Percent Organic Matter

In the test to find the percent of organic matter in a soil sample, I weighed a clean, dry porcelain crucible on the scale and found it weighed 18.63 grams. I filled the crucible about 3/4 of the way full of soil, weighed it and found the mass of the soil and the crucible to be 48.23grams. I placed it in the drying oven overnight in an aluminum foil tray at a temperature between 90 and 95 degrees Celsius to remove water from the sample. I then weighed the crucible and the dry soil again after the night, and found that the mass was 44.73 grams. The crucible with the soil was placed on a ring stand inside a fume hood uaing an irong ring and a pipe-stem triangle. It was heated with a Bunsen burner with a small flame initially, and later with a large flame for thirty minutes. The burner was shut off and the crucible was allowed to cool. The crucible and the soil were the massed again and the mass was found to be 36.30 grams. The amount of organic matter in the sample was calculated by subtracting the final mass, 36.30, from the initial mass, 44.73, and the resulting organic matter content was found to be 8.43 grams. It was not necessary to measure the mass of the soil without the crucible, because all of the measurements were found with the crucible, so its mass would not change the amount of organic matter present in the soil sample. The crucible's mass is unchanging. Organic matter is vital to soil because it is a reservoir for nutrients, and the organic matter can release the nutrients to the soil to keep it healthy. Also, organic matter is like a sponge, and it can absorb and hold a lot of water that is released to plants. In addition, organic matter prevents erosion because of the increased water infiltration, and all together keeps the soil healthier for longer.