Basics of the Lithosphere
Step one: Question 1
A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic solid compounds or elements. They are found in all non-living materials such as rocks and soil. They are unique for each element, and have specific chemical composition as well as unique characteristics in crystal structure. There are 3,500 minerals that are known, which make up less than 20%of the earth’s crust.
Question 2
A rock is considered an aggregate of one or more minerals, which is solid and inorganic matter, and there are three types of them classified as igneous, formed from lava, sedimentary, formed as a result of sediments compressing together, and metamorphic, which are from igneous and sedimentary, as a result of heat and pressure.
Question 3
Weathering is the breaking down of rocks because of several factors such as exposure to air, heat, water, wind and pressure. Chemical weathering is brought about by oxidation or hydrolysis, such as water and carbon dioxide, and dissolving of limestone and results to creation caves. On the other hand, physical weathering is the breaking up of rocks into smaller particles, by physical means, such as pressure, and wind.
Question4
Soil is the topmost layer of the earth’s crust, which is a little thin inorganic mineral matter with contents of living thins and organic materials in it. It is composed of inorganic materials, such as silt, sand and clay, which are weathered peaces of rocks and are insoluble mineral materials. It is also composed of water, which comes from precipitation. Air is another component between the particles. It is also composed of organic matter such as decayed organics such as plants and animals, which is referred to as humus.
Question 5
Microorganisms are important in the soil, since they perform the role of decomposing organics such as dead plants and animals. The microorganisms such as the burrowing animals play the role of aerating the soil and mixing it. These organisms are important for maintaining structure, fertility and tilth.
Question 6
Soil texture is the degree of smoothness or roughness of soil particles. It referred to as the property of soil, and it determined by the size of the particle, with sand having the biggest, silt having medium, and clay having the smallest, and too big particles are gravel, and do not qualify as soil.
Question 7
Soil is composed of three mineral particles, which are clay minerals, silt minerals, and sand minerals.
Question 8
A soil in which none of the three oil minerals dominates is referred to as loam soil, which is a balance of the three.
Question 9
Size of the soil particles affects soil in several ways such as ability to hold water, and this affects its drainage with sand draining fast, silt moderate, and clay slowly.
Question 10
Water drains easily in big soil particles, since there is more space for water to pass through unlike smaller particles that will have less space for water to go through.
Question 11
Particles of clay soil are the smallest, with a size of less than 0.002mm, while sand, which has the highest, has a particle size of 0.05mm to 2.0 mm.
Question 12
Humus is decomposed organic matter in the soil that results from the action n of the microorganism on dead plants and animals. Its function is improving the condition of the soil, since it makes it soft and rich, and helps in holding of water. It also has influence on the composition of the soil. The humus is also responsible for adding fertility to the soil since it releases minerals such s nitrogen and phosphorous into the soil.
Question 13
Factors that affect the soil formation include the parent material, how old the soil is since other factors will affect it. In addition, climatic factors affect the soil, where different climatic conditions will affect soil indifferent ways such as a hot and windy place will encourage more weathering than a cold dry place (Sammis, 1996).
Question 14
Erosion as generally known is the carrying away of the top soil, either due to water running on top, wind, all animal activity, hence it is the moving of soil particles from their original place to another. Sedimentation is the moving or transporting of minerals from one place to another, mostly in runoffs by water.
Step two
Step three
| Sample | Hill | Yard | River |
| Location | Blue hill | home | Mississippi |
| Date | 20 June 2011 | 19 June 2011 | 19 June 2011 |
| Color | Red | Black | Brown |
| Interesting observation | Quite sticky | Smooth | Coarse |
| Sample | Hill | Yard | River |
| Remain in ball when squeezed? | yes | A little | No |
| Does soil for a ribbon? | Yes | A little | No |
| How long is your ribbon? | 6 cm long | 1.6 cm long | No ribbon formed |
| Does soil feel very gritty? | No | A little | Yes |
| Does the soil feel smooth? | Yes | A little | No |
| What type of soil is your sample? | Clay | Loam | Sand
|
Question 1
The sample soil from the river contains the biggest particles.
Question 2
The soil from the hill contains the smallest particles
Question 3
The soil sample matched my expectations
Question 4
The color of soil tells about the amount of organic matter contained in the soil. The sample from the hill is red, due to its components of iron oxide. The sample from the yard is blacker due to the components of humus or organic matter. The sample from the river was a little brown and well draining containing some bit of silk and sand (Hewitt & Dexter, 2002).
Question 5
I think the loamy soil contains the most organic matter since there are many plants growing around, a sign of fertility which is brought about by organic matter.
Step 4
| Step | Hill Sample | Yard Sample | River Sample | |
| 1 | After you have dampened and settled the soil and made the first mark, what is the depth from the bottom of the jar to this first mark, in inches | 4 inches | 4 inches | 4 inches |
| 2 | After you have shaken the soil, settled it for 40 seconds, and marked this sand layer, what is the depth of this lower layer, in inches | 0.8 inches | 1.6 inches | 3.6 inches |
| 3 | After you have waited 6 hours and marked the second (silt) layer, what is its depth, in inches (this is the distance between the mark in Step 2 and the one you just made) | 1.2 inches | 1.6 inches | 0.2 inches |
| 4 | What is the distance between the mark you made after 6 hours and the mark you made before you fill the bottle full of water (this is the depth of the clay layer | 2 inches | 0.8 inches | 0.2 inches |
| 5 | Add the depth of the sand layer, silt layer, and clay layer, in inches | 4 inches | 4 inches | 4 inches |
| 6 | Is the result in Step 5 the same as Step 1? If not, review the directions in the website and redo Steps 1 through 5; If equal, proceed to Step 7. | Yes | Yeas | Yes |
| 7 | Calculate the percent of the sample which is sand ((sand depth/soil depth)x100) | 20% | 40% | 90% |
| 8 | Calculate the percent of the sample which is silt ((silt depth/soil depth)x100)
|
30% | 40% | 5% |
| 9 | Calculate the percent of the sample which is clay ((clay depth/soil depth)x100) | 50% | 20& | 5% |
| 10 | Add the percentages of sand, silt, and clay, Steps 7, 8, and 9. This should be 100%; if it is not recheck your calculations. | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| 11 | Use the soil triangle to identify the soil type of each sample (clay, silt, sand, loam, etc.) | clay | Loam | Sand |
| 12 | How closely did the results of this Soil Texture Analysis match the results you got by the “feel method” for each of the samples? We are just learning these techniques, so the results of the two tests may not match precisely. However, your two results should be near each other on the soil triangle. If they are not, you may want to review what you did to look for errors, which may be causing the difference. | The result are matching in the triangle | The results have matched well | The results have matched well |
Question 1
I was surprised by the results of the fourth experiment where all the results matched according to the triangle analysis
Question 2
The most porous soil is the loam, since it balances at the center of the other two, meaning it ability to hold water is balanced, and more so, it is darker, indicating more fertility.
Question 3
The most permeable soil of the tree is the sandy soil, since it lets water pass through quickly, due to its bi spacious particles (Soil Science Education, 2010).
Question 4
The yard sample is the best for gardening, since it ensures a balance of water, and has a lot of humus from the organic matter decomposed in it.
Question 5
Sample from the hill is the best for lining the pond or landfill since it has very small particles that do not allow water to pass easily, hence, it is ideal for this purpose.
Works Cited
Hewitt & Dexter. “Analysis of three-component soil structures.” sciencedirect.com, 21 March 2002. Web. 20 June 2011.
Sammis, Ted. “Soil Texture Analysis.” weather.nmsu.edu, 1996. Web. 20 June 2011.
Soil Science Education. “Texture by feel guide.” soil.gsfc.nasa.gov, 2010. Web. 20 June 2011.
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