Soil Texture Test:

Qualitative Test- For the qualitative test, soil was mixed with a small amount of water and mixed in Martin's hand. Once the small ball of soil was formed, the soil was found to feel sticky. This means that it is mostly clay. We were also able to form a small, short ribbon out of the soil. This determines that the soil is a silt or loam. By putting together the fact that our soil is mostly clay and was able to form a short ribbon, we can conclude that our soil is a silty clay loam.

Quantitative Test- For the quantitative test, 70 mL of soil was placed in a graduated cylinder with approximately 35 mL of tap water. We shook the mixture for about one minute and then left it over night to settle. After all of the components settled, it was determined that the mixture held 0 mL of sand , 60 mL of silt, 7 mL of clay, and 30 mL of organic matter/water (about 2 mL of organic matter). Overnight about 3 mL of water evaporated.

60 mL of silt/ 70 total mL of soil = 86% silt

7 mL of clay/ 70 total mL of soil = 10% clay

2 mL of organic matter/ 70 total mL of soil = 3% organic matter

0 mL of sand/ 70 total mL of soil = 0% sand

To account for the missing 1%, we can assume it was the moisture in the soil that either evaporated with the water or combined with the overall water originally added to the mixture.

According to the Soil Textural Triangle, our soil is silt. This is different than what we discovered in the Qualitative Test, silty clay loam. The difference in percentage of clay was 20-30%, the difference in percentage of sand was 10-20%, and the difference in silt was  30-40%. 

The data from our dry percolation test states that our soil drained 28 mL of water in 13.2 seconds. Clay drained 40 mL of water in 12.8 seconds and sand drained 18 mL of water in 18.5 seconds. This shows that our soil behaved more like clay than it did sand. This was proven true when we determined our soil had 0% sand and about 10% clay.
In comparison to Melissa Goldberg's soil, they are very similar. Both have 10% or less of clay, 90% of silt, and little to no sand. Melissa's group collected soil from a forest in her partner's backyard. Both soils were found in forests (ours was from Cuba Marsh). Kristen and Michael also got their soil from Cuba Marsh. There results also showed a sticky clay-like texture and was determined to be silt or silt loam in both the qualitative and quantitative tests. We believe that the soils are similar in texture because they are both meant to support trees. This is likely because silt is very rich in nutrients and helps plants grow. For those reasons, silt is considered a natural fertilizer.