Soil+Test

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Soil Test
= = Period 3 Group C- **Eva, Lily, Billy, Steven** = Purpose: = We are looking for organisms living in the soil near the river, to see if the soil near the river supports life. = Hypothesis: = We think that we will find some organisms living in the soil in our soil test, and they will fall to the bottom of the container when we shine the light at it for a long period of time We are going to use this light because it will cause water and organisms to move to the bottom the container. We will then put some of the water under a microscope, to extend our search for organisms.
 * Prediction:** If the soil supports life, and we look through at the water through a microscope and find organisms in the soil then we know that the soil supports life.
 * Materials:**
 * Soil sample
 * Beaker
 * Filter
 * Scissors
 * Microscope
 * Slide
 * Cover slip
 * Light source
 * Pencil
 * Notebook
 * Procedure:**
 * 1) Get materials
 * 2) Cut a small hole at tip of filter
 * 3) Place filter in beaker so the hole is down in the beaker
 * 4) Place soil in filter
 * 5) Put under light source
 * 6) Wait 2 days
 * 7) Take filter off of the beaker
 * 8) Get microscope
 * 9) Make a slide of what is found in the beaker
 * 10) Look through the lens on the microscope and look for organisms
 * 11) Take notes of what you find
 * Observations:** On the slides we made, we didn't find much. We saw same small dirt specks all over the slide. We did not see any organisms in or around these clumps.


 * Conclusion:** Our hypothesis was was not disproved; we have no proof that organisms live in the soil we had collected. However, other groups have found small microscopic organisms in theirs. The reason we did not find anything while other groups did could be because of the location where we collected our soil. Our other problem could have been that we could have the water under the light for to long and killed the organisms.


 * __ Period 6, group A Kelsey, Brooke, Ian, Alex __**


 * __Purpose__**: We are testing the soil found around the river, we will be taking two samples from two different places around the river to see which is more healthy or unhealthy.


 * __Equipment__**: A light bulb, a coffee filter (in the shape of a cone), a glass beaker, soil, and a microscope


 * __Procedure:__** We will place the coffee filter on the top of the cup. We will then fill the coffee filter with the soil. After this is finished, a light will be placed right above the filter. This is to see if the bacteria and organisms makes its way to he bottom of the flitter and drop down to the bottom of the glass ( they would do this because they try to avoid the light).


 * __Prediction__**: If the bottom of the glass after testing it has multiple amounts of bacteria, then we can go about testing what was found, to see if it is living or not and if there isn’t a lot of things found then that tells us that not a lot of living things live there, which means that its healthier to humans. But if we do find a lot that doesn’t exactly mean its unhealthy it would just mean that more organisms live there so it would be healthier to them then us.


 * __Hypothesis__**: We think that the organisms that live there, their are non harmful ones that live there and actually help the river more so then if the harmful ones live there. We think the water is unhealthy to humans, and healthy to the organisms.


 * __Observations__**: We noticed the when the light is turned on the organisms go to the bottom and drop through, we also noticed that the actual dirt stays in the coffee flitter. (The coffee filter is in the shape of a cone)


 * __Conclusion__**: We were disproved, we had not found any kind of living things, this is not to say that there isn’t anything because as we observed other peoples experiment and they had living organisms. This is probably because we got our samples from different sources.

Period 3 Group E Chris, Jason, Ria, Eleni

Purpose: We tested the soil to see whether the organisms inside were harmful or not. Hypothesis: We think some organisms inside are harmful and some are not. We believe the harmful organisms out wiegh the non harmful ones. If any harmful organisms are found we can deem the soil and some of the river unhealthy.

Hypothesis: We think that some organisms are healthy and some are not. We believe that the harmful organisms out weigh the healthy ones. Equipment: Coffee Filter, beaker, light source, soil sample, slide, coverslip, microscope, dropper, notebook and a pen or pencil.

Procedure: 1. Collect a soil sample 2. Take a beaker and put a coffee filter on top (cut a small hole in the bottom of the filter, the diameter of the hole should be about .5 cent. 3. Pour your soil sample into the coffee filter 4. Place a light source in a spot were it can fully shine on the surface of the soil 5. Turn light sorce on and leave it out for about twelve hours 6. After the twelve hours is up come back and take the beaker out (it should have collected some liquid and organisms in it, if not go back to step one and redo) 7. Use a dropper to collect some of the organisms 8. Drop your sample on a slide and place coverslip over it 9. Place slide under microscope and observe 10. Record observations in notebook.

Prediction: If some organisms inside are harmful and some are not and we do a complete soil test on the sample then we should find harmful organisms in the soil.

Observations: When we looked at slides that me made from the soil test, we found amoebas, eugleas, nematodes, and paramecium (not positive) The amoebas eat the soil and grow bigger, i think this can be harmful. The euglenas, nematodes, and paramecium are not harmful to the soil.

Conclusion: We found organisms that are harmful and unharmful. I think the soil is semi-healthy and it can support life. Our hypothesis was supported since there were many species of organisms, but the soil is pretty healthy; healthy enough to support life. If we had more time we would of done further experimentation of the organisms we found and what they mean about the rivers condition and if the affect other living organisms in the river. We would have seen if the organisms we found are not only unhealthy for the river but also for the people and animals living around the river.

**Period 6: Group B- Jacob, Nicole, Natalie**

Hypothesis: when we observe under the microscope the results we will not find any organisms because in class we ruled the river was unhealthy ,therefore not supporting any life.

materials:1.soil sample from around the passaic river. 2.beaker 3.filter 4.scissors 5.microscope 6. slide 7.cover slip 8. light source 9.pencil 10.notebook

Procedure:1.Get materials 2.cut a small whole int the top of the filter 3.place filter over beaker ,whole facing down. 4.place soil in filter 5.put under light source 6.wait 2 days 7.take filter off beaker. 8.get microscope. 9.make a slide of what is found in the beaker 10. look through lens on microscope and observe what you found. 11.record findings Prediction: if we observe under a microscope and we dont find any organisms and we take a soil sample from the passaic river and filter out any organisms; ( if present) than we will confirm that the river is unhealthy. Data: We wated two days for any organisms availible to fall through the whole and we found that when we put the soil from the bottom of the beaker in the slide that we found organisms moving through the slide which shows potential organisms living in the soil which shows that that specific area in the river was healthy enough to support life.

Conclusion: our hypothesis was that we wouldnt find organisms because we said that the river was unhealthy and unable to support life but when we looked under the microscope we found that there was potentially organisms living in the soil but now this proves that the river is healthy enough for organisms to live in and live off of parts of the river soil. Although the soil can support life that doesnt mean that all of the river is healthy.If I had more time I would have observed point sources near the soil test that may have impacted the soil being healthy / unhealthy and tested that water to see if it impacted the outcome by doing multiple atests to confirm my findings. = =

=Period 6, Group C: Jocelyn, Stephanie, and Alex =

__**Hypothesis:**__ We think that the living organisms that will be in the soil will be non-harmful, and actaully will be nurturing the soil and making it rich and good for plants and life.


 * __Prediction:__** If the organisms are not harmful, and the soil is healthy, then we should find some good living organisms.

__**Purpose:**__ To see if there are organisms in the soil and if they are healthy or not.

  __**Procedure:**__ 1. Get a filter and cut it to the center. 2. Then wrap it into a cone shape and tape it so it stays. 3. Then cut a small hole at the bottom. 4. Put the filter in a breaker. 5. Put a soil sample into the filter. 6. Put the sample under a light for a day. 7. Then get the liquid part of the soil, put it under a microscope and observe.
 * __Materials:__**
 * Soil Sample
 * Beacker
 * Filter
 * Light Source
 * Scissors
 * Cover Slip
 * Slide
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif"> Microscope


 * __Observations:__** When we looked under the microscope we saw some very small living organisms and they were spinning in circles. Then we saw something that had a lot of cells in it but were not sure exactly what it is. It might be some sort of plant life.

__**Conclusion:**__ When we observed the soil under the microscope we found living organisms in the soil. We think the soil is some what healthy because they are living organisms in it. <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif">