Chapter 4

Soil Science and Biochemistry

(I) Soil Science

Quest.The fine earth covering land surface acts as a reservoir of nutrients and water
Ans.Soil
Quest.The word ‘Soil’ is derived from
Ans.Latin
Quest.Study of origin, classification, morphology of soil is known as
Ans.Pedology
Quest.The study of soils in relation to crop growth.
Ans.Edaphology
Quest.The father of Soil Science
Ans.Dokuchalev
Quest.The concentration of soil water in soil
Ans.50%
Quest.Organic matter content in Indian soil is
Ans.5 %
Quest.Natural soil aggregates/mass are known as
Ans.Peds
Quest.The science describes rocks
Ans.Petrology
Quest.Granite and Basalt are
Ans.Igneous rocks
Quest.Lime stone, Sand stone and Dolomite are
Ans.Sedimentary rocks

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Quest.Gneiss, Marble, Quartzite and Slate are
Ans.Metamorphic rocks
Quest.The rocks gets broken in pieces due to temperature is called
Ans.Exfoliation
Quest.Feldspar, Quartz and Mica are
Ans.Primary minerals
Quest.Kaolinite, Halloysite and Dickite are
Ans.1:1 type silicate clay minerals
Quest.The example of 2 : 1 type silicate clay minerals are
Ans.Montmorillonite, Vermiculite and Illite
Quest.Chlorite is
Ans.2:1:1 or 2:2 type clay mineral
Quest.The most dominant mineral on earth crust
Ans.Feldspar (48%)
Quest.The weathering mineral, having most stable soil structure
Ans.Kaolinite
Quest.Which mineral is a source of phosphorus and boron in soils?
Ans.Apetite
Quest.The hydroxide act as cementing agent in binding the soil particles together
Ans.Fe and Al
Quest.A vertical section of soil through all its horizons
Ans.Soil Profile
Quest.Which horizon is called Fertile zone?
Ans.‘A’ horizon
Quest.The horizon absent in arable land
Ans.‘O’ horizon
Quest.The eluviation horizon is
Ans.‘E or A2’ horizon
Quest.The illuviation horizon is
Ans.‘B’ horizon

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Quest.A+B horizons are collectively called as
Ans.Solum
Quest.A+B+C horizons together called as
Ans.Regolith
Quest.The formulae of bulk density of soil
Ans.BD (g/cc) =

Quest.Bulk density of normal soil is

Ans.1-1.6 g/cc
Quest.The formulae of particle density of soil
Ans.PD (g/cc) =

Quest.Widely accepted fixed value of particle density is

Ans.2.65 g/cc
Quest.The soil having PD 2.50 g/cc and BD 1.25 g/cc will have _____ % porosity.
Ans.50
Quest.A field soil sample weighing 60 g, lost12 g on over dying. What is the moisture percent
on dry weight basis?
Ans.25%
Quest.The weight of one hectare of surface soil (O-15 cm) in kilograms
Ans.2.24×106 kg/ha
Quest.The arrangement of primary particles of soil
Ans.Soil structure
Quest.The relative proportion of sand, silt and clay is termed as
Ans.Soil texture
Quest.The best agricultural soil structure is
Ans.Crumby/Spheroidal
Quest.Soil structure proving less porosity in soil
Ans.Platy
Quest.The best agricultural texture is
Ans.Loam

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Quest.NBSS and LUP centre is located at
Ans.Nagpur
Quest.Commonly followed soil particle classified in India is
Ans.International Society of Soil Science (ISSS)
Quest.According to IISS, the particle size of course sand
Ans.2 - 0.2 mm
Quest.The particle size of fine sand
Ans.0.2 -0.02 mm
Quest.The particle size of silt
Ans.0.02 – 0.002
Quest.The particle size of clay
Ans.< 0.002
Quest.The maximum pore space are found in
Ans.Clay soil
Quest.Soil colour is determined by
Ans.Munsell Colour chart
Quest.It is the relative purity or strength of the spectral colour.
Ans.Chroma
Quest.The capacity of the soil to change its shape under moist conditions
Ans.Soil Plasticity
Quest.The attraction of solid surface for water molecules is called as
Ans.Adhesion
Quest.The density of soil water is maximum at
Ans.4°C
Quest.The surface tension of water is at 25°C
Ans.72.7 dyne/cm2
Quest.Solution whose strength or concentration is accurately known is termed as
Ans.Standard solution

Quest.Water held between 1/3rd and 15 atm

Ans.Available water

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Quest.The process by which ions are taken into plant roots
Ans.Absorption
Quest.The range of usefulness of tensiometer is between
Ans.0.0-0.8 bar
Quest.Mechanical analysis of soil is estimated by
Ans.Stock’s law

Quest.The negative logarithm of H+ ion concentration

Ans.Soil pH
Quest.The pH value varies from
Ans.0 to 14.00
Quest.The C : N ratio of the soil are fairly constant between
Ans.10 : 1 to 12 : 1
Quest.The C/N ratio in the organic matter of furrow slice (upper 15 cm) of arable soils
commonly ranges from
Ans.8:1 to 15:1
Quest.The smell of soil after fresh shower is due to
Ans.Actinomycetes.
Quest.The most dominant soil order of India
Ans.Entisol
Quest.Black soil belongs the soil order
Ans.Vertisol
Quest.The soil having more than 30% organic matter is placed in
Ans.Histosol
Quest.The most important soil group of India
Ans.Alluvial Soils
Quest.Newly formed alluvial soil is called
Ans.Khadar
Quest.Which micro-nutrient is most deficient in Indo-Gangatic alluvium soils?
Ans.Zinc
Quest.Black soil contains the clay mineral

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