Geology, Food, and Drink (L35)

Question 1

What are the 4 things that soil must contain to be truly soil?

Answer 1

contain mineral, organic matter, water, and air

Question 2

what is regolith?

Answer 2

refers to rocks and mineral fragments produced by weathering

this is the portion that supports the growth of plants

Question 3

What provides the important inorganic nutrients for plant growth?

Answer 3

Mineral matter

Question 4

What is another source for nutrients?

Answer 4

Organic matter

Question 5

What does water do in soil?

Answer 5

its the transport medium for nutrients to be taken up by plant roots

Question 6

What does air do in soil?

Answer 6

its taken up by plant roots and is important in supporting decomposers such as worms

Question 7

what other factors control the formation and properties of soils?

Answer 7

Parent material - material from which the soil ultimately forms from

Time - amount of time varies for diff soils depending on gelogical circumstances and climatic conditions

Climate - the most influential control on soil formation, key factors being temp and percipitation

Question 8

what are the 2 types of parent material?

Answer 8

residual soils and transported soils

Question 9

longer the time available for soil formation ______

Answer 9

the thicker and better devloped the soil profile will be

Question 10

How do organisms influence the soil’s physical and chemical properties?

Answer 10

not only do organisms deplete soils of nutriets, but they also supply them when they die and decompose

Question 11

What does vegetation do?

Answer 11

protects soil from erosion

Question 12

Where are poorly developed soils found and why?

Answer 12

In steep slopes due to their tendency to fail

Question 13

How do soil forming processes operate?

Answer 13

from the surface downward

parent material weathers to rubble and smaller particles
organic matter deposited on top of the weathered material

Question 14

What is the formation of the soil profile? from bottom to top

Answer 14

very bottom is bedrock - soil profile established here

C-horizon - soil base, partly altered parent material

B-horizon - subsoil, zone of accumulation

E-horizon - zone of leaching, not always present

A-horizon - mixture of humus and mineral matter

O-horizon - loose, partly decayed organic matter

Question 15

What is the top soil?

Answer 15

the A-horizon and O-horizon

Question 16

Why is soil texture important factor in growing crops?

Answer 16

b/c of the ability of the soil to drain water, to retain moisture and dissolved nutrients in the soil water

Question 17

Why are clay-rich soils not good for farming equipment?

Answer 17

b/c clay rich soils retain lots of water and tend to contain lots of nutrients so sticky when wet and hard when dry

Question 18

What isthe most desired type of soils and why?

Answer 18

Loam - a mixture of roughly equal proportions of clay, silt, and sand

loam provides water and nutrient retention while allowing sufficient drainage to prevent the soil from staying too wet

Question 19

When are dry and relatively nutrient poor soil a good thing?

Answer 19

edible plants (herbs used for cooking) which are prized for their pleasant aroma and flavour which happens due to the concentration of oil in their tissues (providing enough water and nutrition to keep the plant alive, but to prevent the plant form dying)

Question 20

What are 3 minerals in our food that we might not be aware of?

Answer 20

gypsum - used as a stiffening agent in baked products

plagioclase feldspar - used as an anti-caking agent

aaptite - used in baked goods as an anti-caking agent and acid regulator

Question 21

how is tofu made from minerals?

Answer 21

uses both nigari and Epsom salt which are mineral salts

Question 22

What is the active ingredient in TUMS?

Answer 22

calcite (Calcium carbonate)

Question 23

How is grape-growing done by?

Answer 23

stressing of plants by reducing their wate uptake