Assessment 4 is the second step of your research project.
In Assessment 3, you identified the soil forming factors at your sites. Now, for Assessment 4, you need to develop predictions for the soil features you will be testing at your sites. The soil features you will be testing are soil colour, pH, texture, bulk density, dispersion, slaking, infiltration and organic matter (soil organic carbon).
You need to identify 20 predictions to receive full marks. To pass this assessment you must include at least one prediction for each soil feature. Each correctly, fully identified and referenced explanation is worth a total of 5 marks (total of 100 marks).
Your predictions must be referenced with peer reviewed literature.
You should also ensure that you explore the role of all five soil forming factors. Assessment 5 will require you to discuss the role of soil forming factors on the features of your soil, based on your predictions and results.
For the full version of instructions around this assessment, please refer to your subject outline.
Let's start thinking about what terms you will use when searching for information. To do this:
This is a useful exercise because the language used to describe your topic may vary from source to source, and you don't want to miss out on a good source because it uses a different term to the one you are searching on.
Let's use this topic as an example:
Effects of organisms (vegetation/organic matter) on soil colour
| Keyword | Synonym / Similar term or phrase |
| Soil colo?r | soil colour, soil color |
| Organism | organic matter, vegetation, humus, soil formation |
| Effects of | relationship, correlation, cause, determinant |
Write down the key concepts from your topic and have a go at brainstorming as many alternative keywords and phrases as possible.
Tip: Online dictionaries and thesauri can help you identify synonyms.
