Soil Vocabulary

What is the term for a substance with a pH below 7.0?

• acidic

• basic

• neutral

• alkaline

What is the term for a substance with a pH above 7.0; also called basic?

• alkaline

• acidic

• neutral

• saline

What is the term for a measure of land area that equals 43,560 square feet or 4,047 square meters; a square area about 208 feet by 208 feet or 64 meters by 64 meters?

• acre

• hectare

• yard

• square mile

What is the term for a substance with a pH above 7.0; also called alkaline?

• basic

• acidic

• neutral

• saline

What is the term for the green pigments that enable plants to take energy from sunlight and make food?

• chlorophyll

• hemoglobin

• melanin

• carotene

What is the term for a mixture of dead and decaying organic matter (leaves, garbage) and soil; bacteria in the soil break down the organic matter into soil and nutrients?

• compost

• sand

• clay

• gravel

What is the term for the separation of plant nutrients from soil samples by dissolving them?

• extraction

• filtration

• precipitation

• adsorption

What is the term for an interacting system of a biological community and its non-living environment?

• ecosystem

• organism

• habitat

• population

What is the term for food for horses or cattle?

• forage crop

• haystack

• barnyard

• silo

What is the term for the place where a population (e.g., human, plant, animal, bacteria) lives and its surroundings, both living and non-living?

• habitat

• organism

• ecosystem

• community