Quiz 2 - Soils

Question 1

Definition: ____ _____ describes the sizes of the soil particles

Answer 1

soil texture

Question 2

Definition: ____ _______ describes the way the soil particles are aggregated - therefore defines the nature of the system of pores and channels in a soil

Answer 2

soil structure

Question 3

What are the three classes of soil spares that we looked at in lab?

Answer 3

Sand, Silt and Clay

Question 4

Match this description to the soil separate:
“loose, single grains that can be seen or felt”

Answer 4

sand

Question 5

Match this description to the soil separate:
“when dry, falls apart when pressure is applied”

Answer 5

sand

Question 6

Match this description to the soil separate:
“Infertile and prone to drought”

Answer 6

sand

Question 7

Match this description to the soil separate:
“low surface areas, little capacity to hold water or nutrients and do not stick together in a coherent mass”

Answer 7

Sand

Question 8

Match this description to the soil separate:
“feels soft and floury when pulverized”

Answer 8

silt

Question 9

Match this description to the soil separate:
“has gritty feel when chewed between teeth”

Answer 9

silt

Question 10

Match this description to the soil separate:
“particles invisible to the naked eye”

Answer 10

silt

Question 11

Match this description to the soil separate:
“breaks into hard, angular clumps when dry”

Answer 11

Clay

Question 12

Match this description to the soil separate:
“behaves like flexible plastic when very moist, sticky when wet”

Answer 12

clay

Question 13

Match this description to the soil separate:
“tremendous capacity to absorb water - a spoonful might have the SA of a football field!”

Answer 13

Clay

Question 14

Match this description to the soil separate:
“easily moulded when wet (high plasticity)”

Answer 14

clay

Question 15

T/F: soil properties like shrink-swell behaviour, plasticity, water-holding capacity, soil strength and chemical adsorption depend on the kind of clay and the amount

Answer 15

True

Question 16

T/F: the phi scale is a positive logarithmic scale, where the bigger the particle is, the higher the number is

Answer 16

False, it’s a negative scale so when the number is bigger, the particle is smaller

Question 17

T/F: sediments deposited by wind have smaller grains (high Phi value)

Answer 17

True

Question 18

FITB
______ refers to the range of grain sizes present in the sediment

Answer 18

sorting

Question 19

T/F: the more rounded it is, the more braised it is

Answer 19

True

Question 20

T/F: particle roundness refers to the angularity of particles, with more rounded particles being more angular

Answer 20

False

Question 21

T/F: well-sorted sediments contain particles of similar sizes, while poorly sorted sediments have a wide range of particle sizes

Answer 21

True

Question 22

T/F: a sediment sample with a ride range of particle sizes is considered to be well sorted

Answer 22

false

Question 23

Particle roundness is based on three things. Name those three things!

Answer 23

Type of transport
Distance they were transported
Resistance of the material being transported

Question 24

Definition: ______ are unconsolidated materials

Answer 24

sediments

Question 25

Structures reflect changes in... (5)

Answer 25

grain size composition weathering concentrations or grouping of types of sediments preferred orientation of particles

Question 26

Definition: refers to the layering of sedimentary rocks, where individual layers form due to variations in sediment deposition over time

Answer 26

stratification

Question 27

Definition: ______(>1cm thick): form in environments with periodic but significant changes in deposition, such as river channels, deltas, or shallow marine settings

Answer 27

Beds

Question 28

Definition: ______: (<1cm thick) form from very fine sediment deposition in low-energy environments like deep lakes or deep-sea floors

Answer 28

laminations

Question 29

Definition: occurs when inclined layers (or beds) are deposited at an angle to the main horizontal bedding plane. It forms due to the movement of sediment by wind or water, often in dunes, river channels, or deltas.

Answer 29

Cross or current bedding (ripple marks)

Question 30

Definiton (type of bedding): occurs when sedimentary layers show a vertical change in grain size, typically from coarse at the bottom to fine at the top. This happens when a sudden decrease in energy causes particles to settle out of suspension based on size and height

Answer 30

Graded bedding

Question 31

Definition (type of bedding): form when wet, fine-grained sediment (like mud or clay) dries and contracts, creating a network of polygonal cracks. They typically indicate periodic wetting and drying conditions.

Answer 31

Mud Cracks (desiccation cracks)

Question 32

Definition (type of bedding): a whole big mix of STUFF and small stuff with no layers, no pattern. Could be deposited from a landslide (not very well rounded) or glaciers (more well-rounded). This is not MIXED, just deposited

Answer 32

Masive bedding

Question 33

_____ is the study of soils

Answer 33

pedology

Question 34

Soil is NUST. What does NUST stand for?

Answer 34

Naturally occurring Unconsolidated (not solid) Supports plant growth (has nutrients) at least 10cm Thick

Question 35

4 components of soil

Answer 35

Mineral (inorganic) matter organic matter air water (ice)

Question 36

Name that soil horizon!! What is the layer of soil that is absent in grasslands?

Answer 36

E, not enough gets elluviated

Question 37

Which is the zone of eluviation?

Answer 37

E

Question 38

Definition: the process by which soluble substances, such as minerals, salts or nutrients, are dissolved and carried away from the soil or rock by water. Typically occurs when rainwater or groundwater moves through the soil, carrying away dissolved materials as it percolates downward.

Answer 38

Leaching

Question 39

Name that soil horizon! "mineral horizon relatively unaffected by soil forming processes that operate in the A and B horizons"

Answer 39

C

Question 40

Name that soil horizon! "enough partially decomposed (humidified) organic matter to give the soil a colour darker than that of the lower horizons.

Answer 40

A

Question 41

Name that soil horizon! developed from accumulation of mosses, leaves, and woody material

Answer 41

O

Question 42

Which is the zone of illuviation?

Answer 42

B - because materials are washing IN from above

Question 43

What is S = f (CLORPT)

Answer 43

Soil development is the function of climate, organisms (biota), relief (topography), parent material, and time

Question 44

There are five major factors that control the formation of soils (CLORPT): match this description to the CLORPT! "geological or organic precursors to the soil"

Answer 44

parent materials

Question 45

There are five major factors that control the formation of soils (CLORPT): match this description to the CLORPT! precipitation and temperature

Answer 45

climate

Question 46

There are five major factors that control the formation of soils (CLORPT): match this description to the CLORPT! (including people), living organisms, especially native vegetation, microbes, soil animals and increasingly human beings

Answer 46

organisms (biota)

Question 47

There are five major factors that control the formation of soils (CLORPT): match this description to the CLORPT! slope, aspect and landscape position

Answer 47

Topography

Question 48

There are five major factors that control the formation of soils (CLORPT): match this description to the CLORPT! the period since the parent materials began to undergo soil formation

Answer 48

time

Question 49

definition: dynamic natural bodies having properties derived from the combined effects of climate and biotic activities, as modified by topography, acting on parent materials over a period of time

Answer 49

soils

Question 50

Definition: The underlying geological material (rock or sediment) from which soil forms through weathering and biological processes. It provides the mineral content of the soil and influences factors like texture, drainage and nutrient availability

Answer 50

parent material

Question 51

definition: the type of soil or sediment that forms directly above the bedrock, where weathering processes have broken down the rock in place without significant transportation

Answer 51

residual parent material

Question 52

defintion: poorly sorted rock fragments detached from heights above and carried downslope (gravity) and frost action (e.g. avalanche!)

Answer 52

colluvium (colluvial debris)

Question 53

streams deposit three general classes of parent materials: ______, _____ fans, delta deposits

Answer 53

floodplains, alluvial fans and delta deposits

Question 54

defintion: this remains as ice melts and glaciers retreat (also called glacial debris)

Answer 54

drift

Question 55

defintion: this is material deposited directly by ice - can be similar to colluvial materials except the coarse fragments are more rounded from grinding and more compacted

Answer 55

till

Question 56

Definition: an important process by which pants affect the soil in which they grow, altering the course of soil development and the sustainability of the soil environment for future generations of vegetation

Answer 56

nutrient cycling

Question 57

defintion: Earthworms, ants and termites mix the soil as they burrow, affecting soil formation

Answer 57

pedoturbation

Question 58

defintion: a sequence of soils down a slope, created by the balance of processes such as precipitation, infiltration and runoff

Answer 58

catena

Question 59

defintion: a special type of catena where the only major difference between soils is topography  they share the same parent material, climate, vegetation and time of formation

Answer 59

toposequence

Question 60

definiton: occur when soil constituents are chemically or physically modified or destroyed and others are synthesized from the precursor materials

Answer 60

transformations

Question 61

definition: involve the movement of inorganic and organic materials laterally within a horizon or vertically from one horizon up or down to another – water is the most common agent

Answer 61

translocations

Question 62

definitions: inputs of material from outside sources

Answer 62

additions

Question 63

definitions: leaching to groundwater, erosion of surface materials, other types of removal

Answer 63

losses

Question 64

What colour is the soil!? "high organic content, particularly humus"

Answer 64

dark/black

Question 65

What colour is the soil!? high concentration of iron oxides

Answer 65

red/orange

Question 66

What colour is the soil!? reducing environment (water-logged anoxic), particularly when mottled (blotchy)

Answer 66

blue/gray

Question 67

What colour is the soil!? horizon that has had organics and certain materials removed (elluviated)

Answer 67

light grey

Question 68

What colour is the soil!? high in salts!

Answer 68

white

Question 69

There are three major factors that influence soil colours. what are they!?

Answer 69

1. organic matter contents 2. water content 3. the presence and oxidation states of iron and manganese oxides

Question 70

What the heck is the word for "soil exhibiting grey colours from reduced iron and iron depletion"

Answer 70

gleyed

Question 71

definition: a mixture of sand, silt and clay particles that exhibits the properties of those separates in about equal proportions

Answer 71

loam

Question 72

definition: describes the ease with which a soil can be reshaped or ruptured

Answer 72

soil consistence

Question 73

definition: "the arrangement of sand, silt, clay and organic particles in the soils"

Answer 73

soil structure

Question 74

definition: "usually used to describe the large-scale structure evident when observing soil profiles and involving structural units which range in size from a few mm to about 1m – most large ___ can be broken down into smaller ___ or aggregates"

Answer 74

peds

Question 75

definition: the compressed, cohesive chunks of soil that can form artificially when wet soil is plowed or excavated

Answer 75

clods

Question 76

definition: the network of these within and between aggregates influences the air and water, growth of plant roots, and activities of soil organisms

Answer 76

pores

Question 77

definition: the mutual attraction among clay and organic molecules. "how it comes together" to form these peds or aggregates

Answer 77

flocculation

Question 78

T/F: CATIONS ARE POSITIVE

Answer 78

true!

Question 79

Cations are generated in the soil through...

Answer 79

weathering of soil mineral matter decomposition of organic material gases 'dissolving' in soil moisture biological processes groundwater

Question 80

T/F: clay and organic materials normally have a net negative charge on their surface

Answer 80

true

Question 81

T/F: cations are adsorbed to clay minerals and organic minerals

Answer 81

true

Question 82

T/F: cation exchange is the process of moving cations from the soil moisture to surfaces of particles

Answer 82

true

Question 83

T/F: the higher the CEC, the more fertile the soil

Answer 83

true

Question 84

Which Atterberg Limit is this: a hard, rigid solid in the dry state becomes a crumbly (friable) semisolid when a certain moisture content (shrinkage limit) is reached

Answer 84

shrinkage limit

Question 85

Which Atterberg Limit is this: crossing this transforms the soil into a malleable, plastic mass and causes additional swelling

Answer 85

plastic limit

Question 86

Which Atterberg Limit is this: crossing this transforms it into a viscous limit when jarred

Answer 86

liquid limit