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Social Media for Soils

Particle Size Demonstration

photo of sand being spooned into a plastic bottle of water

Add clean sand to a plastic bottle filled with water.

photo of silt being spooned into a plastic bottle of water

Add silt and clay to a separate bottle filled with water.

photo of sand rapidly settling to the bottom of the bottle

Sand will settle rapidly.

Silt and clay will settle more slowly.

 

photo of silt and clay slowly settling to the bottom of the bottle

Shake up the bottles and observe how long it takes for the particles to settle.

photo of 2 plastic bottles showing rapidly settling sand and slowly settling silt and clay

Observe the difference in the clarity of the water. The water is mostly clear in the bottle with the sand.

photo of sand settling to the bottom of the plastic bottle -- the water is clear

Note the sediment in suspension in the water of the silt and clay bottle.

photo of silt and clay settling in a plastic bottle -- the water is cloudy