Soil moisture content — oven drying

Calculate gravimetric water content on a dry-soil basis, subtracting the container tare.

Observations and units

• Container + lid mass (g)
• Container + lid + wet soil mass (g)
• Container + lid + dry soil mass (g)

Calculation

Water mass = wet gross − dry gross; dry soil mass = dry gross − tare; water content = 100 × water mass / dry soil mass.

Method reference and limitations

IS 2720 (Part 2):1973, clauses Section 1, 6–7. Oven-drying arithmetic only. Organic/gypsum-rich materials may need different drying conditions; this page does not choose them. Water content can exceed 100%. Source reporting uses two significant figures; exact arithmetic and rounded reporting are shown separately. Separate specimens are shown individually; no automatic combined soil result.

Calculation and reporting rules audited within the documented profile; physical test execution and specification acceptance remain the operator’s responsibility. Independent qualified review is not recorded. No certificate or compliance decision.

Interactive calculators require JavaScript and the calculation service.