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WorksheetsSoil Origin and Development
Total questions: 22
Worksheet time: 11mins
What is leaching and how does it affect soil make up?
Leaching adds nutrients to the upper soil by rainfall splashing.
Leaching moves materials deeper into the soil in water moving downward through the soil, depositing them in lower parts of the soil body.
Leaching lifts materials upward from deeper layers by capillary action.
Leaching only dries the surface without moving materials.
Prairie lands tend to have more organic matter in the soil compared to tropical forest. Why is this?
Forested areas create a canopy that blocks sunlight, limiting ground plant growth and organic material accumulation.
Tropical forests receive too little rainfall to support plant growth.
Prairies lack grasses, so less decomposition occurs.
Prairie soils are always flooded, washing organic matter away.
Choose the correct statement about soil as a resource.
Soil isn't a renewable resource as it takes several years to create.
Soil is a renewable resource; it just takes several years to create.
Soil is a nonrenewable resource because it forms quickly.
Soil is a renewable resource that forms overnight.
Which process weakens and fractures rocks as the seasons change?
Freezing of the rocks
Simple heating of the rocks
Wind wedging
Chemical dissolution
Igneous rocks are created by molten materials and make up most of the earth's crust. Is this statement true or false?
True
False
Which rock type is formed by alteration by heat or pressure?
Sedimentary rock is a combination of Metamorphic and Igneous rocks altered by heat or pressure.
Metamorphic rock is a combination of Sedimentary and Igneous rocks altered by heat or pressure.
Igneous rock is a combination of Sedimentary and Metamorphic rocks altered by heat or pressure.
All rocks are formed only by cooling magma.
Which statement about temperature and chemical reactions in soils is correct?
The lower the temperature, the faster the reaction.
Temperature does not affect chemical reactions in soils.
The higher the temperature, the faster the reaction.
Only freezing temperatures cause chemical reactions in soils.
Which climate tends to have lower organic matter due to faster decay and loss of organic material?
Cooler climates, because cool weather increases the speed of decay
Warmer climates, because warmer weather increases the speed of decay
Cooler climates, because plant growth is always higher
Neither climate affects organic matter
A dug-up section of soil from the surface to the deepest roots is called ______.
Organic Body
Pedon
Polypedon
Soil Layers
This type of physical weathering in rocks happens when water freezes and expands.
Temperature wedging
Wind wedging
Frost wedging
Cooling wedging
Chemical weathering can happen due to:
Solution, Hydrolysis, Freezing
Freezing, Solution, Oxidation
Oxidation, Hydrolysis, Capping
Solution, Oxidation, Hydrolysis
Structure that affects leaching, chemical reaction, and types of vegetation.
Topography
Slope
Terracing
Polypedon
The parent material is found in which horizon?
D
R
C
O
The proper way to write a subdivision layer that resembles both A and B horizons but is more like A, is:
AB
A
A+
Ab
Match horizons with their descriptions.
A
Considered the topsoil and best environment for growth
O
Organic layer made up of decayed plant material
E
Layer that is light in color and in sandy or high rainfall areas
Match horizons with their descriptions.
B
Called subsoil; possesses low organic matter
C
Usually where the parent material is found
R
Underlying bedrock
How do bare rocks break down into soil layers? Select all that apply.
Physical weather
Plants
Chemical weathering
Animals
Plowing
Select the five factors that operate during the process of soil formation.
Parent Material
Climate
Life
Topography
Time
Select the three types of rocks that make up soil.
Igneous
Sedimentary
Metamorphic
Polypedons
Limeston
Organisms that live in the soil that affect soil formation are: Select all that apply.
Plants
Insects
Microbes
Squirrels
Rodents
Soil changes over time as substances are added to the soil through the process called:
Additions
Losses
Translocations
Transformations
Match each soil horizon with the soil layer it is.
Horizon A
Topsoil layer
Horizon B
Subsoil layer
Horizon C
Parent material layer
Horizon D or R
Bedrock layer
