Soil
This is the loose, weathered material on earth's surface in which plants can grow.
Soil...
The two main processes involved in forming soil.
Weathering and decomposition.
This soil has the largest particles and allows water to pass through it very easily. It retains water the least of all soil types.
Sand
What is weathering.
The breaking of rock into smaller pieces by the weather (wind, water, ice, and even plant roots).
What are the 3 R's of conservation of natural resources?
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
This is the solid layer of rock beneath the soil.
Bedrock
This is the soil horizon that contains the most nutrients and where organisms live and where you can find plant roots.
Topsoil
This soil has the smallest particles and retains water very well.
Clay
What are the weathered (broken) particles of rock are called?
Sediment
What type of natural resources replenishes quickly?
What type of natural resource does NOT replenish quickly?
renewable
non-renewable
This is a dark-colored substance that forms as plant and animal remains decay. Also known as the organic layer/horizon.
Humus
Usually consists of clay, some weathered rock particles, and minerals washed down but little humus.
Subsoil
This soil type has medium sized particles and retains water relatively well but not as well as clay.
Silt.
What is decomposition?
Decomposition is the natural process or rotting or decay by decomposers (earthworms, fungi, bacteria) where organic matter (dead plants and animals) breaks down into simpler substances, allowing nutrients to return to the soil.
What causes Earthquakes?
The clashing of tectonic plates which causes a sudden release of energy under Earth’s surface that makes the ground shake or crack.
Why is the 2nd lowest soil horizon called parent material?
Because the upper layers of soil develop from this layer.
The four types of soil are...
Sand, silt, clay, and loam.
What are the four main components of soil?
hint: what is soil made of?
water
air
minerals
organic matter
What are the 4 main agents of change?
hint: what main things cause weathering of rock?
wind, water, ice, plants (roots)
What causes landslides
too much rain and not enough plants or other supports which causes the rapid, downward slide of rocks and mud.
Soil that is made up of about equal parts of clay, sand, and silt, contains humus, retains water but also drains well, and it is the ideal or best soil for farming and gardening.
Loam
...are the organisms like Earthworms, bacteria, and fungi, that break the remains of dead organisms into smaller pieces and digest them with chemicals.
Decomposers
What type of recycling process did we learn that relies on decomposition to work?
compost - combining egg shells, coffee grinds, leaves and twigs, skin of fruits and vegetables to decompose and make compost.
True or False: Without decomposers like earthworms, fungi (mushrooms), and bacteria, dead animals would stay on the side of the road forever and soil would run out of nutrients.
True
What causes a volcanic eruption?
Volcanic eruptions are primarily caused by magma (molten rock) rising from the Earth’s mantle through cracks in the crust due to pressure buildup or tectonic plate movements (converging/diverging) that force magma upward.