SOIL SCIENCE EXAM #1 STUDY GUIDE
*** NOTE: This is intended to guide your
studies. The text book also contains important information that relates
to these issues.***
This page was last revised on 20 February 2006.
Dr. Elifrits' Study
Questions
1. Be able to discuss in detail with facts,
sketches, and well developed thoughts these topics:
a. soil texture
b. soil structure
c. formation of soil with respect to
topographic location on a bed rock terrain
d. organic matter humus
e. particle size distributions that lead
to the identification of some common soils, e.g., silty clay, sandy clay, loam,
organic silt . . .
f. “pans” in a soil profile
g. soil profile
h soil horizon concept
2. Describe/discuss the
general concepts of soil formation from bedrock terrain.
3. Contrast/compare
alluvial, colluvial, and residual soils.
4. A remediation
contractor has a site that is composed of residual soils covering a limestone
and shale bedrock unit as their parent material. The topography is gently
rolling with slopes up to 12% in steepness. A thin layer of loess covers
these residual soils.
a. What
precautions must be taken during excavations and landscaping work as the site
is restored to a cover plan that will support a diverse wildlife population?
5. Describe what you
believe would be the typical soil profile found in the uplands of the site
described in item 4.
6. A soil sample was sorted
by particle size providing the following data:
25% passed the 0.002mm sieve,
45% passed the 0.05mm
sieve,
85% passed the 2.0mm
sieve, and
100% passed the No. 2
sieve.
How would you describe this soil and
what would you call it in the general set of terms (e.g., sandy, silty, clayey,
loamy . . . . .clay, silt, loam . . . )
7. See question 10.,
page 133 – It presents many possibilities as does question 7, page 132.
8. A soil report from
the mapping the soil exposed in a trench wall contains the following data:
(Site is in gently rolling terrain, 2 to 4% slopes, upland setting.)
Unit
Depth Soil/material
descriptions
I 0 - 2
inches Grassy duff with root zone, mostly
organic in a clayey, silty matrix, estimated to be 70% organic, apparent
dominant plant is a sod forming cool season grass, possibly Kentucky 31 fescue
II
2 - 8 inches
Silty loam with roots, no apparent structure, dark brown to black in color,
loose and workable
III 8
- 16 inches Clayey loam, subdued blocky structure,
medium brown to dark yellow in color, forms two inch-long ribbons when worked
with the fingers, few remnant rocks that appear to be from the parent material,
soil appears to have been reworked with a bit of a platy zone at the top
beneath the unit II
IV 16
- 22 inches Silty loam with preserved roots
similar to the 2 - 8 inch depth, little other organic materials, dark brown to
black in color, base of the ruminant root zone is compact and hard with platy
structure approximately three inches thick that appears to be a pan structure,
a bit of a platy zone at the top beneath the unit III
V
22 - 48 inches
Silty, sandy, clay soil, wet and no well developed structure, few remnant rocks
from the parent material near the base, medium brown to dark yellow in color,
stands in nice vertical side of trench, no evidence of roots
VI 48 - 60
inches Sandy, clayey matrix in weathered
rock, generally 50 to 60% rock fragments from the underlying parent material of
inter-bedded shale and limestone, reasonably open and releases water into the
trench
RX 60
inches
Trench total depth on reasonably firm limestone member of the parent material,
dark gray, reacts with dilute hydrochloric acid but leaves gritty residue from
the solution process
a. What can you suggest
about the history of the site?
b. If a spill of a liquid that is denser than water were to
occur from an overtured tank car along the adjacent railroad line, where would
you look to find any infiltrated contaminant? Why?
c. In this site’s land use history, what does the pan-like
structure nominally at the 19 to 22 inch depth suggest? Why?
d. If you were to use excavate through
this soil, which unit(s) would pose the most difficulty in controlling off-site
deposition of erosion products?
Dr. Sproat's Study
Questions
Ch. 1: Soil
Profiles and Their Layers
1. Be able to describe and apply the following concepts to soil science:
a. atmosphere
b. lithosphere
c. hydrosphere
d. biosphere
2. Be able to explain and use the concepts of soil horizons, including
the abiotic and biotic constituents of each horizon.
Ch. 2: Factors in Soil Formation
1. Be able to explain the process of weathering as it applies to soil
science.
2. Detail each of the factors involved in soil formation involving
biological, geological, & meteorological processes:
a. climate
b. organisms
c. relief
d. parent material
e. time
Ch. 3: Soil Classification
1. Be able to describe and apply the concepts of classifying soil,
including:
a. the units that identify soil areas
b. the soil classification system (e.g.:
orders versus soil series)
2. You should understand the basics of the six orders found in the Great Lakes
and Southeast United States. Including:
a. the sequence of orders in temporal sequence for the soil
formation and key features of the soil order.
b. climatic effects on the soil orders
Ch. 3: Soil Mapping
1. Be able to explain and apply how the position on the landscape will
effect
a. soil forming factors (clorpt)
b. soil taxonomy (order and soil series)
2. Be able to describe and interpret:
a. the functions of soil mapping
b. the two different types of soil maps
3. Using a topographic map, be able to:
a. properly orient the map
b. identify and use the map scale (e.g.: distances,
areas)
c. identify some other key topographic symbols
4. Using a soil survey manual (or information supplied from one), be able
to:
a. locate a specific area of interest in the survey area
b. identify the general soil associations and soil series,
including their:
i) soil description
ii) soil suitability for various
situations