Quiz 3 Q&A's

Ultisols are formed under the ultimate weathering conditions. Of the 12 soil orders, the ultisols are the most highly weathered. Select one: True False

False

Which of the following categories of Soil Taxonomy provides the greatest specificity of soil properties? Select one: A. series B. suborder C. great group D. family E. order

Series

The B horizon is often thought of as the zone of illuviation. Select one: True False

True

An argillic horizon is a diagnostic horizon characterized by the subsurface accumulation of silicate clays. Select one: True False

True

Andisols are found mostly near recently active volcanoes. Select one: True False

True

Oxisols are more highly weathered than are the soils of any other order. Select one: True False

True

You would be more apt to find a Gelisol in Alaska than in Iowa. Select one: True False

True

Soils in which of the following soil suborders would most likely have a prominent E horizon under the A horizon? Select one: A. Aquepts B. Udolls C. Udalfs D. Orthents E. Ustox

Udalfs

In which of the following processes are space satellites used to collect geographic information about soils? Select one: A. geo-positioning B. horizon designation C. multi-spectral imagery D. profile description E. both A and C

both A and C

A soil developed in transported parent materials will likely have properties related to the properties of the rock below the C horizon. Select one: True False

False

An argillic diagnostic horizon is an example of an epipedon. Select one: True False

False

Soils classified as Inceptisols have the least well developed profiles of those in any order in the Soil Taxonomy system. Select one: True False

False

Soils in the Oxisols order are deeply weathered and have deep subsurface horizons of silicon oxide. Select one: True False

False

Spodosols are generally less acidic and less sandy than are Alfisols. Select one: True False

False

Which of the categories in the Soil Taxonomy system indicates properties that have implications for root growth as well as for the construction of building foundations? Select one: A. subgroup B. great group C. family D. series E. suborder

Family

The nomenclature of Soil Taxonomy is characterized by all but which one of the following statements? Select one: A. The names are based on measurable properties and not on presumed modes of genesis. B. The subgroup name also tells you the great group, suborder, and order names. C. The names give a clear indication of the modes of genesis of the soil. D. Soil names (except for series level) identifies major soil characteristics. E. The names of the orders all end with the letters sols.

The names give a clear indication of the modes of genesis of the soil.

A umbric diagnostic horizon is an example of an epipedon. Select one: True False

True

An aquic soil moisture regime connotes a higher degree of soil moisture saturation than an ustic one. Select one: True False

True

Epipedons are diagnostic surface horizons that are one of the primary means of classifying soils in the United States. Select one: True False

True

Epipedons are diagnostic surface horizons that are one of the primary means of classifying soils in the United States. Select one: True False

True

Examples diagnostic horizons include kandic, spodic, ochric, mollic and oxic. Select one: True False

True

Examples genetic horizons include Ap, E, & Bt. Select one: True False

True

The information in WebSoilSurvey is generally used to ________ when designing a construction project. Select one: A. locate favorable sites B. draw up the design plans for building foundations C. indicate areas that require more intense on-site investigation than others D. replace laborious on-site soil investigation E. both A and C are correct

A and C

Which of the following diagnostic horizons would likely not restrict root growth in soils? Select one: A. petrocalcic B. salic C. fragipan D. albic E. placic

Albic

Which soil moisture regime has the highest soil moisture levels? Select one: A. xeric B. aquic C. aridic D. ustic E. udic

Aquic

Which of the following soil map units consists of the most nearly level land? Select one: A. BeC3 B. CgE2 C. BeC2 D. BeB2 E. CgE

BeB2

Which of the following soil map units consists of the most severely eroded soils? Select one: A. BeC2 B. CgE2 C. CgE D. BeC3 E. BeB2

BeC3

In soils of which great group would you most likely find wide surface cracks during periods of dry weather? Select one: A. Haplustox B. Argiaquolls C. Kandiaquults D. Calciusterts E. Albaqualfs

Calciusterts

Soils in which of the following suborders would be more likely to occur in Minnesota than in Texas? Select one: A. Fluvents B. Cambids C. Usterts D. Udalfs E. Cryolls

Cryolls

In which soil orders would recent alluvium most likely be a common parent material? Select one: A. Aridisols B. Andisols C. Ultisols D. Entisols E. Alfisols

Entisols

A 1:1,000,000 soil survey has a larger scale than a 1:5,000 soil survey. Select one: True False

False

A pedon is a 3 dimensional field unit occupying about 1000 square meters (1 hectare) of land area. Select one: True False

False

A polypedon or individual soil is a group of closely related pedons that conceptually approximates what in the United States is called a soil series. Select one: True False

False

Because soil development is just beginning in Entisols, these soils are generally less variable in properties than are those in the Andisol or Ultisol orders. Select one: True False

False

During the last ice age, glaciation was a major contributor of the parent material that ultimately formed the soils in North Carolina. Select one: True False

False

Epipedons are diagnostic subsurface horizons that are one of the primary means of classifying soils in the United States. Select one: True False

False

Examples diagnostic horizons include Ap, E, & Bt. Select one: True False

False

Examples genetic horizons include kandic, spodic, ochric, mollic and oxic. Select one: True False

False

Except for some kinds of foods, modern industry has made human dependence on soils a thing of the past. Select one: True False

False

For agricultural use in a given region, a soil with an ochric epipedon could generally be expected to be more productive than one with a mollic epipedon. Select one: True False

False

Geographic information about soils addresses primarily changes in field soil properties in the vertical direction but not the horizontal direction. Select one: True False

False

Histosols generally have lower organic matter contents than Mollisols. Select one: True False

False

Oxisols are the soil orders most commonly associated with the Midwestern prairie ecosystem. Select one: True False

False

Soil Taxonomy, the classification system used in the United States, was developed by C. E. Marbut and associates in the 1940s. Select one: True False

False

Subsoil is typically equivalent to the O horizon. Select one: True False

False

The B horizon is the zone where you would expect maximum elluviation. Select one: True False

False

The broadest category of classification in Soil Taxonomy specifies 12 soil orders, 4 of which are for primarily comprised of organic soils Select one: True False

False

The categories of Soil Taxonomy can be listed from the most general (first) and most specific (last) as: order, suborder, great group, subgroup, series, family. Select one: True False

False

The categories of Soil Taxonomy can be listed from the most general (first) to most specific (last) as: order, suborder, great group, subgroup, series, family. Select one: True False

False

Investigating the soils of northern Canada on summer, you dig a soil pit easily though fairly uniform peat material until, at 75 cm deep, your shovel hits a layer that is frozen solid. Into which type of soil are you most likely digging? Select one: A. Cryent B. Fibrist C. Cryert D. Histel E. Histosol

Histel

If the soils are to be used for crop production, for which soil order would land drainage be most critical? Select one: A. Mollisols B. Histosols C. Oxisols D. Inceptisols E. Aridisols

Histosols

Which of the following soil temperature regimes would provide the warmest and least variable soil temperatures? Select one: A. mesic B. isomeric C. thermic D. isohyperthermic E. hyperthermic

Isohyperthermic

If properly interpreted, a colored-keyed soil suborder map made in WebSoilSurvey would be a good source of information for ________. Select one: A. locating a site where a mineral mine could best be established B. locating a home site C. planning a 5-year crop rotation for a farm D. planning areas of future urban expansion in a county E. mapping present land use in a county

Planning areas of future urban expansion in a country

Soil scientists from which country first conceived the idea that soils were natural bodies? Select one: A. Belgium B. United States C. France D. Great Britain E. Russia

Russia

The map units on a detailed soil map in a county soil survey report are most likely to be labeled with names from which category of Soil Taxonomy? Select one: A. subgroup B. order C. suborder D. great group E. series

Series

Soils in this order are commonly sandy in texture, quite acidic and develop primarily under coniferous trees in cool to cold climates. Select one: A. Ultisols B. Andisols C. Mollisols D. Spodosols E. Alfisols

Spodosols

Human influence on the formation of soils, such as many urban soils, is highlighted at what level in Soil Taxonomy? Select one: A. Subgroup B. Great Group C. Family D. Order E. Suborder

Subgroup

A 1:5,000 soil survey covers a smaller area with more detail than a 1:1,000,000 soil survey. Select one: True False

True

A soil developed in residual parent materials will likely have properties related to the properties of the rock below the C horizon. Select one: True False

True

Modern county soil survey reports provide information on the suitability of soils for construction of such projects as sewage lagoons, roads and streets, and septic tank drainage fields. Select one: True False

True

Mollisols are characterized by a deep epipedon that is high in organic matter. Select one: True False

True

Organic matter distribution in the profile is a significant criterion for differentiating epipedons. Select one: True False

True

Soils in the Oxisols order are deeply weathered and have deep subsurface horizons of iron and/or aluminum oxide. Select one: True False

True

The B horizon is the zone where you would expect maximum illuviation. Select one: True False

True

The broadest category of classification in Soil Taxonomy specifies 12 soil orders, 11 of which are for mineral soils. Select one: True False

True

The broadest category of classification in Soil Taxonomy specifies 12 soil orders. One order describes frozen soils. One order describes organic soils. The remaining 10 orders describe mineral soils. Select one: True False

True

The family category focuses on properties affecting plant roots and suitability for engineering uses of soils. Select one: True False

True

The family category focuses on properties affecting plant roots and suitability for engineering uses of soils. Select one: True False

True

The name of a subgroup indicates the order, suborder, and great group of which it is a member. Select one: True False

True

The soil and a soil are two extremes in the concept of soils that is basic to most classification schemes. Select one: True False

True

The two most significant characteristics of the classification system used in the United States are a unique system of terminology and focus on measurable soil properties as a primary basis for the classification. Select one: True False

True

The two most significant characteristics of the classification system used in the United States are a unique system of terminology and focus on measurable soil properties as a primary basis for the classification. Select one: True False

True

Vertisols are characterized by high contents of swelling-type silicate clays. Select one: True False

True

Vertisols are characterized by high contents of swelling-type silicate clays. Select one: True False

True

You are seeking a soil with high clay content but one that is not sticky when wet nor hard and cloddy when dry. In which of the following suborders would you most likely find this soil? Select one: A. Cambids B. Aquands C. Ustox D. Ustalfs E. Udert

Ustox

A soil pedon is ________. Select one: A. a surface horizon used to characterize soil suborders and great groups B. a diagnostic subsurface horizon prominent in arid regions and in sandy parent materials C. generally larger in area than a polypedon D. a category of Soil Taxonomy E. a three-dimensional unit that embodies the primary characteristics of an individual soil

a three-dimensional unit that embodies the primary characteristics of an individual soil

Argillic horizons are characterized by ________. Select one: A. organic matter accumulation B. high levels of iron and aluminum oxides C. high level of Na+ ions D. impervious hardpan layers E. accumulation of silicate clays

accumulation of silicate clays

Which of the following describes a soil likely to contain a significant content of low activity clays? Select one: A. an Alfisol in New York B. an Inceptisol in Mississippi C. a Mollisols in Central Brazil D. an Ultisol in the Congo River basin in Africa E. an Oxisol in Minnesota

an Ultisol in the Congo River basin in Africa

In which of the following epipedons is the organic matter level generally lowest? Select one: A. histic B. melanic C. mollic D. ochric E. umbric

ochre

Highly trained soil scientists generally map a soil landscape by sampling the soil in ________. Select one: A. a computer-calculated pattern of random points B. series of bore holes concentrated near expected soil boundaries C. four soil pits, one dug in each corner of the area to be mapped D. predetermined a grid-like geometric pattern of evenly spaced points E. A and D

series of bore holes concentrated near expected soil boundaries