Soil Vocabulary Quiz

It is a complex mixture of mineral particles, air water, humus and various types of living organisms on Earth's surface in which plants can grow.

• bedrock

• chemical weathering

• humus

• soil

A layer of soil generally parallel to the soil surface, whose physical characteristics differ from the layers above and beneath.

• soil horizon

• humus

• gravel

• litter

Mineral soil underlying the A horizon that has undergone varying translocation, transformation, and mixing from the materials washed down from above.

• O Horizon

• A Horizon

• B Horizon

• H Horizon

Mineral soil that most closely resembles the parent geological material. It contains partially weathered bedrock.

• O Horizon

• A Horizon

• B Horizon

• C Horizon

An organic horizon (non-mineral), typically associated with wetland positions in the landscape, with organic matter like dead animal tissue.

• O Horizon

• A Horizon

• B Horizon

• C Horizon

a dark colored substance that forms as plant and animal remains decay.

• O Horizon

• Topsoil

• Soil

• Humus

the organisms that break the remains of dead organisms into smaller pieces and digest them with chemicals.

• Carnivore

• Decomposers

• Herbivore

• Insectivore

soil that is made up of equal parts of clay, sand, and silt.

• Clay

• Topsoil

• Foamy

• Loam

something that is full of tiny, connected air spaces that water can seep through

• leaching

• permeable

• ground water

• runn off

Typically the A horizon darkened by the addition of humus material. It is crumbly and dark and contains a mixture of clay, silt and other minerals.

• Topsoil

• Humus

• Bedrock

• Silt