Properties of Soil Pretest

A sieve is a container with very small holes in the bottom that are all the same size. What would this tool be useful for?

• Sorting soil by particle size

• Finding the mass of soil

• Growing plants in soil

• Determining soil color

Students tested the capacity of a soil to retain water. They poured 200 mL of water through a funnel holding the soil. How many milliliters of water was retained by the soil sample?

• 250

• 150

• 200

• 50

Students planted 12 bean seeds in each of four different soil samples. The students kept all other conditions the same, grew them for 15 days and recorded the results. Which soil sample produced the tallest plants?

• Sample A

• Sample B

• Sample C

• Sample D

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Students are comparing samples of different soils to the bars on a chart their teacher gave them. What property of soil are they trying to determine using this chart?

• Size

• Texture

• Color

• Shape

If students are investigating the texture of different soil samples, what would be the best procedure to follow?

• Moisten the samples and rub them with their fingers

• Attempt to grow plants in each soil sample

• Pour water into each of the soil samples

• Compare each of the samples with a color chart

A student places 250 g samples of clay, sand, gravel, and silt in separate flower pots. The pots are set on a wire rack, and dishes are placed beneath the pots so that water can drip through holes and collect. The student then pours 100 mL of water over the sample in each pot. The student measures the time it takes for water to begin dripping from the bottom of each pot. What property of soils is the student most likely examining with this procedure?

• The differences in texture between wet and dry soils

• How well different soils retain water

• How much water is needed to dissolve different soils

• The amount of time it takes different soils to dry

Sonya is examining the properties of a

soil sample. She records the following

observation in her Science Notebook.

The soil feels grainy and coarse.

Which property of soil does Sonya

observe?

• Color

• Texture

• Capacity to retain water

• Ability to support plant growth

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

During science class, Lu Chen conducts

an investigation to examine properties

of types of soil. He constructs a chart to

record his observations, as shown below:

Which soil type would be the least well

suited to retain water?

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4