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Soil
What is soil? How do plants grow in soil? How is contaminated soil cleaned? Using the scientific method, readers will explore Earth's soil and learn how to protect it. This informative and entertaining text will encourage readers to explore scientific ideas about the properties and importance of soil. For readers who are interested in entering science fairs, many experiments are followed by additional project ideas.
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Part of the Team Green Science Projects series, these demonstrations and suggestions for science fair projects are designed to get kids thinking past an immediate assignment and addressing bigger questions with a bit more depth than prompted by normal science fair books. Gardner provides short expository sections at the beginning of each chapter. His information is enough for the students to investigate meaningful questions, but not so much as to overwhelm them. At the beginning of the first chapter, What is Soil?, he explains: Soil is a mixture of tiny pieces of rock and decaying or decayed organic matter (dead plants and animals). It also contains air and water. While he goes on to talk about percentages of the different ingredients, the main point is made. Soil is a mixture. A demonstration asks the reader to take apart this mixture and look at some of the components individually. Chapter 2 examines waters movement through different kinds of soil. Chapter 3 addresses soil erosion, and chapter 4 has experiments and activities about soil conservation. Backmatter includes an appendix listing science supply companies, a glossary, lists of books and Internet addresses for further reading, and an index., Children's Literature
RL
Grades
5-6 IL
Grades
5-12+ GRL
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