Download Soil - Effingham County Schools

Schimmel
Soil Study Guide
•Soil is loose material that covers much of the Earth’s
surface.
•Soil is made up of bits of rock, minerals, and material that
was part of once living things.
•Soil forms when rocks are weathered.
Humus
Soil Layers
•Humus is decayed remains of
plants and animals.
Topsoil
•Top layer
•Plants grow best here
•Humus has lots of nutrients in
it which makes it easy for
plants to grow.
•Large amounts of humus
Subsoil
•Bottom layer of soil
•Contains little humus
•Large amounts of humus are
found in forests.
•Contains small pieces of
rock
Bedrock
•Solid unweathered rock
•Below the subsoil
3 Types of Soil
Sandy Soil
•Largest particles
•Water passes through it
easily
Silt Soil
•Particles are smaller than
sandy soil, but larger than clay
soil.
Clay Soil
•Smallest particles
•Water does not pass through
it easily
If you had a jar full of
the 3 types of soil
•Sandy soil would be at
the bottom because the
particles are bigger and
water passes through
them easily.
•Silt would be in the
middle because the
particles are smaller
than sandy soil but
larger than clay soil.
•Clay soil would settle
last because the
particles are so small
they fall very slowly.
•Soaks water like a sponge
Relative soil particle sizes
SAND
SILT
.
CLAY
Invisible
at this
scale