Fundamentals of Soil Science and Agriculture Quiz Case Study Question and Answers

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Answer all questions in each section.

Multiple Choices

 

1. A soil horizon labelled A/E indicates a transition horizon that is …?

a). More like horizon A than horizon E

b). More like horizon E than horizon A

c). Displaying equal amount of soil properties related to both horizons A and E

d). Displaying properties not similar to either A or E

 

 

2. Which of the great groups listed below would have soils that exhibit large cracks during the summer months?

a). Calciusterts

b). Argiaquolls

c). Kandiaquults

d). Haplustox

 

 

3. Determine the percentage silt in a soil sample if the clay is 19% and the sand is three times the clay content.

a). 22%

b). 19%

c). 44%

d). 24%

 

 

4. The processes listed below are all examples of physical weathering except ..?

a). Abrasion

b). Hydrolysis

c). Exfoliation

d). Disintegration

 

 

5. Brown and red colors in subsurface horizons are caused by __ in the soil.

a). manganese

b). aluminum oxides

c). organic matter

d). clay

e). iron oxides

 

 

6. Which is not one of the five (5) factors of soil formation

a). Parent material

b). Micro-organisms

c). Translocation

d). Relief

 

7.  Which of the following soils has the highest mean annual soil temperature?

a). Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic AquicFragiudults

b). Coarse-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic AridicHaplustalfs

c). Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Durinodic Xeric Haplargids

d). Fine-silty, carbonatic, thermic UdorthenticHaplustolls

 

 

8. What is the soil texture of the soil sample in Question 7 above?

a). Loam

b). Sandy clay loam

c). Silt

d). Silt loam

 

 

9. Choose the correct statement below.

a). The silt fraction of the soil is made up of primarily secondary minerals

b). Sand and silt is derived mainly from the biogeochemical weathering of quartz

c). The clay portion of the soil results from the decomposition and reconstitution of the elements in the primary minerals

d). Organic matter is the most important component of soil texture

 

 

10. Disintegration of rocks and other primary minerals into smaller particles facilitate the formation of soils. This process is known as _______ weathering

a). Biogeochemical

b). Chemical

c). Physical

d). Transitional

 

 

11. Soils in which of the following soil suborders would most likely have the least profile development?

a). Ustox

b). Udalfs

c). Orthents

d). Aquepts

 

 

12. Which of the following is not influenced by soil structure?

a). Water movement in the soil

b). Gas movement in the soil

c). Heat transfer in the soil

d). All the above are affected by soil structure

e). None of the above are affected by soil structure

 

13. Of the minerals listed below which is the most easily weathered?

a). Calcite

b). Hornblende

c). Muscovite

d). Quartz

 

14. What is the oven dry weight of a soil sample that has a bulk density of 1.35 g per cm^-3and a volume of 287 cm³?

a). 450 g

b). 287 g

c). 350 g

d). 388 g

 

15. What’s the textural classification of a soil with 21% clay if the silt content is 0.5 times the clay content?

a). Sandy clay

b). Sandy clay loam

c). Sandy loam

d). Loamy sand

 

16. A soil sample has a color designation of 7.5 YR 6/2. The YR in the designation tells the _______ of the soil.

a). Value

b). Hue

c). Chroma

d). Texture

 

17. The polarity of water is due to the hydrogen atoms are at an angle of …?.

a). 90⁰

b). 180⁰

c). 105⁰

d). 45⁰

 

18. Which of the following irrigation systems produces the most biomass per unit of water applied?

a). flood irrigation

b). furrow irrigation

c). drip irrigation

d). sprinkle irrigation

e). furrow-dike irrigation

 

 

19. Soil where the aggregates or peds are mostly spheroidal in shape is said to have a _______ structure.

a). Granular

b). Platy

c). Columnar

d). Blocky

 

 

The soil water potential that would be most affected by fertilizer application to the soil is …?

a). Osmotic

b). Matric

c). Gravity

d). Saturated

 

 

21. Which of the following soil orders has the highest percentage of organic matter?

a). Vertisol

b). Histosol

c). Oxisol

d). Alfisol

 

 

22. Entisols with high sand content are known as …?

a). Psamments

b). Aquents

c). Cryents

d). Xerents

 

 

23. In which of the following subsurface diagnostic horizons would you expect to find an accumulation of sodium?

a). Cambic

b). Oxic

c). Natric

d). Salic

 

 

24. Farmer Bob added 10 tons of manure to his farm with the intent on changing his soil texture. However, when he had his soils retested the textural classification had not changed. His neighbor Farmer Ton Strokes advised him that …?

a). He needs to add more manure

b). He has to drain the liquid off the manure

c). Adding manure does not affect the texture

d). He should use poultry manure instead of cattle manure

 

 

 

25. Chemicals applied on the soil surface will get to ground water the quickest via which of the following routes?

a). Infiltration

b). Percolation

c). Interception

d). Preferential flow

 

 

26. A soil from Powell, Ohio had and a soil from Mexico, MO both had bulk densities of a 1.32 g cm-3. If the Ohio soil had a particle density of 2.47 g cm-3 and the soil from Missouri had a particle density of 2.74 g cm-3. The porosity of the two soils would be ____ respectively.

a). 47% and 51%

b). 74% and 15%

c). 35% and 36%

d). 23% and 32%

 

 

27. The layer of leaf litter on the surface of the soil is referred to as …?

a). A horizon

b). O horizon

c). D horizon

d). B horizon

 

 

28. As soil compaction increases the …?

a). Sand content of the soil changes

b). There is an decrease in the percent macropores in the soil

c). Your soil bulk density decreases

d). The micropore concentration decreases

 

 

29. Movement of organic matter through the soil profile is referred to as

a). Chemical weathering

b). Translocation

c). Transformation

d). Additions

 

 

30. During biogeochemical weathering processes the addition of water to a molecule is refered to as…?

 

a). Hydrolysis

b). Complexation

c). Oxidation

d). Hydration

 

 

 

 

True or False (1 point each)

31. ____ Cohesion refers to the attraction of water molecules for solid surfaces.

 

32. ____Some 60 percent of the water that is actively involved in the hydrologic cycle worldwide is found in soils.

 

33. ____Capillary water will rise higher and faster in clay soils than sandy soils.

 

34. _____ If the CO₂ content of soil air is 3.5%, it is 100 times higher than that of the atmosphere.

 

35. ____ Reduced forms of iron and manganese along with soil organic matter largely control the color of well-drained soils

 

 

Short answer. Show all steps in your calculations

 

36. Complete the following table using the information provided. (10 points)

 

 

Soil ID	Sand %	Silt %	Clay %	Textural Class
Soil A	32		29
Soil B		16	15
Soil C	57	18
Soil D				Silt Loam

 

Soil D was collected in Alaska and is classified as a Clam Gulch Silt Loam if it had 10% clay and the minimum amount of silt for that classification. Using the textural triangle provided fill-in the sand, silt, and clay percentages for Soil D.

 

37.  Calculate the bulk density for the following soils. Explain in a short paragraph possible reasons for the differences in bulk density of the three soils. (15 points)

A farmer from Wisconsin collect a soil sample from his pasture that had a weight of 830 g and a volume of 630 cm³. What is the bulk density of that soil?

The farmer from part (a) also collects some samples from his corn field that has been in continuous corn for the last 4 years. The sample from the corn field had a weight of 980 g. What is the bulk density of that soil in the corn field if the sample was collected using the same soil core?

The third sample collect by the farmer was from a separate part of his farm that has been in a corn-soybean-wheat rotation, with cover crop planted late summer of each of the corn & wheat years. If the sample was collected with a cylindrical core of diameter 6 cm and a height of 20 cm and the sample weight of 590 g, what is the bulk density of the soil in the crop rotation field?

 

38.  A student collected soil samples from two fields on the R.T. Wright farm using soil cores with the following dimensions: diameter = 6 cm and height of 13 cm. If both fields where established on Clarinda soil series, but were planted to different crops calculate the gravimetric and volumetric water content and % pore space in the samples collected using the information provided in the table below:

Using the information from your calculations for the table and from class discussion explain a) the difference in porosity and volumetric water content of the two samples; and b) how water movement into the soil would differ at the two sampling locations, although the soil type was the same for both samples. (15 points)

 

39.  Discuss how the soil profile will differ as you move down the slope. In your discussion explain how the topography interacts with the other factors of soil formation. (10 points)