnt pave roads or even make dirt
or gravel roads. It The soil is home to thousands of animal species from moles to ants to
bacteria that wouldnt be able to survive. If the soil wasnt there dead animal bodies
would just sit there unable to decay for a long time. It It holds all sorts of treasures like
diamonds, rubies, and minerals that are worth a lot of money, it also holds roots,
minerals, and bacteria that helps us create medicines that can cure anything from
common colds to horrible diseases. If all of these are removed from the soil, we
wouldnt have them to put in medicine to cure people. Soil wouldnt be able to filter rain
water so it wouldnt be safe to drink as ground water. also Soil oil that powers cars and
heating systems. Oil is also in plastic and lots of other things that we use regularly. We
use so many items every day that wouldnt be possible without soil, never thinking about
what goes into making these products that are so normal in our everyday life. Ways we
can preserve our soil are conservative plowing, contour plowing, crop rotation, and
using fertilizers without chemicals.
All of these ways are good for the environment and help preserve the soil.