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WorksheetsSOIL 101 REMEDIAL EXAMINATION
Total questions: 50
Worksheet time: 3hrs 30mins
Which of the following best explains why dark soils are generally fertile?
They contain high humus and nutrient-rich parent material.
They are usually shallow soils.
They indicate the soil is poorly drained.
They always form under acidic conditions.
Which statement best explains why the 16 nutrient elements are considered essential?
Without them, plants cannot complete their life cycle.
They can be substituted by other elements.
They are always present in large quantities.
They increase soil fertility.
Which soil separate is sticky and plastic when moist, and forms plate-like or flake-like particles?
Loam
Sand
Clay
Silt
The Textural Triangle is used to:
Identify soil color
Measure soil pH
Determine soil texture class
Estimate soil organic matter
Which statement about metamorphism is MOST accurate?
Metamorphism melts rock into magma
Metamorphism alters rock by heat and pressure without melting.
Metamorphism only occurs at Earth’s surface.
Metamorphism always creates sedimentary layers.
A mature soil on an old landscape has a thick solum, low base saturation, and acidic pH. Which factor most plausibly explains these properties?
Recent deposition (young soil)
Intensive liming in the past
Parent material rich in carbonates
Long time span allowing progressive leaching
Which statement about the rock cycle is most accurate?
The cycle occurs only at Earth’s surface.
Every rock passes through all stages of the cycle.
Rocks transform through heat, pressure, weathering, and erosion, but not all rocks pass every stage.
The cycle was first proposed in the 20th century.
Which of the following best describes the solum of a soil profile?
A + B horizons
A + B + C horizons
Entire soil depth up to bedrock
Only the A horizon
Which process set best describes sedimentary rock formation?
Fragmentation → transport → deposition → cementation
Weathering → metamorphism
Melting → crystallization
Recrystallization under heat/pressure only
Why do intrusive igneous rocks (like granite) usually have large, visible crystals?
They are made of glassy material.
They cool slowly underground, giving crystals time to grow.
They form from lava at Earth’s surface.
They are produced by metamorphism.
Which of the following elements is classified as a micronutrient?
Boron (B)
Magnesium (Mg)
Sulfur (S)
Potassium (K)
Which set of soil characteristics best matches intense long-term leaching in hot, wet tropical environments (i.e., after soluble silica and bases are removed)?
Thin solum with carbonate accumulation
High montmorillonite, high CEC, high base saturation
Dominance of kaolinite and sesquioxides, low CEC, acidic, often red/yellow colors
High soluble salt accumulation and high pH
Which of the following would be the best approach to improve soil fertility in a degraded agricultural area?
Continuous monocropping
Excessive pesticide use
Integrated nutrient management
Slash-and-burn farming
A farmer complains of waterlogging. Which soil property should be analyzed first?
Soil color
Soil texture and porosity
Soil pH
Organic matter
Which farming practice best supports beneficial soil microbial activity?
Use of heavy machinery
Application of synthetic herbicides
Incorporation of compost and crop residues
Over-irrigation
If a soil is rich in organic matter and has dark coloration, it is likely classified as:
Histosol
Vertisol
Entisol
Aridisol
What is the best land use strategy to balance agriculture and forest conservation?
Convert forests into farmland
Practice agroforestry
Use chemical deforestation
Expand irrigation without planning
Increasing the microbial diversity in soil always leads to immediate increases in crop yield.
True
False
A soil with high swelling clay content is ideal for all types of crops.
True
False
Soil classification only considers soil color and not structure or origin.
True
False
Which soil component primarily controls the exchange of CO₂ and O₂ at the root zone?
Organic matter
Air in pore spaces
Mineral matter
Water in the soil
If a farmer wants to improve soil structure and permeability, which soil component should be increased?
Mineral matter
Organic matter
Water content
Soil acidity
In a well-aerated loam soil, what condition best supports root respiration and healthy plant growth?
All pore spaces filled with water
About half the pore spaces filled with air
Minimal organic matter
Completely dry pore spaces
Increasing organic matter in the soil can improve both its nutrient-holding capacity and structure.
True
False
Soil water plays no role in chemical weathering of minerals.
True
False
A soil sample has many tiny particles that hold lots of water and need an electron microscope to see clearly. What fraction dominates?
Sand
Silt
Clay
Gravel
Which statement best explains why clay affects water movement the most?
Clay is newest and unweathered.
Clay particles are largest and very heavy.
Clay adsorbs water on its surface and has very small pores.
Clay is made only of quartz.
A soil is rich in quartz and keeps less water. Which fraction is likely dominant?
Clay
Silt
Sand
Colloids
Which process explains how rock fragments become soil particles over time?
Fertilization
Weathering
Irrigation
Plowing
Which element makes up the largest percentage of the Earth’s crust by volume?
Oxygen
Aluminum
Silicon
Iron
Which element is the second most abundant in the Earth’s crust and is a major component of silicate minerals?
Silicon
Potassium
Iron
Calcium
Which group of elements is associated with living organisms and plays a role in biological processes?
Lithophile
Atmosphile
Chalcophile
Biophile
Excessive amounts of essential nutrients can cause toxicity in plants.
True
False
Which soil type is most likely to be found in areas frequently flooded and covered with recent river deposits?
Cambisols
Vertisols
Fluvisols
Ferralsols
Which of the following soil groups is considered very fertile because of its thick, humus-rich topsoil?
Acrisols
Chernozems
Ferralsols
Leptosols
Pedology primarily focuses on:
Fossil evolution
Soil formation, classification, and mapping
Volcanic hazards
Ocean circulation
Which statement about the rock cycle is most accurate?
Every rock passes through all stages of the cycle.
The cycle occurs only at Earth’s surface.
The cycle was first proposed in the 20th century.
Rocks transform through heat, pressure, weathering, and erosion, but not all rocks pass every stage.
The dominant mineral in limestone is:
Calcite (CaCO₃)
Quartz (SiO₂)
Feldspar
Biotite
If a granite-rich terrain undergoes metamorphism, which rock is it most likely to become?
Marble
Slate
Gneiss
Quartzite
Which texture would you expect in an extrusive igneous rock formed during a fast lava flow?
Coarse-grained (phaneritic)
Fine-grained (aphanitic) or glassy
Foliated with banding
Composed of cemented pebbles
Which chain correctly links heat sources to metamorphism?
Tectonic pressure + friction + radioactive decay → increased heat → metamorphism
Solar radiation → metamorphism
Wind erosion → heat → metamorphism
Ocean currents → metamorphism
Radioactive decay inside Earth is one natural heat source that contributes to metamorphism.
True
False
Which pairing correctly matches a mineral to a primary nutrient it supplies upon weathering?
Quartz — Primary source of phosphorus
Apatite — Source of phosphorus (P)
Kaolinite — Major source of potassium (K)
Gypsum — Source of sodium (Na)
Primary minerals form at temperatures and pressures lower than normal surface conditions.
True
False
Quartz significantly increases soil fertility because it releases many plant nutrients.
True
False
Which weathering process explains the transformation of hematite into limonite?
Hydration
Solution
Oxidation
Carbonation
In arid climates, which type of weathering tends to dominate?
Chemical weathering
Physical disintegration
Solution by carbonic acid
Hydrolysis of feldspars
A soil scientist observed that soils on a steep slope are shallower than those on flat lowlands. Which factor of soil formation explains this difference?
Parent material
Relief/topography
Time
Living organisms
Alluvial soils are considered young soils because they are constantly renewed by deposition.
True
False
Which sequence correctly shows the stages of soil formation?
Physical weathering → Rearranging minerals → Adding organic matter → Chemical weathering → Horizon formation
Rearranging minerals → Adding organic matter → Chemical weathering → Physical weathering → Horizon formation
Chemical weathering → Physical weathering → Horizon formation → Adding organic matter → Rearranging minerals
Adding organic matter → Physical weathering → Horizon formation → Rearranging minerals → Chemical weathering
