Engaging Youth Through Engineering

EYE

Camp Mobile Bay Water, Water Everywhere Summer 2011 EYE Gets Wet

Mobile Area Education Foundation Mobile County Public School System www.eye.wikispaces.com

* Shell *J.L. Bedsole *Gulf Of Mexico Alliance *MAWSS *Dauphin Island Sea Lab *5 Rivers Delta

Engaging Youth Through Engineering

Mobile Area Education Foundation Mobile County Public School System www.eye.wikispaces.com

Ask

Imagine

Plan

Create

Improve

Explore It, Earth Materials Purpose: To develop an understanding of some of

the relationships between the components of soils and water.

To generate a list of adjectives for describing the components of soil, especially those used in natural water filters

Catchment basins and watersheds are important to most living things, since water flow, filtering, direction and location is vital to water availability for everyday life. Environmental, chemical and civil engineers, along with geologists and hydrologists are all very interested in many aspects of water.

How human-made technologies affect our

water sources, water quality and watersheds is of great importance to protect the people, industries and wildlife that depend upon a working system of clean water for survival.

Engineering connections:

Materials needed:

Per group of three: *Small cup of sand, clay, gravel, humus

* Stirrer

*Spoon

*Recording sheet

* ½ Cup Water

*Paper

Procedure:

Work as group

Test and record for each of the samples

Examine Discuss Record

CleanRepeat

Gravel Sand Clay HumusAppearance: how it looks, color, shine, clumping, size.

Texture: how it feels

What happened when you added it to water?

What happens when you stir the water?Additional observations:

Properties of soil components:

Possible properties of soil components:

Gravel Sand Clay HumusBig Large Small Roots

Hard Rough Orange Black or brown

Tiny rocks Crumbly Sticks Stays wet

Doesn’t clump Crunchy Smells Soft

Water goes through it Spreads Out Clumps Clumps

Colors White Soft Floats

Smooth

Questions:

Stir the cup of soil and water. Describe what happens when the water begins to move._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What happens to the soil when the water slows down?_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Which soil component drops to the bottom of the cup first?______________________________________________________________________________________________

Questions:

Why do you think this happens?_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do any of the components float?______________________________________________________________________________________________

Why do you think this happens?_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________