CHC 141 A brief process https://youtu.be/3bkqv4Ae7m0

1. SHREE MALLIKARJUN COLLEGE
CLASS: FYBSC
Further reading (available in library)
Vogel’s textbook of quantitative chemical analysis, J. Mendham, R. C. Denney, J. D. Barns, M. Thomas,
B. Sivasankar, Pearson India Education, 6th
Edition.
-Dr. Mithil S. Fal Desai
Aim: Techniques of soil sampling.
What is soil? Soil is the solid material on the earth's surface that is made of organic and inorganic
chemicals that provide the medium for the plant to grow. Soil supports plant growth by giving
physical support, water, and nutrients.
Sampling: The purpose of soil analysis is to determine the quality or composition of soil. Suitable
sampling procedures shall be adopted so results obtained truly represent soil characteristics.
Sampling is the process of extracting from a large quantity of material a small portion that is a
true representative of the composition of the whole material.
Depending on the requirements analyst may perform casual sampling or employ methods in
which a portion of the bulk is selected based on statistical probabilities.
Figure 1. The sampling stages
Soil Sampling procedure: Incremental samples (Figure 1) of approximately 50-100 g should be
taken from specified sampling points on the site. A representative sample should include surface
soil and two further samples taken at depth, typically at 0.5 and 1.0 m. The exact location of these
points should be marked on the map for future reference as it may be necessary to take further
samples. The individual samples taken shall be appropriately labeled and must be stored in
containers.
Note: As soil is solid, difficulties over homogeneity arise. Even if soil superficially shows the
appearance of being homogeneous in reality may have localized concentrations of
heterogeneous material and vary in its chemical composition. The procedure adopted to obtain
as representative a sample as possible will depend greatly upon the type of soil and location. This
process is of great importance as the energy and time spent in making any careful analysis of the
sample will be completely wasted. If the area is huge and heterogeneous, sampling must be
carried out with great care.