Science Court: Soil Your Prediction The Questions The Questions Part 1: The Questions 1. What materials do plants need to grow? 2. What does good soil contain? 3. Is humus the organic or inorganic part of the soil? 4. What type of things might make up the organic material in soil? 5. What type of things might make up the inorganic material in soil? 6. List in order of size, from largest to smallest, the inorganic material in soil Professor Keisha Moss had taken soil samples from The Old Dust Field, mixed them with water, and shaken them up. Draw and label the way you predict the soil will look when it settles in the tube below. (Hints: Think about what makes up soil and the different sizes of those particles.) Part2: The Questions What are nutrients? What part of the plant takes in water and nutrients? How will these machines make it easier for plants to get nutrients out of the soil? Why is it important for soil to be made of particles of different sizes? 5. Why does the humus need to be into the deeper layers o of soil? 6. How will these machines keep the soil from being t too crumbly? Your Prediction In the box to the right, Draw what you predict Eddy’s EW4100SDX-ELPX will look like. Use the information checklist as a guide.

The Questions Your Prediction Where would you look to find earthworms? Part3: The Questions Where would you look to find earthworms? How do earthworms move through the soil? What does the earthworm use the soil for? How would these layers of sand and soil look after earthworms have moved through it? What are castings? 6. How do plants benefit from the activity of worms? Your Prediction Write your prediction about what professor Parsons will say about how worms do each of these things: Mix the soil up. Make the nutrients in the humus easier for plants to use. Allow water and air to reach the plant’s roots. “I bet Eddy stole Mr. Norton’s ideas and taught them to the earthworms.”