Deck 12: Soils and Soil Development

Question 1

Permeability refers to the soil's capacity to store water. ​

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Soils in the eastern part of the U.S. tend to be alkaline and soils in the West tend to be acidic. ​

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Parent material can be rock fragments that were carried to the site by streams or glaciers. ​

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Prairie grasslands have played a major role in creating the fertile soils of the central U.S. ​

Question 5

The downward movement of soil water contributes to the development of soil horizons. ​

Question 6

Gases are important components in a soil. ​

Question 7

The removal of soil components from the topsoil is called illuviation and their deposition in the subsoil is termed eluviation. ​

Question 8

Peds give the soil a particular structure and are clumps of individual mineral particles. ​

Question 9

Chemical activity increases and decreases directly with temperature, given equal availability of moisture. ​

Question 10

A soil with a pH of 4 would be considered alkaline. ​

Question 11

In general, loam soils are best suited to support vegetation growth. ​

Question 12

Soils with a higher proportion of clay-sized particles tend to be well aerated and allow water to infiltrate the soil quickly.

Question 13

On the pH scale, 5.0 is neutral. ​

Question 14

Which of these statements is true?

A)Young soils are characterized by well-developed horizons.
B)Soils become mature when they reach ten thousand years old. ​
C)The older the soil, the more parent material influences soil characteristics. ​
D)Soils formed from volcanic parent material are often fertile. ​
E)Soils form at the same rate, regardless of location. ​

Question 15

Water that flows freely downward through voids between soil particles is called ____. ​

A)hygroscopic water
B)wicking water
C)capillary water
D)transpiration water
E)gravitational water ​

Question 16

The soil-forming factor that has the least effect in differentiating soil at the local level is ____. ​

A)parent material
B)land surface configuration ​
C)climate ​
D)vegetation type ​
E)organic activity

Question 17

Over the long term, as a soil develops, the influence of parent material on its characteristics diminishes. ​

Question 18

Capillary water ____. ​

A)can only move downward
B)is responsible for creating caliche ​
C)is bound to the surface of soil particles by strong electrical forces ​
D)is the primary agent in transporting soil particles from one level to another ​
E)flows freely through the void spaces between soil particles ​

Question 19

The most common minerals found in soils are combinations of which four elements, which are also the most common elements in Earth's crust? ​

A)carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen
B)silicon, aluminum, oxygen, iron ​
C)potassium, zinc, copper, iodine ​
D)silicon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen ​
E)carbon, aluminum, iron, potassium ​

Question 20

Desert soils tend to be alkaline. ​

Question 21

Podzolization usually occurs in conjunction with ____. ​

A)oxisols
B)coniferous forests ​
C)grasslands ​
D)desert climates ​
E)volcanic ash ​

Question 22

A soil rich in organic material will be ____. ​

A)black or dark brown
B)gray ​
C)red ​
D)yellow ​
E)light brown ​

Question 23

Eluviation occurs due to ____. ​

A)hygroscopic water
B)gravitational water ​
C)capillary water ​
D)soil air ​
E)humus ​

Question 24

Which soil horizon can be found above an A horizon? ​

A)B
B)C
C)E
D)O
E)R

Question 25

The porosity and permeability of a soil are influenced by the ____ of the soil. ​

A)color
B)acidity ​
C)structure ​
D)copper content ​
E)fertility ​

Question 26

Which organism contributes greatly to soil development by taking in soil, passing it through their digestive tracts, and excreting it in casts? ​

A)buffalo
B)snakes ​
C)songbirds ​
D)rabbits ​
E)earthworms ​

Question 27

Broadly generalizing, the three primary soil-forming regimes are ____. ​

A)eluviation, illuviation, and alleviation
B)laterization, podzolization, and nitrification ​
C)calcification, podzolization, and laterization ​
D)podzolization, eluviation, and illuviation
E)laterization, salinization, fertilization

Question 28

What is the correct order from smallest to largest of these soil particles? ​

A)silt, sand, clay
B)sand, clay, silt ​
C)clay, silt, sand ​
D)clay, sand, silt ​
E)silt, clay, sand ​

Question 29

Bacteria in soil produce ____. ​

A)porosity
B)soil texture ​
C)hygroscopic water ​
D)humus ​
E)capillary water ​

Question 30

Where podzolization occurs, the soil tends to be ____. ​

A)strongly basic
B)moderately basic ​
C)neutral ​
D)acidic ​
E)off the pH scale ​

Question 31

Calcification occurs in ____. ​

A)tropical climates
B)polar climates ​
C)dry climates ​
D)strongly acidic soils ​
E)monsoon soils

Question 32

Oxisols are common in ____. ​

A)the tropics
B)the middle latitudes ​
C)the subarctic ​
D)the polar regions ​
E)highlands

Question 33

Which type of soil is generally reddish in color from iron oxides? ​

A)andisol
B)histosol ​
C)inceptisol ​
D)laterite ​
E)gelisol ​

Question 34

Which horizon contains partly weathered parent material? ​

A)A
B)B ​
C)C ​
D)E ​
E)O ​

Question 35

Which type of soil develops in desert regions? ​

A)aridisol
B)vertisol ​
C)ultisol ​
D)mollisol ​
E)gelisol ​

Question 36

Which type of soil is most closely associated with grassland regions?

A)aridisol
B)inceptisol ​
C)ultisol ​
D)oxisol ​
E)mollisol ​

Question 37

A soil is sometimes called "mature" when ____. ​

A)it begins supporting living vegetation
B)a well-defined A horizon appears ​
C)it begins to erode away ​
D)it has reached an equilibrium condition ​
E)a well-defined E horizon appears ​

Question 38

Which of these particles has the smallest diameter?

A)silt
B)sand ​
C)gravel ​
D)clay ​
E)loam ​

Question 39

Soil water that is bound to the surfaces of soil particles by strong electrical force is called ____. ​

A)hygroscopic water
B)capillary water ​
C)leaching ​
D)gravitational water ​
E)eluvial water ​

Question 40

Mollisols are ____. ​

A)strongly acidic and highly leached
B)rich in organic matter and bases ​
C)moderately leached ​
D)basic and highly leached ​
E)young soils with weak horizon development ​

Question 41

What are the soil factors represented by Cl, O, R, P, and T? ​

Question 42

Soil horizons that are exposed at the surface are called ______________. ​

Question 43

Soil air supplies plants and microorganisms with the gases oxygen and ______________, which are needed for life processes. (two words)​

Question 44

The weathered fragments of rock from which soil is formed are called the ______________ material. ​

Question 45

How does soil texture influence the growth of vegetation? ​

Question 46

Calcification concentrates the mineral ______________ in the soil. (two words)​

Question 47

Depleting nutrients in the soil by the through-flow of water is called ______________. ​

Question 48

The deposition of soil components by gravitational water percolating downward is called ______________. ​

Question 49

The soil-forming process that occurs in humid tropical and subtropical climates due to high temperatures and abundant rainfall, and results in reddish soils, is called ______________. ​

Question 50

Why does climate have such a strong impact on the type of soil that develops in a region? ​

Question 51

What can color tell you about a soil? ​

Question 52

Explain how soil is an interaction between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere. ​

Question 53

The largest division in the classification of soils is the soil ______________.

Question 54

In low-lying desert regions, rapid evaporation of surface water leading to a high concentration of soluble salts in the soil is called ______________. ​

Question 55

Classification of soils is termed soil ______________. ​

Question 56

The decayed remains of plant and animal materials that have been partially transformed by bacterial action are termed ______________. ​

Question 57

The general pattern of layered changes in soil with depth is called ______________. ​

Question 58

Major soil components include inorganic matter, organic material, water, and ______________. ​

Question 59

The type of soil water that does not move through the soil is called ______________ water. ​

Question 60

Particle sizes (or distribution of sizes)that make up a soil are described as soil ______________. ​