Should Ditches be Graded? Testing Unpaved Roads with a Computer Program
Soil erosion and sedimentation reduce the diversity of the natural environment. When soil is eroded and sedimentation occurs, important nutrients are carried away from the soil. The scientists in this study wanted to find a way to predict how much erosion would be caused by unpaved roads.
A FACTivity is included with the article in the FACTivity tab below and as a separate pdf in the Activities tab.
-
In this FACTivity, you will build an insloping road to test your own model of erosion. Materials: Two large cardboard boxes with lid flaps removed (around 30 inches square and...FACTivity – Should Ditches Be Graded?
In this FACTivity, you will build an insloping road to test your own model of erosion. Materials: Two large cardboard boxes with lid flaps removed (around 30 inches square and...
Glossary
View All Glossary-
Laurie Tysdal
I like being a scientist because I learned the building blocks of how things work in the natural world around us. Now I can figure out new things on my...View Profile
Standards addressed in this Article:
Social Studies Standards
- People, Places, and Environments
- Science, Technology, and Society
Note To Educators
The Forest Service's Mission
The Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more than 100 years, our motto has been “caring for the land and serving people.” The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizes its responsibility to be engaged in efforts to connect youth to nature and to promote the development of science-based conservation education programs and materials nationwide.
What Is the Natural Inquirer?
Natural Inquirer is a science education resource journal to be used by students in grade 6 and up. Natural Inquirer contains articles describing environmental and natural resource research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. These scientific journal articles have been reformatted to meet the needs of middle school students. The articles are easy to understand, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, contain glossaries, and include hands-on activities. The goal of Natural Inquirer is to stimulate critical reading and thinking about scientific inquiry and investigation while teaching about ecology, the natural environment, and natural resources.
-
Meet the Scientists
Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.
-
What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?
Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.
-
Thinking About Science
Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.
-
Thinking About the Environment
Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.
-
Introduction
Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.
-
Method
Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.
-
Findings & Discussion
Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.
-
Reflection Section
Presents questions aimed at stimulating critical thinking about what has been read or predicting what might be presented in the next section. These questions are placed at the end of each of the main article sections.
-
Number Crunches
Presents an easy math problem related to the research.
-
Glossary
Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.
-
Citation
Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.
-
FACTivity
Presents a hands-on activity that emphasizes something presented in the article.
Science Education Standards
You will find a listing of education standards which are addressed by each article at the back of each publication and on our website.
We Welcome Feedback
-
Contact
Jessica Nickelsen
Director, Natural Inquirer program -
Email
Education Files
In this FACTivity, you will build your own insloping road to test your own model of erosion.
Materials:
- Two large cardboard boxes with lid flaps removed (around 30 inches square and at least 12 inches high)
- Plastic (to line the boxes)
- Soil (to fill the boxes)
- Plastic straws
- Grass plugs or other small pieces of vegetation (with soil and roots attached)
- Watering can or hose and source of water
Line the boxes’ bottom and sides with plastic. Fill each box about half full with soil. Start by building a “hillside” in each box. The hillside should slope in two directions. Now, begin building an insloping mountain road. Remember to slope your road surface inward (see cross-section below). Don’t forget to build a ditch on the inside.
Here is a cross-section of a roadway cut into a hillside. Notice the ditch on the inside edge of the road.
Use plastic straws for culverts along your road. You will need to cut the edge of the straw before burying it under the road (see illustration). Then, build a waterway from the “culverts” down the hillside by creating ditches down the hillside. The waterways should go down to the lowest corner of the box.
This illustration shows the placement of the “culvert” (your straw) under the road. Notice that your “waterway” should drain to the opposite corner of the box from your highest hillside.
In one of the boxes, put plugs of grass or other vegetation on the upper hillside, the cutslope, and the downslope (but not on the road or waterway).
When you have finished building a road in each box, use a watering can or hose (on a gentle pressure) to pretend that it is raining.
- What happens to the water and the soil in each box?
- Is there a difference in the amount of erosion (soil being carried down the hillside) between the two boxes? Why or why not?
- What conclusions can you make about the construction of insloping mountain roads?
- What could you do to reduce erosion for your own insloping road?