Soils

Saraswati Vidya Niketan

Integrated Science

Name: Form:

Instruction: Answer all questions. Time: 30 minutes

1. Determine which type of weathering is described below: (4 marks)

(i) Temperature changes causes gradual expansion and contraction of rocks resulting in soil formation.
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(ii) Water dissolves minerals in rocks causing rocks to gradually breakdown.

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(iii) Plant roots penetrate and break apart rocks into smaller particles.
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(iv) Carbonic acid reacts with limestone rocks forming sink holes.
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(v) Wind carries rock particles which collide with other rock surfaces
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2. (a) Describe briefly how the following factors affect soil fertility: (4 marks)
(i) Air space
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(ii) pH
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(b) Distinguish between monocropping and crop rotation. (2 marks)

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(c) Why is monocropping considered to be a bad farming practice? (1 mark)

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Soils
3. Erosion is the removal of the topsoil.
(a) Name two agents of erosion. (2 marks)
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(b) Describe briefly how the following methods help to prevent soil erosion: (4 marks)
(i) Terracing
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(ii) Mulching
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4. Suzie’s kitchen garden has a rich humus content and she usually gets a high yield of produce from her plants.
(a) What is humus? How is it formed? (2 marks)
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(b) Besides increasing soil fertility, what is another benefit of adding humus to soils? (1 mark)
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(c) Suzie usually digs and harrows her soil on a weekly basis and usually finds a large number of different soil
organisms in it.
(i) List FOUR soil organisms which Suzie would most likely find in her soil. (2 marks)
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(ii) Do you think that soil organisms are beneficial for Suzie’s kitchen garden? Give one reason for your
answer with the use of examples from the list above in question 4(c) (i). (2 mark)
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