Layers of Soil

Layers of Soil

SAND

Sand Dunes

Clay

Where do they come from?

Turn and talk with your partner.

Top Soil

Clay Soil: is made up of very small, tightly packed particles. (Water drains Slowly) (Smallest Particles)

Looking at the representation shown below, what can be stated about loam?

Sand: Particles are large and very hard. (Water passes through this soil very EASILY)

(Largest Particles)

Why do you think the water passes through this soil the easiest?

The top layer of soil is called topsoil.

Rich Topsoil contains a lot of humus. The particles, of pieces, that make up topsoil are dark and small.

Plants grow best in topsoil.

Clay

Loam

Sand

Would vegetables grow well in this type of soil?

Why or why not?

Mr. Tran has decided to plant a garden. His garden will include carrots, potatoes, lettuce and corn.

What type of soil would Mr. Tran need to use for his garden? Why?

What can this picture tell us about the particle size of sand, clay and loam?

a. loam particles are bigger than clay particles.

b. loam particles are bigger than sand particles.

c. loam particles are smaller than clay particles.

d. loam is a mixture of clay and sand particles.

Explain how particles of sand are different from particles of clay.

Bedrock

Subsoil

Types of Soil

3 main types of soil

-Sand

-Loam

-Clay

What is Erosion?

DA PRACTICE

Erosion: Water and transport moves the sediments downhill to another place.

What caused the hole underneath the gutter?

The solid rock that lies below the lowest layer of soil is bedrock.

Some of the materials in the soil above may have come from the bedrock.

The bottom layer of soil, called subsoil, contains little humus.

The soil particles are larger and lighter in color that in topsoil.

Subsoil also contains small pieces of rock.

What is Weathering?

Clay

Loam

Sand

What do you notice about this picture?

Loam

Clay

Sand

Weathering: Breaking up or wearing away of rock.

1. Which soil held the most water?

A. Loam

B. Sand

C. Clay

2. Which soil held the least amount of water?

A. Loam

B. Sand

C. Clay

Loam

What's in Soil?

a soil that has equal parts of sand and clay.

Particles are medium!

What is Soil?

Soil is made up of bits of rock, minerals, and material that were once part of living things.

This soil is very similar to top soil.

Used mostly as soil for plants.

It has the most nutrients!

Soil is formed from rock that has been weathered over thousands of years.

Different soils have different properties, such as texture, particle size, materials and color.