Science Fair

Topic: Erosion
Question
How does the slope angle affect the rate of erosion and why?
Hypothesis
 I believe that more particles will get eroded the steeper the slope .

Independent Variable:
Amount of water being poured
Dependant Variable:
Amount of soil being carried away
Control Variable:
Box

Introduction:
Erosion has shaped the Earth for years, breaking down large particles. Erosion occurs in many ways (root wedging, ice wedging…) but the most common is simply liquid carrying away particles.
This experiment was done to see if the amount of water flowing would affect the amount of erosion and why.  To conduct my experiment I used a box, a bunch of sand or soil filling the box up half way and some water. I conducted this experiment because erosion interests me and I would like to know more.

Background Research:
Source 1: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/EnvSci_p012.shtml
Andrew Olson says that erosion is a natural disaster although it is not noticed. It takes about 500 years to create an inch of soil. The disposal of soil is occurring faster than it is being created which means that after a long period of time, there might no longer be any soil.

Source 2: http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2006/Projects/J0801.pdf
Clint Akarmann is trying to save soil from water erosion and try to see which surface would prevent the soil from being carried away. His answer was that grass and trees hold the soil together and keep it in place which prevents a lot of oil to get carried away by water erosion. So, bare soil would be easily eroded because nothing is holding it together.

Source 3: http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2005/Projects/J0621.pdf
Tera M. Hoove discusses which rock would erode the fastest from water erosion. She finds out that sandstone is easily eroded while it will take many years for granite to erode. The Permeability of the rock affects the speed of water erosion.