I am currently a Gr10 Science student, and we are currently learning about soil. Does anyone have any idea on how to calculate soil's air content?

 

Much help is appreciated. Thanks!

u can calculate it by minusing the intial content fromthe final scalr volume then calculate the percenteage

I guess you need a percentage, or a fraction? It is very important that you say if it is a volume% or mass%... makes a huge difference.

 

In practical terms:

Take the weight of the soil. Then add water, to fill up all the air pockets in the soil and measure how much water you use or take the weight again of the soil. (Hopefully the volume did not chance)...

The water has a density of about 1 kg/liter... so if you know how much water is added, then you know how much volume is added...

 

Until there it's the same for volume% and mass%, but after this it's different for both.

 

[edit] OOPS - I just checked the date of the Opening Post - I guess we're a bit late with the answer? By now Tellie should be 4 years further in education And (s)he obviously never visits the forum anymore.

Hi Tellie, now in Gr 14.. this is a highly assumptious response..

 

i.Weigh a bulk soil sample....W1

ii. Stir it vigorously in water in a beaker

iii. Filtrate the mixture

iv. Weigh the Sample ..W2

v. W2 - W1 = Volume of moisture in saturated sample.

moisture volume = air content by volume

Why should the amount of water retained in soil correlate with the air (do you mean oxygen?) content?. It depends a lot on the kind of soil, how densely it is packed and how large the interface with ambient air is.. Moist soil in a certain depth is practically anoxic.

And yes, we are doing repeated necromancy here.

Edited May 18, 200916 yr by CharonY

who can tell me the meaning of the air content of soil?