Soil Erosion by Water with Pans – Science Experiments

Overview:

Students will discuss the importance of roots for the plant as well as the environment. Soil erosion will be explored in a group experiment that compares a potted plant, plain soil, rocks on top of soil and mulch on top of soil. Students will hypothesize which version will produce the least erosion.

Time:

Preparation: 5 minutes

Time in Class: 1 hour

Lesson Materials:

*You can use the document in the link below to either: tailor the experiment to your needs or to have a printable version of this lesson plan*

Soil Erosion by Water with Pans Lesson Plan

The plan is editable and printable. Copy the Google Doc in your own drive and make edits or you can just print.

Soil Erosion by Water with Pans Lesson Video:

Learning Objectives:

Recognize that roots hold the soil.
Identify that careful farming techniques are important to the integrity of the soil.

Materials Needed:

Enough plants to pot into 6 bread pans.
- Or, fast growing seeds (Chives germinate 2-3 days)
3 – 0.5 cu ft soil bags
- 72 cubic inches of soil per student to fill 4 – 8x3x3 pans
0.5 cu ft Pea Pebbles
2 cu ft mulch/bark/straw
2 Watering can
24 Aluminum bread pans, approximately 8 × 3 × 3 inches
15 Kitty litter pan or aluminum cake pans, approximately 12 × 8 × 1 inches
- 8 pans will be for 2 testing stations
- 3 pans will be for the rocks, mulch and soil
- 2 pans will be for soil waste
- 2 pans will be for rock waste
Several containers for scooping the mulch and soil (e.g. yogurt containers)
2 Towels for drying rocks
2 trash bags, just in case
4 bins for rough rinsing of dirty hands

Introduction and Demonstration:

Review plant anatomy:
1. Consider showing a real plant with the root structures.

Discuss the importance of soil for plants and nature.

Discuss what happens if roots are not holding in the soil: Soil Erosion.
1. Show pictures of the dust bowl during the great depression.
2. Mudslides and runoff.
3. Desertification.
4. Consequences on waterways.

Demonstrate how to make all four of the pots:
1. Soil, soil with rock, soil with mulch, soil with plants.
2. Explain that this is a group project and that the students will only make one pot each, but test as a group.
3. Explain how they will use the worksheet.

Experimental Methods:

Students will create one pot each, and test their examples as a group. An adult will water the pots to determine which has the least and greatest soil runoff. For cleanup, have trays to collect the rocks. Rocks can be rinsed off and dried for next year. Soil and mulch can be used to amend a garden, but should not be kept for the next year.

Class Discussion:

Discuss results. The plants should have had the least amount of erosion. Mulch should have had the second least amount – the plant matter on top of the land help keep the soil in place. Rocks and plain soil should have been very similar and most of the soil should have washed away.

Suggested Class Reading:

The Boy Who Grew a Forest: The True Story of Jadav Payeng by Sophia Gholz and Kayla Harren
Soil Erosion and How to Prevent It (Everybody Digs Soil) by Natalie Hyde

Suggested Music:

Tom Chapin. This Pretty Planet (entire album). 2000.

Suggested Viewing:

Nature Cat. “Mud Love.” Season 1, Episode 17a. PBS, April 27, 2016.
Nature Cat. “Water Woes” Season 2, Episode 6b. PBS, April 24, 2018.

Soil Erosion Worksheet:

Checkmark the pans for which ones you expect to have the most erosion.

Make a circle for the one you think will have the least.

Plant with soil	Rocks with soil	Mulch with soil	soil

Checkmark the pans for which one had the most erosion.

Make a circle for the one that had the least.

Plant with soil	Rocks with soil	Mulch with soil	soil

Name__________________________________________________________

Pan Labels

Rocks + soil	Rocks + soil	Rocks + soil	Rocks + soil	Rocks + soil	Rocks + soil
mulch + soil	mulch + soil	mulch + soil	mulch + soil	mulch + soil	mulch + soil
plant	plant	plant	plant	plant	plant
Soil	Soil	Soil	Soil	soil	soil

Logistics:

STEAM Subject(s): Environmental Science, Chemistry, Biology

General Topic(s): Plants, Environment, Soil, Farming

Cost: ~$20 expendable materials

Funding:

CSU Internal Funding Sources:

IRA (Instructionally Related Activities Fund)
Faculty Small Grant

External Funding Sources:

Adobe