Web Exam 1
Soil Science WEB Exam 1---- Fall 2008
Dept. of Soil, Water and Climate
Directions: 1) There is ONE BEST answer per question.
2) Place your answers on the answer sheet, you only need to turn in the
answers.
Name __________________________________
1.________ 2._______ 3._________ 4._______ 5.______
6._______ 7._________
8._______ 9.______ 10._______ 11. _________ 12.________ 13.______
14.________ 15._________
Total _____
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Questions 1-15
1. Soil is a natural body is how a
_________ defines soil, while a ________ refers to soil as the medium for
growing plants.
a) environmental scientist......... soil scientist
b) soil scientist...........geologist
c) green house manager.... engineer
d) soil scientist............green house manager.
2. The “ideal” soil is considered ____________ when the percent
composition is 25% water, 5% mineral, 45% organic, 25% air
a) too wet
b) too dry
c) too organic
d) ideal.
3. Soil is an important natural resource just like ____ and _____ and must
be made sustainable.
a) mineral particles …. water
molecules
b) air …. water
c) regolith …. pedosphere
d) forests ….. wildlife
4. The interface between the atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere and
hydrosphere is called the ______.
a) horizosphere
b) geosphere
c) pedosphere
d) climosphere
5. In an ideal soil, the soil component that is most likely to remain the
same percentage during the growing season is the ___________
a) mineral b) organic c) water d) air
6. The weathering of rocks and minerals provide to the soil the _______
while the rotting of leaves, stems, and wood provide the ______________of soil.
a) framework for water and air......nutrients for
plants
b) parent material.....solid fraction.
c) regolith under the soil ......black color
d) sand, silt & clay ........food for the microorganisms
7. The building blocks of rocks are ____________ while the building blocks
of minerals are ___________
a) minerals ......elements.
b) igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.......quartz,
granite and basalt
c) crystals ......... rocks.
d) always the same ...........varied depending on the
environment in which they form.
8. Metamorphic rocks are ____.
a) from other rocks that have undergone additional
heating and pressure.
b) the primary rock from which all other rocks are
formed
c) dark colored rocks
d) always found near the areas of volcanic activity.
9. A very new rock that is flowing out of a crack in the earth is flowing over cold rock that was from the same crack last year. Both rocks will eventually be black with small crystals. The rock is most likely an example of ______________.
a) basalt -similar to the rocks of NE Mn
b) solution sedimentary rock like limestone in SE Mn.
c) clastic sedimentary rock like sandstone in SE Mn.
d) Granite - igneous rock in Central Mn.
10. A non-residual soil is different from a residual soil because the
non-residual soils parent material ________
a) is more difficult to weather.
b) can be only found in areas that were glaciated.
c) is not the rock that is directly under the soil.
d) has to have the same amount of sand that is in the
soil and the parent material.
11. Suppose you find a large (4 feet across) rock in
a) grinding for the crack and chemical dissolution for
the surface.
b) chasmolithic dissolution
for the crack and chemical reduction for the surface.
c) chemical dissolution for the crack and chemical
reduction for the surface
d) freeze-thaw for the crack and epilithic lichens
for the surface
12. Along a creek in central
a) basalt
b) limestone
c) feldspar
d) quartz
13. Water is needed for most of the chemical reactions in chemical
weathering. Evidence for chemical weathering is the complete disappearance of a
solid material when immersed into a liquid. This type of weathering is called
___?__.
a) dissolution
b) hydrolysis
c) hydration
d) oxidation
14. “When the land has too many grazing animals on it”, is the
reason for _____ % of the soil degradation worldwide..
a) 15; b) 25; c) 35; d) 55
15. The main mechanism of soil degradation world wide for all land uses is
a) water erosion b) wind
erosion c) chemical
degradation d) physical
degradation
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