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My daughter is interested in testing soil samples for presence of lead and does it vary if soil is able to retain more water..?
We bought lead testing kit online.. what type of soil is suitable for this experiment..? She wants fine soil with less organic matter...does it work..? Where can we find sample of soil with lead..? What are the other ways to proceed with this project..?
Lead contamination in soil
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Re: Lead contamination in soil
Hello and welcome to Science Buddies!
Could you please provide us with your daughter's hypothesis and test procedures, that way we are better able to help out? Thanks!
Lead occurs naturally in soil, and if her project has anything to do with levels of lead in soil in her community, then the best thing to do would be to test different soil samples from various places around the neighborhood or even in a surrounding forest depending upon where you live. Just be sure to label each sample according to where it was found; that would provide a neat comparison of lead levels in different areas around. You could even record soil temperature and soil pH (using a pH probe, you can find them to purchase online) to see if there is a correlation between pH and lead levels.
Another neat thing to do would be to compare soil from an urban area versus rural, if you have access to this kind of geography. (the levels of lead typically vary a LOT between these two areas, just a suggestion
)
Lead does not biodegrade, or disappear over time, but remains in soils for thousands of years, and because of the use of lead based paints etc in the 1970s, you'll be able to find lead in almost any sample you grab and test.
Instead of buying soil, I would opt for the geo exploration method, where you will be able to relate the project to the entire community instead of items you bought offline that won't represent a "natural" state well.
https://extension.psu.edu/lead-in-resid ... g-exposure
I recommend checking out this website, it suggests how to test and how to interpret your results
It also provides you with what to do in the case of having a lot of lead contamination, which would be neat to include in your daughter's write-up.
Hope that helps! Please do not hesitate to ask us any additional questions!!
Stay Nerdy!
lmp1341
Could you please provide us with your daughter's hypothesis and test procedures, that way we are better able to help out? Thanks!
Lead occurs naturally in soil, and if her project has anything to do with levels of lead in soil in her community, then the best thing to do would be to test different soil samples from various places around the neighborhood or even in a surrounding forest depending upon where you live. Just be sure to label each sample according to where it was found; that would provide a neat comparison of lead levels in different areas around. You could even record soil temperature and soil pH (using a pH probe, you can find them to purchase online) to see if there is a correlation between pH and lead levels.
Another neat thing to do would be to compare soil from an urban area versus rural, if you have access to this kind of geography. (the levels of lead typically vary a LOT between these two areas, just a suggestion
)Lead does not biodegrade, or disappear over time, but remains in soils for thousands of years, and because of the use of lead based paints etc in the 1970s, you'll be able to find lead in almost any sample you grab and test.
Instead of buying soil, I would opt for the geo exploration method, where you will be able to relate the project to the entire community instead of items you bought offline that won't represent a "natural" state well.
https://extension.psu.edu/lead-in-resid ... g-exposure
I recommend checking out this website, it suggests how to test and how to interpret your results
It also provides you with what to do in the case of having a lot of lead contamination, which would be neat to include in your daughter's write-up.
Hope that helps! Please do not hesitate to ask us any additional questions!!
Stay Nerdy!
lmp1341