Question 1

From the land surface downward to the unweathered bedrock, which of the following is the correct order of the different soil horizons?

Accepted Answer

A) D, E, C, B, A, bedrock 
B) O, A, E, B, C, bedrock 
C) A, B, C, D, E, bedrock 
D) E, A, B, C, O, bedrock 
A) D, E, C, B, A, bedrock 
B) O, A, E, B, C, bedrock 
C) A, B, C, D, E, bedrock 
D) E, A, B, C, O, bedrock

Question 2

What term describes the layer of partly decayed plant matter at the top of the soil profile in most forested areas?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What term describes the layer of partly...

Question 3

Clay minerals, silica (SiO2), and dissolved potassium bicarbonate in the soil water are products of which process?

Accepted Answer

A) chemical weathering of orthoclase feldspar 
B) differential mechanical weathering of micas 
C) chemical weathering of olivine and plagioclase feldspar 
D) mechanical weathering of granite and rhyolite 
A) chemical weathering of orthoclase feldspar 
B) differential mechanical weathering of micas 
C) chemical weathering of olivine and plagioclase feldspar 
D) mechanical weathering of granite and rhyolite

Question 4

Which term denotes the true soil above the zone of partly weathered bedrock?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which term denotes the true soil above...

Question 5

Which of the following is/are most susceptible to chemical weathering by dissolution?

Accepted Answer

A) clay minerals 
B) iron oxides 
C) calcite 
D) quartz 
A) clay minerals 
B) iron oxides 
C) calcite 
D) quartz

Question 6

Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, California, and Stone Mountain in Georgia, are shaped mainly by what mechanical weathering process?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, California,...

Question 7

Which one of the following statements concerning soil erosion is NOT true?

Accepted Answer

A) Grasses and other vegetation, windbreaks, and contour cropping will help reduce losses of soil from cultivated lands. 
B) Sheet erosion, rills, and gullies develop mainly during prolonged droughts. 
C) Soils form naturally by weathering; if protected from erosion, sound management can maintain or enhance their nutrient levels and textural characteristics. 
D) Rates of soil erosion exceed rates of soil formation in some parts of the world. 
A) Grasses and other vegetation, windbreaks, and contour cropping will help reduce losses of soil from cultivated lands. 
B) Sheet erosion, rills, and gullies develop mainly during prolonged droughts. 
C) Soils form naturally by weathering; if protected from erosion, sound management can maintain or enhance their nutrient levels and textural characteristics. 
D) Rates of soil erosion exceed rates of soil formation in some parts of the world.

Question 8

Which of the following statements concerning oxisol soils is generally NOT true?

Accepted Answer

A) They remain highly productive agriculturally without additions of fertilizers. 
B) They are mainly red in color. 
C) They consist of only the most insoluble, soil- forming minerals. 
D) They form in warm, moist, tropical climates. 
A) They remain highly productive agriculturally without additions of fertilizers. 
B) They are mainly red in color. 
C) They consist of only the most insoluble, soil- forming minerals. 
D) They form in warm, moist, tropical climates.

Question 9

Oxisol soils form under what climatic conditions?

Accepted Answer

A) cool and relatively dry as in the northern Great Plains of the United States 
B) moist and temperate as in the northeastern United States 
C) warm and moist as in a wet, tropical forest 
D) hot and dry as in the desert regions of North Africa and Arabia 
A) cool and relatively dry as in the northern Great Plains of the United States 
B) moist and temperate as in the northeastern United States 
C) warm and moist as in a wet, tropical forest 
D) hot and dry as in the desert regions of North Africa and Arabia

Question 10

Assume that water filling a crack in a rock undergoes cycles of freezing and melting. Which of the following statement is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

A) Water shrinks as it freezes, causing the crack walls to be drawn closer together. 
B) Water expands as it freezes, causing the crack walls to be pushed apart. 
C) Water shrinks as it melts, causing the crack walls to be pulled closer together. 
D) Water expands as it melts, causing the crack walls to be pushed apart. 
A) Water shrinks as it freezes, causing the crack walls to be drawn closer together. 
B) Water expands as it freezes, causing the crack walls to be pushed apart. 
C) Water shrinks as it melts, causing the crack walls to be pulled closer together. 
D) Water expands as it melts, causing the crack walls to be pushed apart.

Question 11

Under most weathering conditions, which mineral component of granites and rhyolites would be most resistant to decomposition?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Under most weathering conditions, which mineral component...

Question 12

Briefly discuss the classification of soils. What parameters are important? What characteristics or features are evaluated for distinguishing between different types of soils?

Accepted Answer

Soil classification stresses the physica

Question 13

Which term best describes an accumulation of angular rock fragments at the base of a steep, bedrock slope or cliff?

Accepted Answer

A) talus slope 
B) taliche slope 
C) trellis slope 
D) tellus slope 
A) talus slope 
B) taliche slope 
C) trellis slope 
D) tellus slope

Question 14

What kind of weathering involves only a reduction in the sizes of bedrock, regolith, and mineral particles?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What kind of weathering involves only a...

Question 15

What is the most abundant, naturally produced, weak acid involved in chemical weathering and soil formation?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the most abundant, naturally produced,...

Question 16

What process does the diagram below illustrate?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What process does the diagram below illustrate?
...

Question 17

Clay minerals formed from gabbro or diorite bedrock illustrate which kind of weathering?

Accepted Answer

A) chemical 
B) syntropical 
C) mechanical 
D) proactive 
A) chemical 
B) syntropical 
C) mechanical 
D) proactive

Question 18

In the Rocky Mountain region of the United States, north- facing slopes (downhill direction is toward the north)are typically more moist and heavily forested than south- facing slopes. Why?

Accepted Answer

A) North- facing slopes receive more sunlight in the summer; snow melts faster and more soil moisture is available for the trees. 
B) South- facing slopes receive less moisture, yet rock weathering is faster. 
C) South- facing slopes receive more moisture and sunlight; rock weathering is slower. 
D) North- facing slopes receive about the same amount of precipitation as south- facing slopes; less moisture evaporates from north- facing slopes. 
A) North- facing slopes receive more sunlight in the summer; snow melts faster and more soil moisture is available for the trees. 
B) South- facing slopes receive less moisture, yet rock weathering is faster. 
C) South- facing slopes receive more moisture and sunlight; rock weathering is slower. 
D) North- facing slopes receive about the same amount of precipitation as south- facing slopes; less moisture evaporates from north- facing slopes.

Question 19

Which of the following best describes the process of eluviation?

Accepted Answer

A) removal of very fine- sized silt and clay particles from the E soil horizon 
B) buildup of calcite in the B horizon of pedocal soils 
C) feldspar decomposition and leaching of the soluble products from the C soil horizon 
D) removal of soluble chemical constituents from the A and B soil horizons 
A) removal of very fine- sized silt and clay particles from the E soil horizon 
B) buildup of calcite in the B horizon of pedocal soils 
C) feldspar decomposition and leaching of the soluble products from the C soil horizon 
D) removal of soluble chemical constituents from the A and B soil horizons

Question 20

Which of the following best describes the E soil horizon?

Accepted Answer

A) leaching zone 
B) residual zone 
C) erosion zone 
D) regolith zone 
A) leaching zone 
B) residual zone 
C) erosion zone 
D) regolith zone

From the land surface downward to the unweathered bedrock, which of the following is the correct order of the different soil horizons?

What term describes the layer of partly decayed plant matter at the top of the soil profile in most forested areas?

Clay minerals, silica (SiO2), and dissolved potassium bicarbonate in the soil water are products of which process?

Which term denotes the true soil above the zone of partly weathered bedrock?

Which of the following is/are most susceptible to chemical weathering by dissolution?

Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, California, and Stone Mountain in Georgia, are shaped mainly by what mechanical weathering process?

Which one of the following statements concerning soil erosion is NOT true?

Which of the following statements concerning oxisol soils is generally NOT true?

Oxisol soils form under what climatic conditions?

Assume that water filling a crack in a rock undergoes cycles of freezing and melting. Which of the following statement is TRUE?

Under most weathering conditions, which mineral component of granites and rhyolites would be most resistant to decomposition?

Briefly discuss the classification of soils. What parameters are important? What characteristics or features are evaluated for distinguishing between different types of soils?

Which term best describes an accumulation of angular rock fragments at the base of a steep, bedrock slope or cliff?

What kind of weathering involves only a reduction in the sizes of bedrock, regolith, and mineral particles?

What is the most abundant, naturally produced, weak acid involved in chemical weathering and soil formation?

What process does the diagram below illustrate?

Clay minerals formed from gabbro or diorite bedrock illustrate which kind of weathering?

In the Rocky Mountain region of the United States, north- facing slopes (downhill direction is toward the north)are typically more moist and heavily forested than south- facing slopes. Why?

Which of the following best describes the process of eluviation?

Which of the following best describes the E soil horizon?

An Introduction to Geology

Plate Tectonics: a Scientific Revolution Unfolds

Matter and Minerals

Igneous Rocks and Intrusive Activity

Volcanoes and Volcanic Hazards

Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks

Earthquakes and Earths Interior

Origin and Evolution of the Ocean Floor

Crustal Deformation and Mountain Building

Mass Wasting: the Work of Gravity

Running Water

Groundwater

Glaciers and Glaciation

Deserts and Wind

Shorelines

Geologic Time

Earths Evolution Through Geologic Time

Global Climate Change

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Exam 6: Weathering and Soils

From the land surface downward to the unweathered bedrock, which of the following is the correct order of the different soil horizons?

What term describes the layer of partly decayed plant matter at the top of the soil profile in most forested areas?

Clay minerals, silica (SiO2), and dissolved potassium bicarbonate in the soil water are products of which process?

Which term denotes the true soil above the zone of partly weathered bedrock?

Which of the following is/are most susceptible to chemical weathering by dissolution?

Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, California, and Stone Mountain in Georgia, are shaped mainly by what mechanical weathering process?

Which one of the following statements concerning soil erosion is NOT true?

Which of the following statements concerning oxisol soils is generally NOT true?

Oxisol soils form under what climatic conditions?

Assume that water filling a crack in a rock undergoes cycles of freezing and melting. Which of the following statement is TRUE?

Under most weathering conditions, which mineral component of granites and rhyolites would be most resistant to decomposition?

Briefly discuss the classification of soils. What parameters are important? What characteristics or features are evaluated for distinguishing between different types of soils?

Which term best describes an accumulation of angular rock fragments at the base of a steep, bedrock slope or cliff?

What kind of weathering involves only a reduction in the sizes of bedrock, regolith, and mineral particles?

What is the most abundant, naturally produced, weak acid involved in chemical weathering and soil formation?

What process does the diagram below illustrate?

Clay minerals formed from gabbro or diorite bedrock illustrate which kind of weathering?

In the Rocky Mountain region of the United States, north- facing slopes (downhill direction is toward the north)are typically more moist and heavily forested than south- facing slopes. Why?

Which of the following best describes the process of eluviation?

Which of the following best describes the E soil horizon?

An Introduction to Geology

Plate Tectonics: a Scientific Revolution Unfolds

Matter and Minerals

Igneous Rocks and Intrusive Activity

Volcanoes and Volcanic Hazards

Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks

Earthquakes and Earths Interior

Origin and Evolution of the Ocean Floor

Crustal Deformation and Mountain Building

Mass Wasting: the Work of Gravity

Running Water

Groundwater

Glaciers and Glaciation

Deserts and Wind

Shorelines

Geologic Time

Earths Evolution Through Geologic Time

Global Climate Change

Filters