Multiple Choice
Identify the
choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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1.
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Soil is a mixture of weathered rock, mineral
fragments, water, air and ____.
a. | sand | c. | moss | b. | decayed organic
matter | d. | clay |
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2.
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The layer of soil that contains the most organic
material is called the ____ horizon.
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3.
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All of the following cause mechanical weathering
EXCEPT ____.
a. | ice | c. | burrowing animals | b. | tree
roots | d. | carbonic acid |
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4.
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Litter often covers the ____ horizon.
a. | A | c. | C | b. | B | d. | all of the above |
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5.
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Chemical weathering is more rapid in a ____
climate.
a. | warm, dry | c. | cold,
dry | b. | warm, wet | d. | cold,
wet |
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6.
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Mechanical weathering is more rapid in a ____
climate.
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7.
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The organic matter in humus is made of
____.
a. | dead worms | c. | roots | b. | plant
stems | d. | all of the above |
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8.
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The rate of weathering depends upon the area's
____.
a. | oxygen | c. | water | b. | climate | d. | soil |
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9.
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The rock and mineral fragments in soil come from
rock that has been ____.
a. | blasted | c. | weathered | b. | carved | d. | chemically
treated |
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10.
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The difference between mechanical and chemical
weathering is ____.
a. | the length of time each takes to break up a
rock | b. | that only chemical weathering involves
water | c. | the way they affect the makeup of a
rock | d. | all of the above |
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11.
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Soils in ____ contain little organic material and
are thin.
a. | tropical areas | c. | prairies | b. | deserts | d. | temperate forests |
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12.
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Plants cannot grow without ____.
a. | rocks | c. | moss | b. | soil | d. | pesticides |
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13.
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____ regions are especially vulnerable to erosion
because their soils are useful to farmers for only a few years before their nutrients are
gone.
a. | Desert | c. | Mountain | b. | Tropical | d. | Prairie |
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14.
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Ice wedging is brought about by ____.
a. | carbonic acid freezing on rocks | c. | water freezing and thawing | b. | water and oxygen reacting | d. | rocks colliding
with each other |
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15.
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Minerals found in the B horizon were dissolved in
water and carried there by a process called ____.
a. | oxidation | c. | weathering | b. | leaching | d. | littering |
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16.
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Oxidation occurs when materials containing ____ are
exposed to oxygen and water.
a. | iron | c. | kaolinite | b. | carbonic
acid | d. | all of the above |
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17.
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In bottomlands where water is plentiful, soil is
often ____.
a. | thin | c. | thick | b. | rocky | d. | light |
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18.
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The B horizon is ____.
a. | rockier than the C horizon | c. | lighter than the A horizon | b. | richer in humus than the A horizon | d. | thinner than the C
horizon |
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19.
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Plants don't grow as well when ____ has been
lost.
a. | clay | c. | parent
rock | b. | topsoil | d. | slope |
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20.
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____ is a factor that affects soil
development.
a. | Time | c. | Type
of rock | b. | Slope | d. | all of the
above |
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21.
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The ____ horizon has smaller rock and mineral
particles than the other layers.
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22.
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Below the C horizon is ____.
a. | topsoil | c. | clay | b. | rock | d. | humus |
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23.
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Mechanical weathering ____.
a. | breaks apart rocks by physical
processes | b. | occurs when chemical reactions dissolve or change the
minerals in rocks | c. | occurs when iron
is exposed to oxygen and water | d. | none of the
above |
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24.
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Chemical weathering ____.
a. | is caused by freezing and
thawing | b. | breaks apart rocks by physical
processes | c. | occurs when chemical reactions dissolve or change the
minerals in rocks | d. | none of
above |
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25.
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In areas where freezing and thawing occur
frequently, rocks weather rapidly because of the ____ of freezing water.
a. | evaporation | c. | leaching | b. | expansion | d. | oxidation |
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26.
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When water mixes with carbon dioxide gas in the air
or soil, ____ forms.
a. | carbonic acid | c. | calcite | b. | lactic
acid | d. | oxygen |
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27.
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Because desert soils contain little organic
material, their soil profiles have ____ horizons.
a. | thick | c. | thin | b. | no | d. | b or c |
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