Basic Soils Quiz

Layers of soil are also known as:

• Soil Profiles
• Soil Horizons
• Soil sheets
• Soil cores

Which layer is the bottom of the soil profile?

• C - Partially Weathered Parent Material
• D - Separated rock
• R - Bedrock
• A - Topsoil

Which layer of soil contains bedrock that has been cracked slightly?

• A - Topsoil
• B - Subsoil
• C- Partially Weathered Parent Material
• R - Bedrock

_______ is the type of soil used most often with plants. It is a mixture of clay, sand, and silt.

• loam
• humus
• mud
• dirt

Are there minerals in soil?

• Yes
• No

True or false:
We end up eating the minerals that are in soil.

• true
• false

Humus is.....

• the dead parts of plants and animals in soil.
• A food we eat with pretzels.
• The tiny particles inside of soil
• The roots that come off of a plant and live in soil.

Ellen grabs a topsoil sample in her hand. She rolls it into a ball. The soil feels gritty and the ball falls apart. What part of the topsoil most likely made the topsoil feel gritty?

• clay
• sand
• silt
• humus

You dig a small hole in the soil and the next day it rains. The hole fills with water, but does not empty even after several days of dry weather. What is the soil mostly made of?

• clay
• sand
• humus
• silt

The texture of soil depends mainly on

• the types of plants that grow in the soil.
• the size of the particles in the soil.
• the color of the soil.
• the number of worms in the soil.