Deck 15: Global Soils

Question 1

The finely divided, partially decomposed organic matter in the soil is called:

A)humus
B)bedrock
C)caliche
D)till

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The natural, terrestrial surface layer containing living matter and supporting, or capable of supporting, crops is BEST called:

A)biosphere
B)bedrock
C)ground water
D)soil

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The descriptive property of the mineral portion of soil based on varying proportions of sand, silt, and clay is the soil:

A)structure
B)texture
C)chemistry
D)profile

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Angular or blocky describes a soil's:

A)texture
B)profile
C)chemistry
D)structure

Question 5

A high humus content makes soil appear:

A)red
B)black
C)yellow
D)gray

Question 6

The clumping of soil grains is the soil's:

A)profile
B)texture
C)chemistry
D)structure

Question 7

Positively charged plant nutrient ions are called:

A)loams
B)bases
C)horizons
D)silts

Question 8

Broken bedrock is called:

A)laccolith
B)batholith
C)cocolith
D)regolith

Question 9

The inorganic material base from which soil forms is called:

A)horizons
B)ultisol
C)parent material
D)drift

Question 10

The soils of boreal forests are typically:

A)yellow
B)black
C)gray
D)orange

Question 11

The key factor in determining how the soils of a region support vegetation and crops is the:

A)sandy texture
B)iron content
C)depth of the B horizon
D)soil moisture

Question 12

The colors of soils in dry climates are frequently:

A)blue
B)black
C)gray
D)white

Question 13

Soil texture is important because it influences the:

A)age
B)moisture-holding capacity
C)color
D)acidity or alkalinity

Question 14

Red soils are usually high in:

A)iron
B)humus
C)calcium carbonate
D)salt

Question 15

A mixture of particle sizes is called:

A)loam
B)sand
C)clay
D)silt

Question 16

Soil acidity can be reduced by treating with:

A)lime
B)quartz
C)carbon
D)hydrogen or aluminum

Question 17

The finest soil particle sizes are called:

A)peds
B)sand
C)colloids
D)silt

Question 18

Extremely small mineral or organic particles that can remain indefinitely suspended in water are:

A)silt
B)sand
C)colloids
D)loam

Question 19

Lumps of soil are called:

A)peds
B)lopoliths
C)ventifacts
D)geodes

Question 20

The loss of moisture to the atmosphere from the soil and from plants is called:

A)oxidation
B)podzolization
C)evapotranspiration
D)liquefaction

Question 21

The process of accumulating materials from above is called:

A)eluviation
B)liquefaction
C)transformation
D)illuviation

Question 22

The layer of the soil that receives the clay particles, aluminum, and iron oxides and some organic matter is the:

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)E

Question 23

The upward wicking of salt-laden groundwater is called:

A)saltation
B)leaching
C)calcification
D)salinization

Question 24

The build-up of calcium carbonate in the soil is called:

A)carbonation
B)leaching
C)calcification
D)decalcification

Question 25

Adding organic and inorganic matter to the soil is:

A)transformation
B)removal
C)eluviation
D)soil enrichment

Question 26

The soil layers from the surface down on a well-developed and undisturbed soil are:

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

Question 27

The process of water dissolving and carrying the material downward through the soil layers is called:

A)leaching
B)liquefaction
C)saltation
D)traction

Question 28

Decomposing organic matter that remains recognizable is the soil layer called:

A)A
B)Oₐ
C)Oᵢ
D)E

Question 29

The water storage level below which is insufficient for plants is the:

A)wilting point
B)break-in-bulk point
C)recharge
D)dew point

Question 30

A display of soil layers on the face of a freshly cut vertical exposure through the soil is called a(n):

A)texture triangle
B)soil horizon
C)climograph
D)soil profile

Question 31

The amount of water a soil can hold against the pull of gravity is its:

A)permeability
B)soil-water balance
C)wilting point
D)storage capacity

Question 32

Water is held to soil particles against the pull of gravity by:

A)magnetism
B)Coriolis effect
C)capillary tension
D)density currents

Question 33

A graph that shows monthly values of soil moisture gain, loss, and storage is a(n):

A)soil-water budget
B)texture triangle
C)climograph
D)soil profile

Question 34

Distinctive layers of soil, roughly horizontal, set apart from other layers by differences in physical or chemical composition are called:

A)soil structure
B)soil horizons
C)peds
D)soil texture

Question 35

The movement of material upward or downward in the soil is called:

A)emigration
B)translocation
C)mitigation
D)saltation

Question 36

The downward transport of fine particles carrying them out of the upper soil layers is:

A)illuviation
B)soil enrichment
C)transformation
D)eluviation

Question 37

Weathered parent material is the layer called:

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)E

Question 38

The soil layer rich in both mineral and organic matter is the:

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)O

Question 39

The uppermost layer on a well-developed and undisturbed soil is the:

A)A
B)Oₐ
C)Oᵢ
D)E

Question 40

The layer of the soil that loses the clay particles and oxides of aluminum and iron is the:

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

Question 41

A black soil that is high in clay content, associated with savannas, and noted for its wet and dry climate is the:

A)alfisol
B)histosols
C)entisols
D)vertisols

Question 42

Low latitude soils are all of the following EXCEPT:

A)alfisols
B)ultisols
C)oxisols
D)vertisols

Question 43

The soil associated with clay minerals as the parent material that is associated with mud cracks is:

A)mollisols
B)spodosols
C)inceptisols
D)vertisols

Question 44

Decomposition of organic matter to humus is called:

A)saltation
B)humification
C)podzolization
D)illuviation

Question 45

The soil of the cold, boreal, or needleleaf forests is the:

A)mollisols
B)ultisols
C)oxisols
D)spodosols

Question 46

Cultivation that involves clearing land, growing crops, and moving on a few years later to newly cleared land when the fertility has decreased is called:

A)paddy farming
B)slash-and-burn
C)market gardening
D)plantation agriculture

Question 47

The alteration of material within soil layers is called:

A)removal
B)metamorphism
C)transformation
D)inversion

Question 48

Accumulation in a lower soil layer of materials brought down from upper layers is:

A)illuviation
B)liquefaction
C)saltation
D)eluviation

Question 49

Soil orders are grouped by:

A)their fertility
B)their color
C)level of horizon development and humus content
D)thickness of the A horizon and latitude

Question 50

The fertile soil characterized by a clay-rich horizon produced by illuviation and noted for a wide distribution is:

A)andisol
B)histosol
C)oxisol
D)alfisol

Question 51

The number of soil orders used in the United States Soil Conservation System as presented in this text is:

A)5
B)10
C)11
D)14

Question 52

The process that affected the ancient Sumerian civilization was:

A)salinization
B)laterization
C)calcification
D)podzolization

Question 53

The reddish to yellowish soils that have a subsurface clay horizon, a low base status, and are typical of the southeastern United States are:

A)ultisols
B)oxisols
C)entisols
D)alfisols

Question 54

Soils that naturally are poor in fertility and able to sustain crops for only several years are:

A)mollisols and alfisols
B)alfisols and aridisols
C)oxisols and ultisols
D)mollisols and histosols

Question 55

The soil that develops in moist, equatorial, tropical, and subtropical zones under long stable conditions is:

A)entisols
B)mollisols
C)histosols
D)oxisols

Question 56

The soil in which minerals are weathered to an extreme degree, with the color red, yellow, or yellow-brown, and that has a low base status is:

A)spodosol
B)oxisol
C)mollisol
D)histosol

Question 57

The temperature at which most root growth and germination begins is:

A)0ºC
B)5ºC
C)10ºC
D)15ºC

Question 58

The soils BEST associated with tropical rainforest areas such as the Amazon basin and the wet-dry tropical climate area are:

A)andisols
B)oxisols
C)inceptisols
D)mollisols

Question 59

Soils with well-developed horizons include:

A)andisols
B)entisols
C)inceptisols
D)spodosols

Question 60

The soil that is strongly acidic and low in plant nutrients and humus, with a pale gray to white E horizon is the:

A)mollisols
B)histosols
C)spodosols
D)vertisols

Question 61

On the illustration, the letter that represents the large clay-sized particles is:

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D

Question 62

The soil order occurring in isolated areas with a very high organic content is the:

A)aridisol
B)histosol
C)mollisol
D)inceptisol

Question 63

The soils with weakly developed horizons are the:

A)entisols
B)inceptisols
C)mollisols
D)oxisols

Question 64

When more than half of the parent material is volcanic ash, the soil is a(n):

A)andisol
B)alfisol
C)histosol
D)aridisol

Question 65

On the illustration, the soil at F is:

A)ultisol
B)mollisol
C)oxisol
D)aridisol

Question 66

Organic soils composed of fine black material of sticky consistency formed in former glacial lakebeds are called:

A)muck
B)ventifact
C)caliche
D)epiphyte

Question 67

On the illustration, the soil at C is:

A)alfisol
B)spodosol
C)ultisol
D)inceptisol

Question 68

On the illustration, the soil at D is:

A)ultisol
B)tundra
C)mollisol
D)spodosol

Question 69

On the illustration, the soil at E is:

A)alfisol
B)ultisol
C)oxisol
D)mollisol

Question 70

On the illustration, the letter that represents colloid-sized particles is:

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D

Question 71

The soils associated with low humus content, high salts, and long dry periods are:

A)andisols
B)aridisols
C)mollisols
D)entisols

Question 72

The soils associated with grasslands of the mid-latitudes are:

A)ultisols
B)inceptisols
C)mollisols
D)spodosols

Question 73

Permanently frozen ground is called:

A)muck
B)peat
C)permafrost
D)gellisol

Question 74

Soil horizons may be missing because:

A)the parent material is stable
B)they have been eroded away
C)the material has recently been deposited
D)of ALL of these

Question 75

The fertility of the soilwater solution for plants is based on the ability of the soil to hold and exchange cations, which is called:

A)Colloids
B)Muck
C)Cation-exchange capacity
D)base cations

Question 76

On the illustration, the letter that represents silt-sized particles is:

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D

Question 77

The soil type without horizon development is the:

A)mollisols
B)spodosols
C)ultisols
D)entisols

Question 78

On the illustration, the soil at B is:

A)aridisol
B)ultisol
C)mollisol
D)alfisol

Question 79

On the illustration, the soil at A is:

A)aridisol
B)mollisol
C)oxisol
D)ultisol

Question 80

On the illustration, the letter that represents sand-sized particles is:

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D