1. Schimmel
Soil Study Guide
Soil is loose material that covers much of the Earth’s surface.
Soil is made up of bits of rock, minerals, and material that was part of once living things.
Soil forms when rocks are weathered.
Humus
Humus is decayed remains of plants and animals.
Humus has lots of nutrients in it which makes it easy for plants to grow.
Large amounts of humus are found in forests.
Soil Layers
Topsoil
Top layer
Plants grow best here
Large amounts of humus
Subsoil
Bottom layer of soil
Contains little humus
Contains small pieces of rock
Bedrock
Solid unweathered rock
Below the subsoil

2. If you had a jar full of the 3 types of soil
Sandy Soil
Largest particles
Water passes through it easily
Silt Soil
Particles are smaller than sandy soil, but larger than clay soil.
Clay Soil
Smallest particles
Water does not pass through it easily
Soaks water like a sponge
If you had a jar full of the 3 types of soil
Sandy soil would be at the bottom because the particles are bigger and water passes through them easily.
Silt would be in the middle because the particles are smaller than sandy soil but larger than clay soil.
Clay soil would settle last because the particles are so small they fall very slowly.
Relative soil particle sizes
SAND
CLAY
SILT .
Invisible at this scale