Question- Name the various components of soil.

A little of soil is stirred with water in a beaker and

allowed to stand which component of soil will float on the surface of water?

Answer- The various components of soil are- rock particles ,minerals, humus ,air ,water and living
organisms. When a little soil is stirred with water in a beaker and allowed to stand the humus floats on
surface of water, since humus is lighter than water.

Question- What happens when a test tube full of water is poured on (a)cemented floor (b) on soil in a
flower pot?

Answer- When water from test tube is poured on the cemented floor we will find that it starts flowing
but it is not absorbed by the cemented floor.

When water is poured on the soil kept in a flower pot then we will see that the soil absorbs the water
quite rapidly.

Question- State the important properties of soil.

Answer- important properties of soil are-

i- SoiI contains air.

ii- Soil contains water.

iii- Soil can absorb water

iv- Soil allows water to percolate.

Question- How is loamy soil very useful for the crops?

Answer- Loamy soil is a mixture of sand, clay, silt and humus in right proportions. Loamy soil is a mixture
of large and small rock particles which impart it the desired properties. Loamy soil contains sufficient
amount of humus. So Loamy soil has all the necessary nutrients for the growth of plants. Loamy soil is
the most fertile and the best soil for growing crops.

Question- Explain why, the soil covered by vegetation is not eroded easily but the bare soil is eroded
easily.

Answer- If there is vegetation on land then the roots of vegetation growing in the soil bind the particles
of top soil firmly. Due to the binding of soil particles by the roots of trees and plants the blowing wind
and flowing rainwater are not able to carry away top soil and hence soil erosion does not occur. On the
other hand the soil not covered by vegetation, is easily eroded because there are no roots of trees and
plants in it which can bind the soil particles together and prevent them from being carried away by
strong winds or flowing rainwater.

Question- What are the various ways in which soil erosion can be prevented?

Answer- The various ways of preventing soil erosion are-

i- Soil erosion can be prevented by preventing large scale cutting down of forest trees
ii- Soil erosion can be prevented by aforestation .

iii- Soil erosion can be prevented by increasing the green cover (vegetation) around us by planting more
trees and plants ourselves.

Question- Explain why there is growing demand to ban polythene bags and plastics?

Answer- There is a growing demand to ban polythene and plastic bags because they cause soil pollution
and may also kill the living organisms if they eat these polythene bags with food items.

Question- What is soil? How is soil formed? Describe an activity to show that soil contains water.

Answer- Soil is a dark brown solid material which is a mixture of rock particles of various sizes and
decayed plant and animal matter called humus. Soil is formed from rocks by process of weathering. In
weathering rocks are broken down very slowly by the action of Sun's heat, wind, rain, and flowing water,
to form tiny rock particles. These tiny rock particles then mixed up with humus to form fertil soil. To
show

that soil contains water we take some dry soil in a hard glass beaker and cover it with a lid. Heat the
beaker by using a burner. We will see that tiny drops of water are formed on the inner side of the lid
this shows that even the soil which appears to be dry to us contains some water.

Question- What is meant by soil erosion? State the cause of soil erosion. What are the effects of soil
erosion?

Answer- The removal of fertile top soil from land by wind or water is called soil erosion. Soil erosion is
caused mainly by the large scale cutting down of forest trees and other plants. A large number of forest
trees are cut down every day for obtaining wood for burning as fire wood, for building purposes and for
other purposes. Effects of soil erosion are;

i- Soil erosion can turn lush green forests into deserts and spoil the environment

ii- Soil erosion can lead to famines

iii- Soil erosion can cause floods.