Question

Describe the three base materials in soil in terms of porosity and permeability.

Answer 1

Porosity:

1. Porosity is an intrinsic property of every material.
2. It refers to the amount of empty space within a given material.
3. In a soil or rock the porosity (empty space) exists between the grains of minerals.
4. The amount of water a material can hold is directly related to the porosity since water will try and fill the empty spaces in a material.
5. We measure porosity by the percentage of empty space that exists within a particular porous media.

Permeability:

1. Permeability is another intrinsic property of all materials and is closely related to porosity.
2. Permeability refers to how connected pore spaces are to one another.
3. If the material has high permeability than pore spaces are connected to one another allowing water to flow from one to another, however, if there is low permeability then the pore spaces are isolated and water is trapped within them.