25 Multiple Choice Questions on Fundamental of Soil Sciences | SOIL 2124, Exams of Agricultural engineering

Download 25 Multiple Choice Questions on Fundamental of Soil Sciences | SOIL 2124 and more Exams Agricultural engineering in PDF only on Docsity! SOIL 2124 Fall 2002 EXAM 2-A Pg. 1 Exam 2 Fundamental of Soil Science SOIL 2124 2 October 2002 Multiple Choice (2 pts each) 1. On an abandoned playground no grass is growing under the area where the swing set had been. If you sampled the area under the swing set and the grassy area near the swing what would you expect to find regarding the pore volume and pore size distribution? a. The area under swing set would have a greater pore volume and greater percentage of macropores than grassed the area. b. The grassed area would have a greater pore volu me and greater percentage of macropores than under the swing set. c. The grassed area would have a smaller pore volume but a greater percentage of macropores than under the swing set. d. The grassed area would have a smaller pore volume and smaller percentage of macropores than under the swing set. 2. The Standard Proctor Test provides . a. an estimate of the energy needed by a tractor to pull a tillage implement b. the maximum bulk density and optimal water content for compacting a soil c. the minimum bulk density and optimal water content for compacting a soil d. the sheer strength of a soil 3. Saturated hydraulic flow (Ksat) in a clay loam soil is slower than a corresponding sandy loam soil. This is primarily a result of . a. smaller pore volume and more macropores in the clay loam soil b. larger pore volume and more macropores in the clay loam soil c. smaller pore volume and less macropores in the clay loam soil d. larger pore volume and less macropores in the clay loam soil 4. Which of the following groups of management practices will have the greatest positive effect on the maintaining soil structure? a. Mulching the soil surface with a legume, adding gypsum and rototilling them into the soil. b. Mulching the soil surface with a legume, adding sodium carbonate and rototilling them into the soil. c. Adding gypsum and no-till production d. Mulching the soil surface with a legume, adding gypsum and no-tilling them. 5. For unsaturated soils in temperate climates like Oklahoma, the primary driving force(s) for water movement with in the soil profile is (are) . a. gravity and evaporation b. adhesion and cohesion c. evaporation d. evapotranspiration 6. At any specified water potential, which rank of soil textures would have the greatest volumetric water content? a. clay loam>sandy loam>silt loam b. clay loam> silt loam> sandy loam c. sandy loam> clay loam>silt loam d. silt loam>sandy loam> clay loam SOIL 2124 Fall 2002 EXAM 2-A Pg. 2 7. The field capacity is a descriptive term for bonding of water to a soil particle (or filling a soil pore if you prefer). At this point . a. all of the micropores have drained leaving the macropores filled with water b. the force of gravity exceeds the forces of adhesion and cohesion c. the forces combined forces of adhesion and cohesion are equal to the force of gravity d. the pores are saturated and cannot hold any more water 8. A cost effective and accurate method to measure the amount of plant available water in soil is . a. time domain reflectometry b. neutron probe c. tensiometer d. gravimetric water content 9. Which soil texture would typically have the greatest amount of plant available water (PAW)? a. Clay loam b. Silt loam c. Sandy loam d. Cannot determine from the limited information. 10. Approximately what percentage of the solar radiation that reaches the earth’s atmosphere actually heats the soil surface? a. 10 b. 5 c. 50 d. 25 11. As we go into autumn, air temperatures continue to decrease on average which of the following is the most likely scenario for a soil containing 5% soil organic matter (SOM) and one containing 1% SOM. a. The soil 5% SOM will cool down more rapidly because it contains more water that the 1% SOM soil. b. The soil 1% SOM will cool down more rapidly because it contains more water that the 5% SOM soil. c. The soil 5% SOM will cool down more slowly because it contains more water that the 1% SOM soil. d. The soil 1% SOM will cool down more slowly because it contains more water that the 5% SOM soil. 12. What are three types of water movement through the soil? a. Vapor, passive, and active b. Unsaturated, saturated, and vapor c. Saturated, active, and vapor d. Unsaturated, saturated, and passive 13. Why can the specific heat capacity of soil minerals be estimated at 0.2 cal g -1 °C-1? a. Most soil minerals are composed of similar mineral composition. b. Due to the angle of incident solar radiation in the northern hemisphere. c. Most soil minerals have a similar amount of soil organic matter. d. Because most of the heat adsorption is due to water in the soil. 14. Plants that living in coastal marshes will be exposed to water with high salt contents. In situations of high salt content how would they get water from the soil as a survival mechanism? a. root ext ension b. matrix absorption c. passive absorption d. active absorption