Starting with the sand, Mara adds water to the jar one tablespoon at a time. Water soaks the sample from the bottom up. She counts the number of tablespoons of water it takes to bring the water level up to the top of the sample. She repeats this process for the gravel and soil samples.
3 jars: one with sand and water, one with gravel and water, one with soil and water
Mara adds 4 tablespoons of water to the sand, 7 tablespoons to the gravel, and 5 tablespoons to the soil.
Calculate the porosity of each of Mara's samples using this formula, and record the results in the chart.
% porosity = (amount of water added to sample ÷ total sample volume) × 100
“Total sample volume” is the amount of soil, sand, or gravel. A half cup is equal to 8 tablespoons.
