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Date:_______________________
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Soil Science Quiz – Study Guide
Soil
Topsoil
Subsoil
Loam
Natural Resource
Silt
Clay
Bedrock
Weathering
Humus
Sand
Using the word bank to help you, fill in the blanks below. Be sure to spell
everything correctly!
1. _soil_ is a mixture of minerals, weathered rocks, water, air, and living
things.
2. Material on earth that is necessary or useful to people is called
__natural resource__.
3. Soil that is made up of a mixture of sand, silt, and clay is
called__loam____.
4. __humus___ is bits of decayed plants and animals that add nutrients to
the soil.
5. The layer of soil with solid rock is called _____bedrock___.
6. __ subsoil____ is the layer of soil that has a lighter color and less
humus than the layer above it.
7. The top layer of soil is called ____ topsoil______.
8. Soil starts forming when rocks are broken down by __
weathering____.
9. This type of soil has the smallest grains and holds a lot of water __
clay_____.
10.__ loam__ is the type of soil that has the largest grains.
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Date:_______________________
No:__________
11. Soil with grains smaller than those of sand but larger than clay is __
silt__.
Label the diagram below to show the different layers of soil. Use the
word bank above to help with spelling.
topsoil
subsoil
bedrock
What type of soil would you look for to grow plants? Describe the
qualities it would have.
A well thought out response should include
mention of loam (type of soil) and humus (bits
of decayed plants and animals in the soil).
It
should also describe the qualities of loam soil.
Check over all of your answers before you turn it in!