Introduction
Soil, dirt, sediment, what’s the difference? Depending upon whom you ask, you might get a radically
different answer. Some sources state that the only difference between them has to do with their location:
soil is the unconsolidated material on the ground, dirt is that same matter on your hands or clothes, and
sediment is the same material on the bottom of a river or lake. Others define the differences based upon
the size and shape of the material grains. For the purposes of this activity, we are going to define things
the following ways. Soil is a complex, unconsolidated mixture of inorganic, organic, and living material
that is found on the immediate surface of the earth that supports plant life. Dirt is any fine-grained,
unconsolidated mixture that comes from the ground. Sediment is granular material that has been eroded
by the forces of nature. Thus, soil can be considered dirt, and it can consist of sediments, but dirt and
sediments are not necessarily soil.
Soil Composition
