AGRY/NRES 38500 Worksheet #2

Clay Minerals, Organic Matter, & Acid-Base Dissociation Review

Due: Monday 9/19/22 Submit through Bright Space
Submit as a pdf file: You can write your responses in a WORD file and save as a pdf OR
by scanning a hard copy through a phone app into a single pdf file.

PART I. Soil Organic Matter

1. List three reasons why humic substances are important in soils with at least one specifically
related to how a contaminant may interact with soil.

2. Humic substances are classified into 3 subclasses. Answer the following with the
most appropriate subclass (fulvic acid, humic acid, or humin).

(a) Mid-range molecular weight? ____________________________________

(b) Most persistent (hardest to degrade)? _____________________________
(c) Soluble in acid and alkaline solutions ____________________________
(d) Soluble in alkaline solutions, but NOT in acid _____________________
(e) Highest degree of polymerization __________________________________
(f) Highest oxygen content _______________________________________
(g) Highest cation exchange capacity _________________________________

PART II. Soil Minerals

A B

3. Which of the above molecules would be found in the tetrahedral sheet? ________

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 AGRY/NRES 385; Lab Worksheet: Clay Minerals, SOM, and pH-pKa

4. (a) Explain the difference between a 1:1 clay and a 2:1 clay using the terms
tetrahedral sheet and octahedral sheet.

(b) Give 2 distinct chemical properties of each of these two types of minerals.

5. Using the diagram to the right and assuming that the

small blue (or darker for BW print) spheres represent
Al3+ while the larger green spheres represent OH-,
explain whether or not charge neutrality is preserved
for the atoms in the circle.

6. What is the name of the mineral depicted below and is it a 1:1 or 2:1 clay?

7. If you were to substitute Si4+ with Al3+, what would be the net charge of the clay mineral as a
result of this isomorphic substitution?

8. What are the two most important factors contributing to the high reactivity of clays?

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 AGRY/NRES 385; Lab Worksheet: Clay Minerals, SOM, and pH-pKa

9. Fill in the table by responding to the property denoted in column 1 (and note parenthetical
phrase, e.g., yes/no/NA, range, etc.)

Property Kaolinite Illite Vermiculite Montmorillonite Soil Organic

Matter
(Humus)
Surface area (low,
moderate, high or very high)
Cation exchange capacity
(representative range)
Tetrahedral to octahedral
sheet ratio (yes/no/NA)
High shrink/swell capacity
(yes/no/NA)
Fixes K+ (yes/no/NA)

PART III. pKa and the pH-pKa relationship

10. (a) Define pKa (e.g., definition analogous to pH)

(b) Write the equation for Ka of a generic acid compound ‘HA’ given the following
reaction:
-
HA ⇔ A + H+

(c) Assume that the acid HA in (b) above has a pKa of 7.5, calculate the amount of HA that
will exist as an anion at pH = 8 (a pH not unusual of rivers).

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 AGRY/NRES 385; Lab Worksheet: Clay Minerals, SOM, and pH-pKa

11. Assume a HA as described in 16 above (pKa = 7.5) is a pesticide that has a very
high affinity for soil when in its neutral form (i.e., protonated as HA versus A-)
and thus is unlikely to leach to the groundwater in most agricultural settings where
the typical pH range a healthy agricultural soil is 6-7. However, as an anion (A-)
it has a much higher affinity to be in the water phase. Assuming that this pesticide
is toxic to many fish species, should there be concern regarding fish livelihood in
a nearby river from soil runoff after a heavy rain storm event? Why?

12. For an organic base BH+ ⇔ B + H+ with a pKa = 5.5 :

(a) What fraction of the compound would exist as a cation at pH = 6.5?

(b) How would this fraction change if the soil pH decreased over time because of
poor management practices?