• Students may calculate stream flow rates (m³/s) in areas where streams are monitored by the United States Geological Service and compare results to flow rates reported by the USGS *.  Students will practice converting units since the flow rates reported by USGS will be in units of cubic feet per second.

• Students may compare measured stream flow rates over an extended period of time and compare results with USGS * and determine if there is any correlation between stream flow and erosion rate.

• Students may record amounts of precipitation and compare measurements with the monthly precipitation amount recorded by the USGS * and determine if there is any correlation between  precipitation amounts and erosion rates.  Over an extended period of time, students may determine if soil erosion occurs more during certain months.

• Instead of using the density of the soil given in the lab (1.8 g/cm³) students may determine the density of the soil on their own.  Students may measure the density of the soil in the areas they are testing by: 1.)  tapping a small slice (2" or 3") of PVC (any size diameter) pipe into the soil; 2.)  dig around the PVC pipe and remove the soil sample from the earth with a  spatula (kind of like serving a slice of mud pie).  The volume of the soil is determined by the volume of the PVC pipe and the mass should be determined after the soil has been dried.

Back to Page