Question

Mike is conducting an experiment in which he places several different types of soil in a funnel and then pours one liter of water through each. He is careful to pack equal volumes of the soil samples tightly in the funnel and to make sure that only water makes it out of the bottom. He then records the amount of time it takes for half of the water to pass through the soil and out the bottom of the funnel. He records his data in the table below.
Soil Sample Time (seconds)
Soil W 181
Soil X 27
Soil Y 119
Soil Z 50

Which soil sample is the least permeable?
A.
Soil W
B.
Soil Z
C.
Soil Y
D.
Soil X

Answer 1

Answer:

soil W

Explanation:

Permeability is a measure of how easily water flows through soil. A soil that is made up of large, jagged rocks is likely to be more permeable than a soil that is made up of compact clay.  One way to test a soil's permeability is to pour water through it. More permeable soil will allow water to pass through it rapidly, while less permeable soil will block more of the water.

Answer 2

Permeability is a measure of how fast a liquid can pass through a layer of solid. In this case, the lesser the time, the more permeable the solid is. Or the other way around, the bigger the time, the less permeable the solid is. Therefore the answer in this problem is:

 A. Soil W