Science: Soil Review

Front 1

erosion

Back 1

Erosion is the process by which wind and moving water carry away bits of rocks and other material.

Bits of rocks are moved and dropped in another area where they build up and make soil.

Front 2

Why is soil important?

Back 2

Soil provides nutrients (food), water, air, and safety for plants and animals.

Soil provides us with the things we need in our life.

Front 3

What determines a soil type?

Back 3

The amounts of humus, clay, silt, and sand.

Front 4

What are the properties of soil?

Back 4

The properties of soil are ...

- color/texture,
- habitat,
- ability to hold water (absorbtion),
and richness(fertility).

Front 5

What is the best type of soil to grow plants?

Back 5

.

Front 6

The natural process of breaking down rock is _____________.

Back 6

weathering

Front 7

fertile

Back 7

Fertile soil is rich in nutrients and provides the right conditions for plants to grow.

Front 8

What is soil made of?

Back 8

Soil is made of humus and bits of weathered and eroded rock.

Front 9

What factors contribute to weathering?

Back 9

The factors that contribute to weathering are ...
- Lichens break up the surface of rocks to get nutrients.
- Temperature cause rocks to expand and contract and break off over time.
- Water from rain pounds rocks like a hammer and breaks up rocks.
- Water freezes and breaks rocks apart when it expands.
- Plant roots break up rocks.

Front 10

fertile soil

Back 10

Soil that has the many nutrients needed to grow plants.

Front 11

topsoil

Back 11

Topsoil is the top layer of soil.

Topsoil contains...
- rotting plant and animal materials called humus,

- bits of rocks from the weathering of rocks above ground.

Front 12

absorbtion

Back 12

The ability to absorb water.

Front 13

Cotton which is grown to make clothing depends mostly on ______________ to grow.

Back 13

topsoil

Front 14

subsoil

Back 14

Subsoil is ...
- the second layer of soil,
- made up of mostly small rock,
- formed as larger rocks are broken up.

Front 15

In what soil layers does most weathering take place?

Back 15

Most weathering takes place in the...
- subsoil and
- bedrock.

Front 16

What does adding lime to soil do for the soil and plants?

Back 16

Adding lime makes water dissolve nutrients more slowly in soil.

This gives plants more time to absorb nutrients before the nutrients are washed away.

Front 17

The soil layer that is affected most by erosion is ____________.

Back 17

topsoil

Front 18

What does soils ability to absorb water affect?

Back 18

The ability of soil to absorb water affects how much water...
- plants and animals have during dry periods and
- how much water runs off during rainstorms or as snow melts.

Front 19

What are the three layers of soil?

Back 19

The three layers of soil are ...

- topsoil,
- subsoil, and
- bedrock.

Front 20

When the temperature is hot during the day and cold at night rocks are likely to ____________________.

Back 20

crack or weather

Front 21

Which layer of soil contains the most dead plant and animal material?

Back 21

Topsoil

Front 22

How is soil made?

Back 22

Soil is made by weathering and erosion...

- Temperature changes, wind and water break rocks apart.
- Small plants grow in the cracks of rocks. Plant roots continue to break the rock apart.
- Wind and water move bits of weathered rock to new places and become part of well developed soil.

Front 23

What does adding sand to soil do for the soil and the plants?

Back 23

Adding sand to soil makes water flow through it more easily.

Sand provides a well drained soil for plants that like dry roots.

Front 24

Tree roots reach down to the middle layer of soil, breaking up the rocks there.
This soil layer is called ___________________.

Back 24

subsoil

Front 25

The soil part _____________ is made up of rotting plant and animal materials.

Back 25

humus

Front 26

weathering

Back 26

Weathering is the process that breaks up rocks.

Temperature change, wind, rain, plants, and animals cause weathering.

Front 27

The soil at the top of a hill has alot of these smallest type of soil particles called
______________________.

Back 27

clay

Front 28

What is the best soil for growing plants?

Back 28

The best type of soil to grow plants in is ...

- fertile soil made of equal parts of sand, clay, and humus.

Front 29

_______________ becomes richer as dead plants decay.

Back 29

Topsoil

Front 30

Soil that is ____________, is capable of growing alot of plants.

Back 30

fertile

Front 31

sulfur

Back 31

Sulfur increases the rate at which water dissolves nutrients.

Front 32

runoff

Back 32

Runoff is the amount of water that is not absorbed by the soil and runs to lower ground.

Packed DRY clay soil with few plants causes alot of runooff.

Streams, rivers and lakes are sometimes made by runoff.

Front 33

The movement of bits of rock by wind and water is called ______________.

Back 33

erosion

Front 34

How is soil formed?

Back 34

Soil is made from weathered and eroded rock.

Soil forms by the weathering and erosion of rocks.
- In weathering, plants and changes in weather cause rocks to break apart.
- In erosion, wind and moving water carry rocks to new places.

Front 35

What would you do to make soil absorb more water?

Back 35

I would add humus to the soil to make it absorb more water.

Front 36

fertilizer

Back 36

Fertilizer is a substance that adds nutrients to soil.

Front 37

bedrock

Back 37

Bedrock the bottom layer of soil.

Bedrock is ...
- mostly soil rock,
- sometimes called "parent rock", and
becomes part of the subsoil and topsoil when it slowly cracks and breaks up.

Front 38

habitat

Back 38

an environment that meets the needs of an organism.

Front 39

humus

Back 39

Humus is ...

- dark colored,
- rotting plant and animal materials found in topsoil.

Front 40

Which soil type best absorbs water?

What type of soil absorbs water best?

Back 40

Soil rich in humus.

Soil with alot of humus has rotting plant and animal matter in it that makes it act like a sponge and absorb more water that sandy soil.

Soil with alot of clay can hold water, but is to
dense for plants roots to get the water. There is less runoff in soil rich in humus.

Front 41

How does soil meet the needs of living things?

Back 41

Soil provides water, air,nutrients and a habitat to meet the basic needs of living things.

-Plants and animals that need little water can live in sandy desert soil.
-Soil high in humus is rich in nutrients and water great for farming.
-Soil high is clay, recycles nutrients quickly.