Easy Elementary Science Projects – Air In The Soil Science Experiment

Science Experiment

Doing easy elementary science projects need not be kept only for science fairs. There are many good reasons why you and your kids should do science experiments all the time.

Here are a few of those reasons:

It gives you and the kids the opportunity to spend some quality time together
Kids love exploring and it is good to use this natural curiosity to teach them basic science without them even noticing.
Science experiments using easy to obtain supplies are also very suitable for homeschoolers.

Our easy elementary science project for today falls in to the category of “fun.” It is a very simple experiment and the kids will be able to do it with very little help from you. You will have to supervise though; otherwise you will have a big mess on your hands!

To start, explain to the kids that the earth consists of rocks, sand, humus, water and air. This is all the “ingredients” necessary for life on earth. Plants, animals and humans all need them in order to be able to survive. In our science project we are going to have a look at soil. We are going to find out how much air is trapped in different kinds of soil.

What you need:

5 Small clear jars
Water
5 Soil samples from different kinds of soil (go exploring with the kids to find samples in different places)
Labels
A pen
A notebook

What you have to do:

Fill your jars halfway full with your soil samples. One kind of soil into each jar.
Mark each jar with a name that will help you remember which soil you placed in which jar.
Fill the jars with water until they are almost full.
Now observe what happens.
You will see that bubbles start rising to the top of the water.
Can you explain why there are more bubbles in some of the bottles than in others?
Make notes of all your results, it is also a good idea to take photos of your result if you are doing this as a science fair project or as part of your science lessons for homeschooling.

You will note that the soil that is the most tightly packed will have less air in it than for instance a soil with lots of humus, taken maybe from a flower bed. Do you think plants grow better in well aerated soil or in soil more densely packed? This can be the subject of a later easy elementary science project. Have fun!