Exam 5: Weathering and Soil

The soil material hardpan refers to a layer of highly compacted clay in the B soil horizon of some areas.

Which one of the following statements is the best description of erosion?

Mechanical weathering involves rock materials being broken into smaller particles.

Give one example each for mechanical and chemical weathering directly attributed to biologic activity.

Weathering generally accentuates the differences in minerals and rocks, serving to sculpt unusual shapes and spectacular landscapes.

Humus is a concentration of decaying, organic matter in the B horizons of lateritic soils.

What two chemical constituents cannot form by chemical weathering of the feldspar minerals alone?

What mineral particles are the dominant colouring agents in reddish, brownish, and yellowish soils?

Word Analysis Questions Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. -Choose the option that does not fit the pattern.

Decomposition of pyrite is an important factor in generating acidic mine drainage.

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

List the major processes that contribute to chemical weathering.

Pedalfers form more readily than pedocals under conditions of low soil moisture content.

Which term describes a soil formed by weathering of the underlying bedrock?

What is the common soil formed in semi-arid grassland with alkali and salt tolerant plants as in SE Alberta and SW Saskatchewan?

What is the term for the selective removal of softer or less stable portions of a rock?

When did land plants first contribute to biologic weathering and soil formation?

Carefully examine the illustration below and the features labeled A through D. Give a letter (A, B, C, or D)for each answer below.Letters may be used more than once. a)At which location would the thickest residual soil develop? ________ b)At which location would the greatest amount of frost wedging occur? ________ c)At which location would the thickest transported soil develop? ________ d)At which location would there be the most unconsolidated deposits? ________

The addition of a small amount of acidity dramatically increases rates of dissolution and chemical weathering.

Removal of soluble chemical constituents from a soil is termed leaching.