Questions for BINGO
1. CLAY – smallest particle size; water passes through slowest; holds
the most water; feels sticky; low infiltration
2. SILT – medium particle size; feels smooth; holds more water than
sand, but still drains easily
3. SAND – largest particle size; feels gritty; drains easily; does not hold
water; high infiltration
4. SOIL – loose mix of rock fragments, org. material, water and air that
can support plant growth; can have 6 billion organisms in a
tablespoon
5. HUMUS – dark organic material formed in soil from decayed remains
of plants; broken down by decomposers; source of nutrients for soil
in addition to parent rock
6. PARENT ROCK – source of mineral fragments which make soil; in
residual soil, this is also the bed rock; contributes to soil nutrients
with humus
7. BEDROCK – in transported soil this is NOT the same as parent rock;
layer of rock beneath soil
8. TEXTURE- amount of soil, silt, or clay; cannot be changed by plowing
(draw picture)
9. STRUCTURE- arrangement of sand silt or clay; plate-like, blocky,
granular; CAN be changed by plowing (draw picture)
10.
CHEMICAL WEATHERING- mineral composition of rock
changed; feldspar changes to clay; acid rain dissolves calcite in
limestone; leading causes are factories, coal powerplants, and
automobiles
11.
MECHANICAL WEATHERING- breakdown of rock into smaller
pieces by physical means; river rock breaks down rock; tree roots
widen cracks in rock; freezing and thawing of water in cracks;
landslides
12.
INFILTRATION – process by which water on ground surface
enters soil; low in clay; high in sand
13.
GROUND WATER- Water located beneath Earth’s surface,
contained in the porous spaces of soil and crevices of rock; about
20% of all drinking water comes from this source; a key part of the
water cycle; helps to break down rock into soil
14.
HORIZONS – layer in soil profile
15.
O-HORIZON: leaf litter and animal scat; top layer in the forest;
not always present
16.
A-HORIZON- topsoil; contains nutrients for plants
17.
B-HORIZON- collects dissolved substances from upper horizons;
layer present between topsoil and partially weathered bedrock
18.
C-HORIZON – contains partially weathered bedrock; the layer
we got to during our lab
19.
E-HORIZON- this is an optional layer (not always there); think of
it as the EMPTY layer; lots of leaching (removal of nutrients due to
passing water)
20.
R-HORIZON- bedrock with little or no weathering; a soil horizon
that’s not really soil
21.
LOAM – the soil mixture that is best for farming; texture with
sand silt and clay
22.
BLOCKY – soil is in clumps; moderately difficult for water to
penetrate soil or plants to start growing roots (draw picture)
23.
GRANULAR- random grains; water flows easily (draw picture)
24.
PLATE-LIKE – difficult for water to get through; structure of
tight layers (draw picture)