SWS3022 Exam Questions and
Answers 100% Pass
Dimensions of the Earth? - ✔✔D=8,000 C=25,000
What is soil? - ✔✔the upper layer of earth in which plants grow, a black or dark brown
material typically consisting of a mixture of organic remains, clay, and rock particles.
The parameters related to soil composition for an idealized surface soil? - ✔✔50% -Solid
50%-Pore Space
45%-Mineral
5%-organic matter
Basic functions of soil in the environment? - ✔✔1. Medium for plant growth
2.Regulator of water supplies
3. Recycler of raw materials
4. Habitat for soil organisms
5. Landscaping and engineering medium.
Katelyn Whitman, All Rights Reserved © 2025 1
,The 4 basic processes involved in soil formation? - ✔✔1. Transformations
2. Translocation
3. Additions
4. Losses
Examples of Transformation - ✔✔Weathering of Rocks and Minerals.
Physical:changing the size and shape of rocks or mineral particles
Chemicalaltering a mineral particle's chemical composition(Synthesis/reorganization.
Examples of Translocation - ✔✔Movement of soil constituents (organic or mineral)
within the profile and/or between horizons.
Examples of Additions - ✔✔Materials added to the soil, such as decomposing
vegetation and organisms (organic matter--OM), or new mineral materials deposited by
wind or water.
Examples of Losses - ✔✔Through the movement of wind or water, or uptake by plants,
soil particles (sand, silt, clay, and OM) or chemical compounds can be eroded, leached,
or harvested from the soil, altering the chemical and physical makeup of the soil.
The Basics of Weathering - ✔✔Physical: Reduce size, increase surface area. (Freezing
and thawing)
Chemical: Chemical Alteration Reorganization.(Hydration, Acids, hydrolysis.)
Katelyn Whitman, All Rights Reserved © 2025 2
, 5 Soil Forming Factors - ✔✔Parent Material, Climate, Organism, Relief(Topography)
and Time.
Parent Material - ✔✔Original Material
Climate - ✔✔Temperature, Moisture
Organism/biota - ✔✔Vegetation, Insects, Microbes
Relief(Topography) - ✔✔Altitude, Slope
Time - ✔✔Controls extent of other factors.
Florida's Parent Material - ✔✔Marine and Alluvial Sediments
Origin of sediments that formed the parent material for Florida's soils - ✔✔Appalachian
Mountains
How temperature and Rainfall impact soil formation? - ✔✔High temperatures and
rainfall accelerate soil formation
Why soils in Florida tend to be more highly developed than soils in the S.W United
States? - ✔✔Heat and rain fall.
What is pedogensis? - ✔✔The process of soil formation as the result of the
combination of soil forming factors and processes.
What are Soil Horizons? - ✔✔Roughly parallel layers in the soil
Katelyn Whitman, All Rights Reserved © 2025 3
Answers 100% Pass
Dimensions of the Earth? - ✔✔D=8,000 C=25,000
What is soil? - ✔✔the upper layer of earth in which plants grow, a black or dark brown
material typically consisting of a mixture of organic remains, clay, and rock particles.
The parameters related to soil composition for an idealized surface soil? - ✔✔50% -Solid
50%-Pore Space
45%-Mineral
5%-organic matter
Basic functions of soil in the environment? - ✔✔1. Medium for plant growth
2.Regulator of water supplies
3. Recycler of raw materials
4. Habitat for soil organisms
5. Landscaping and engineering medium.
Katelyn Whitman, All Rights Reserved © 2025 1
,The 4 basic processes involved in soil formation? - ✔✔1. Transformations
2. Translocation
3. Additions
4. Losses
Examples of Transformation - ✔✔Weathering of Rocks and Minerals.
Physical:changing the size and shape of rocks or mineral particles
Chemicalaltering a mineral particle's chemical composition(Synthesis/reorganization.
Examples of Translocation - ✔✔Movement of soil constituents (organic or mineral)
within the profile and/or between horizons.
Examples of Additions - ✔✔Materials added to the soil, such as decomposing
vegetation and organisms (organic matter--OM), or new mineral materials deposited by
wind or water.
Examples of Losses - ✔✔Through the movement of wind or water, or uptake by plants,
soil particles (sand, silt, clay, and OM) or chemical compounds can be eroded, leached,
or harvested from the soil, altering the chemical and physical makeup of the soil.
The Basics of Weathering - ✔✔Physical: Reduce size, increase surface area. (Freezing
and thawing)
Chemical: Chemical Alteration Reorganization.(Hydration, Acids, hydrolysis.)
Katelyn Whitman, All Rights Reserved © 2025 2
, 5 Soil Forming Factors - ✔✔Parent Material, Climate, Organism, Relief(Topography)
and Time.
Parent Material - ✔✔Original Material
Climate - ✔✔Temperature, Moisture
Organism/biota - ✔✔Vegetation, Insects, Microbes
Relief(Topography) - ✔✔Altitude, Slope
Time - ✔✔Controls extent of other factors.
Florida's Parent Material - ✔✔Marine and Alluvial Sediments
Origin of sediments that formed the parent material for Florida's soils - ✔✔Appalachian
Mountains
How temperature and Rainfall impact soil formation? - ✔✔High temperatures and
rainfall accelerate soil formation
Why soils in Florida tend to be more highly developed than soils in the S.W United
States? - ✔✔Heat and rain fall.
What is pedogensis? - ✔✔The process of soil formation as the result of the
combination of soil forming factors and processes.
What are Soil Horizons? - ✔✔Roughly parallel layers in the soil
Katelyn Whitman, All Rights Reserved © 2025 3
