Soil Analysis Lab Report CHE332

CONFIDENTIAL EH/OCT 2021/CHE332
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

LABORATORY
COURSE : INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL

ENGINEERING
COURSE CODE : CHE332
ASSESSMENT : EXPERIMENT 1/2/3/4
Course Outcomes:
 Respond to the experimental outcome of environmental experiments.
Item Marks
Introduction &
/10
objective
Materials,
procedure & safety /30
precaution
Data, results &
/20
discussion
Organization &
/10
appearance
Question & answer
/20
(Post-experiment)
Peer evaluation /10
GRAND TOTAL
/100
(CO3,LO2)
SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
UiTM Cawangan Terengganu, Kampus Bukit Besi
23200 Dungun, Terengganu
TECHNICAL/EXECUTIVE REPORT : CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
Soil (fine earth), weighing scale, weighing

Apparatus/ container, sieves, tray, drying oven, 100mL
Exp No. : 3
Instrument : beaker, glass rod, pH meter, distilled water,
spatula and brush
Topic : SOIL ANALYSIS Mark :

Date : 15 DECEMBER 2021
Students Course : EH110 Semester : 3 Group: B1
N
Name Matrix No. Signature
o.
1 MUHAMAD NAZIRUL BIN IBRAHIM 2020482002
2 MUHAMMAD FAREN BIN MOHD KAMAL 2020815734
3 AINAA’ NASHUHA BINTI SHAHRUL HAZAROMI 2020818052
4 NURUL ZETI NABIHAH BINTI ABDUL WAHIB 2020460578
5
Lecturer 1.MISS ISWAIBAH
2.
Introduction :
Soil can be defined as a medium of living organisms that contain a mixture of organic substances,
minerals components such as quartz, air, liquids and microorganisms. Soil can be divided into three
types which are sand, clay and silt. Sand is a granular material that differs from each other by a rock
division and also consists of different mineral particles. The sand’s size can be coarser than silt and
clay but it is finer than a gravel. Sand has a gritty texture.
The soil moisture content of soil is the quantity of water it contains. Water content is used in a wide
range of scientific and technical areas and is expressed as a ratio, which can range from 0 (completely
dry) to the value of the materials' porosity at saturation. Moisture may be present as adsorbed moisture
at internal surfaces and as capillary condensed water in small pores. At low relative humidity’s, moisture
consists mainly of adsorbed water. At higher relative humidity’s, liquid water becomes more and more
important, depending on the pore size.
Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of the soil. A pH value is actually a measure of
hydrogen ion concentration. Because hydrogen ion concentration varies over a wide range, a
logarithmic scale (pH) is used: for a pH decrease of 1, the acidity increases by a factor of 10. It is a
‘reverse’ scale in that a very acid soil has a low pH and a high hydrogen ion concentration. Therefore, at
high (alkaline) pH values, the hydrogen ion concentration is low. Most soils have pH values between 3.5
and 10. In higher rainfall areas the natural pH of soils typically ranges from 5 to 7, while in drier areas
the range is 6.5 to 9.
Soil electrical conductivity is an indirect measurement that correlates very well with several soil
physical and chemical properties. Electrical conductivity is the ability of a material to conduct (transmit)
an electrical current and it is commonly expressed in units of milliSiemens per meter (mS/m).
Alternatively, electrical conductivity measurements can be expressed in deciSiemens per meter (dS/m),
which is 100 times greater than milliSiemens per meter.
Objective :
To measure the moisture content, pH, conductivity of the soil and determine the type of soil based on its
particle size.
Safety
1. Always wear gloves and mask when handling this experiment to avoid any
Precautions
injury.
2. Follow the procedure given carefully to get better results of experiment.
3. Use glass rod carefully when stirring to breaking up the soil.
4. Conduct the experiment in bright room such as laboratory.
Data, Results Data And Results:
&
Discussion (a) Moisture Content Determination
Item Value
Weight of container, A (g) 92.12g
Weight of container + soil before drying, B 112.45g
(g)
Weight of container + soil after drying, C 107.00g
(g)
Weight of the moisture (g) 5.45g
Percentage moisture (%) 36.63%
Mass of water in soil = (B-C)g

= (112.45-107.00)g
= 5.45g
Mass of oven dried soil = (C-A)g
= (107.00-92.12)g
= 14.88g
Percentage of moisture content on dry mass basis = (B-C) x 100/ (C-A)
= 5.45 x 100 / 14.88
= 36.63%
(b) Grain Analysis
Particle Size Weight of soil (g) Percentage of soil Types of soil

(%)
1 mm 10.49 70.50 Sand (very coarse)
600 mic 1.83 12.30 Sand (coarse)
250 mic 1.54 10.35 Sand (medium)
150 µ 0.50 3.36 Sand (fine)
75 µ 0.26 1.75 Sand (very fine)
<75 µ 0.04 0.27 Sand (very fine)
Percentage of soil = weight of soil / weight of the soil after drying x 100%
(c) pH & Conductivity Determination
pH value EC Rating In dS.m-1

6.7 0.0398
pH value for our soil was 6.7 which is neutral because the value for neutral is 6.6 to 7.0.
Conductivity for our soil was 39.8 μS/cm and needed to convert to dS/m which is the
value is 0.0398 dS/m. So, the soil was good soil because value for good soil is 0 to 1.
1 dS/m = 1000 µS/cm
39.8 μS/cm / 1000 = 0.0398 dS/m
Discussion:
1. Explain two (2) functions of soil in the environment.

- Soil helps as medium for plant growth because plants need space in order to
grow. Without it, plants cannot spread out their roots and get the food they need
to grow.
- Soil function as regulator of water supplies. Soil are important components of the
hydrologic cycle because soil act as a filter for contaminated water to flow
through before it reaches groundwater aquifers or surface water.
2. Discuss grain analysis (types of soil) based on the table provided.

- The smaller the particle size, the lower the weight of soil pass the different size
of sieve. The texture of soils also different by following their particle size. Soil
particles vary greatly in size, and soil scientists classify soil particles into sand,
silt, and clay. Starting with the finest, mud particles are smaller than 0.0039 mm
in diameter. Some mud particles are so small that ordinary microscopes do not
show them. Silt particles are from 0.0039 to 0.0625 mm in diameter. Sand
ranges from 0.0625 mm to 2.00 mm. Particles larger than 2.00 mm are called
gravel. The size of soil particles is important. The amount of open space
between the particles influences how easily water moves through a soil and how
much water the soil will hold. Too much clay, in proportion to silt and sand,
causes a soil to take in water very slowly. Such a soil gives up its water to plants
slowly. These soils are sticky when wet.
3. Why is soil pH important?

- Soil pH affects the amount of nutrients and chemicals that are soluble in soil
water, and therefore the amount of nutrients available to plants. Plant roots
absorb mineral nutrients when they are dissolved in water. If the mixture of water
and nutrients in the soil is too acid or alkaline, some nutrients will not dissolve
easily, so they will not be available for uptake by roots.
4. Give two (2) purposes of moisture in soil.

- Soil moisture is a key variable in controlling the exchange of water and heat
energy between the land surface and the atmosphere through evaporation and
plant transpiration. As a result, soil moisture plays an important role in the
development of weather patterns and the production of precipitation.
- Soil moisture serves as the the solvent and carrier of food nutrients for plants
growth.
- Soil moisture help to regulate soil temperature.
Conclusion: For the conclusion, we can measured the moisture content by calculated the
percentage from the weight of soil before drying and after drying. The soil can be weight
using a weighing scale. We can observed the pH and conductivity of the soil by using
pH and conductivity probe. From the results, we can determined the pH ratings of the
soil which is our soil was neutral. EC ratings also can be found from the value of
conductivity of the soil. We can determined the type of soil based on its particle size by
using sieving method. During this process the particles are compared with the
apertures of every single sieve.

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What are two functions of soil in the environment?

How does soil pH affect plant growth?

CONFIDENTIAL EH/OCT 2021/CHE332

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

COURSE : INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL

 Respond to the experimental outcome of environmental experiments.

TECHNICAL/EXECUTIVE REPORT : CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Soil (fine earth), weighing scale, weighing

Topic : SOIL ANALYSIS Mark :

Mass of water in soil = (B-C)g

Particle Size Weight of soil (g) Percentage of soil Types of soil

(c) pH & Conductivity Determination

pH value EC Rating In dS.m-1

1. Explain two (2) functions of soil in the environment.

2. Discuss grain analysis (types of soil) based on the table provided.

3. Why is soil pH important?

4. Give two (2) purposes of moisture in soil.

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