Lab No: 01

Lab Title: Determination of Soil Textural Classes

Lab Duration: 3 hours

Rationale:

Texture indicates the relative content of particles of various sizes, such as sand, silt and clay in the soil.
Texture influences the ease with which soil can be worked, the amount of water and air it holds, and the
rate at which water can enter and move through soil. In this laboratory activity, students will be able to
experience determining soil textural classes using several methods.

Objectives:

1. Conduct quick field test to determine soil texture.

2. Perform bottle test to find the proportions of sand, silt, and clay
3. Rate the soil from fine to coarse using the mud-ball test.
4. Determine the relative content of soil separates (sand, silt, and clay) in the soil sample using
different methods, to wit
a. Field tests
i. The ball-shaking test
ii. The dry-crushing test
iii. The manipulative test
b. The textural triangle
Materials:
 Soil sample (2kg)  Markers
 3 Soil sample containers  Scratch papers
 1 Soil sampler (auger/small shovel)  Measuring tools
 2 Water bottle (1L)  Digital balance
 2 Empty jars (plastic or glass)  1 Stirrer
 3 Microwavable containers (different  Mechanical sieves
sizes)  Oven
 10 Ziplock  Timer
 Kitchen Gloves  Electric shaker
 Masking tape

Procedures:

To find the texture of a soil sample, first separate the fine earth, all particles less than 2 mm, from larger
particles such as gravel and stones (as shown in fig. 1). Fine earth is a mixture of sand, silt, and clay. You
must be sure to use only fine earth to perform the following field tests.

Fig. 1. Sieving fine earth

Quick Field Tests:

Throw-the-ball Test:

Procedure Illustration

1. Take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it into a

ball.

2. Throw the ball into the air about 50 cm and then

catch it.

3. If the ball falls apart, it is poor soil with too much

sand.

4. If the ball sticks together, it is probably good soil

with enough clay in it.

Squeeze-the-ball Test:

Procedure Illustration

1. Take a handful of soil and wet it, so that it begins to

stick together without sticking to your hand.

2. Squeeze it hard, then open your hand.

 3. If the soil retains the shape of your hand, there is
probably enough clay in it.

4. If the soil does not retain the shape of your hand,

there is too much sand in it.

The Bottle Test:

Procedure Illustration

1. Put 5 cm depth of soil in an empty jar and fill it with

water.

2. Stir the water and soil well, put the bottle down, and
do not touch it for an hour. At the end of an hour,
the water will have cleared and you will see that the
larger particles have settled.

3. Measure the depth of the sand, silt and clay and

estimate the approximate proportion of each.
a. At the bottom is a layer of sand;
b. In the middle is a layer of silt;
c. On the top is a layer of clay. If the water is
still not clear, it is because some of the
finest clay is still mixed with the water;
d. On the surface of the water there may be
bits of organic matter floating;

The Mud-Ball Test:

Procedure Illustration

1. Take a handful of soil, wet it, and work it to the

consistency of dough.
 2. Continue to work it between thumb and forefinger
and make a mud ball about 3 cm in diameter.

3. Soil texture can be determined by the way the ball

acts when you throw it at a hard surface, such as a
wall.
a. If the soil is good only for splatter shots (C)
when either wet or dry, it has a coarse
texture;
b. If there is a "shotgun" pattern (D) when dry
and it holds its shape against a medium-
range target when wet, it has a moderately
coarse texture;
c. If the ball shatters on impact (E) when dry
and clings together when moist but does
not stick to the target, it has a medium
texture;
d. If the ball holds its shape for long-range
shots (F) when wet and sticks to the target
but is fairly easy to remove, it has
a moderately fine texture;
e. If the ball sticks well to the target (G) when
wet and becomes a very hard missile when
dry, it has a fine texture.

Determination of Soil Textural Classes

Field Test:
The Shaking-Ball Test:

Procedure Illustration

1. Take a handful of soil and wet it.

2. Make a ball about 3-5 cm in diameter.

3. Place the ball on the palm of your hand: it appears

shiny.
 4. Shake it from side to side rapidly while watching the
surface of the ball.

5. If the surface of the ball becomes rapidly dull and

you can easily break the ball between your fingers,
it is sand or loamy sand (E).

6. If the surface of the ball becomes dull more slowly

and you feel some resistance when breaking the
ball between your fingers, it is silt or clay loam (F).

7. If the surface of the ball does not change and you

feel resistance when breaking the ball, it is clay
or silty clay (G).

The Dry-Crushing Test:

Procedure Illustration

1. Take a small sample of dry soil in your hand.

2. Crush it between your fingers.

3. If there is little resistance and the sample falls into

dust, it is fine sand or fine loamy sand or there is
very little clay present.

4. If there is medium resistance, it is silty clay or

sandy clay.

5. If there is great resistance, it is clay.

The Manipulative Test:

The manipulative test gives you a better idea of the soil texture. This test must be performed exactly in
the sequence described below because, to be successful, each step requires progressively more silt and
more clay.

Procedure Illustration

1. Take a handful of soil and wet it so that it begins to

stick together, but without sticking to your hand.

2. Roll the soil sample into a ball about 3 cm in

diameter.

3. Put the ball down. If it falls apart, it is sand, if it

sticks together, go on to the next step.

4. Roll the ball into a sausage shape, 6-7 cm long. If it

does not remain in this form, it is loamy sand. If it
remains in this shape, go on to the next step.
5. Continue to roll the sausage until it reaches 15-16
cm long. If it does not remain in this shape, it
is sandy loam. If it remains in this shape, go on to
the next step.
6. Try to bend the sausage into a half circle. If you
cannot, it is loam. If you can, go on to the next
step.
7. Continue to bend the sausage to form a full circle. If
you cannot, it is heavy loam. If you can, with slight
cracks in the sausage, it is light clay. If you can,
with no cracks in the sausage, it is clay.

The Shaking Test: Differentiate Clay from Silt

Both silt and clay soils have a very smooth texture. It is very important to be able to tell the difference
between these two soils because they may behave very differently when used as construction material for
dams or dikes where the silt may not have enough plasticity. Silty soils when wet may become very
unstable, while clay is a very stable construction material. plasticity. Silty soils when wet may become
very unstable, while clay is a very stable construction material.

Procedure Illustration

1. Take a sample of soil and wet it.

 2. Form a patty about 8 cm in diameter and about 1.5
cm thick.

3. Place the patty in the palm of your hand: it appears

dull. Shake the patty from side to side while
watching its surface. If its surface appears shiny, it
is silt. If its surface appears dull, it is clay.

4. Confirm this result by bending the patty between

your fingers. If its surface becomes dull again, it
is silt.

5. Put the patty aside and let it dry completely.

6. If it is brittle and dust comes off when rubbing it with

your fingers, it is silt.

7. If it is firm and dust does not come off when rubbing

it with your fingers, it is clay.

Note: Record the results of the shaking test - rapid, slow, very slow, not at all - according to the speed
with which the surface of the patty becomes shiny when you shake it.

USDA Textural Classes of Soil:

Common names of soils (General Texture) Sand Silt Clay Textural class
86-100 0-14 0-10 Sand
Sandy soils (Coarse texture)
70-86 0-30 0-15 Loamy sand
50-70 0-50 0-20 Sandy loam
Loamy soils (Moderately coarse texture)
23-52 28-50 7-27 Loam
Loamy soils (Medium texture) 20-50 74-88 0-27 Silty loam
0-20 88-100 0-12 Silt
20-45 15-52 27-40 Clay loam
Loamy soils (Moderately fine texture) 45-80 0-28 20-35 Sandy clay loam
0-20 40-73 27-40 Silty clay loam
Clayey soils (Fine texture) 45-65 0-20 35-55 Sandy clay
 0-20 40-60 40-60 Silty clay
0-45 0-40 40-100 Clay

Mechanical Analysis of Soil:

Mechanical analysis is the determination of the size range of particles present in a soil, expressed as a
percentage of the total dry weight.

Sieve analysis consists of shaking the soil sample through a set of sieves that have progressively smaller
openings. Listed below the U.S. standard sieve numbers and the sizes of openings.

Sieve Number Opening (mm)

4 4.750
6 3.350
8 2.360
10 2.000
16 1.180
20 0.850
30 0.600
40 0.425
50 0.300
60 0.250
80 0.180
100 0.150
140 0.106
170 0.088
200 0.075
270 0.053

1. First, the soil is oven dried and then all lumps are broken into small particle before they are
passed through the sieves. Oven drying the soil must be in 105C for 24 hours.
2. Weigh 1000 g of oven dried soil sample which will be used in the mechanical sieve analysis.
3. Prepare the mechanical sieves and make sure that all sieves are clean.
4. Put the soil sample on the largest sieve opening. Pile the sieves according to the size of openings
and put the collecting pan at the bottom.
5. Use the mechanical shaker to facilitate the sieving of soil. Run the shaker for 10 minutes.
6. Put the remained soil particles from each sieve no. inside the zip lock and label (sieve no.).
7. Weigh the soil particles and record the data.

Sieve Number Opening (mm) Weight (g) Percentage (%) Remarks

Textural Triangle Method:

The textural triangle method is based on the USDA system of particle size where the following
classification is used:
  Silt: all particles within the size range of 0.002-0.05 mm;
 Clay: all particles smaller than 0.002 mm.

To define the texture of the fine earth fraction:

 Subject the soil sample to a mechanical sieve analysis specified in the procedures above;
 The results of this analysis will fine the relative percentages of sand, silt and clay, as defined
above, within the total size range of 0.002-2 mm.

For each soil sample, determine its textural class using the triangular diagram shown in the figure
below, as follows:

 Find the percentage of sand along the base of the triangle and follow a line, going up toward the
left;
 Find the percentage of clay along the left side of the triangle and follow to the right the horizontal
line until you meet the previous line for sand (point o). This point shows the soil sample texture;
 Check that this point corresponds to the percentage of silt of your analysis by following a line
from point 0 up to the right, until you reach the percent silt scale on the right side of the triangle;
 If the value agrees for silt, your soil sample texture is determined by the area of the triangle in
which point o falls, as indicated in the example below.