Soil and Other Earth Materials

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Soil and Other Earth Material
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Kinds of Soils

• What are the kinds soils?

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Loamy Soil

• Pierie Soil / Grass Soil
• Forest Soil
• Tropical Soil
• Organic Soil
• Desert Soil

• Tunara Soil
• Sandy Soil
• Clay Soil
• Chalky Soil
• Peaty Soil

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Classifying Soils
By Texture Colour Water Retention

• How do we classify soils?

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Texture

• Soil is made up of three types of particles
  sand, silt and clay. The texture of a type of
  soil depends on the amount of sand, silt and clay
  present in it

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Colour

• Different types of soils have different colours.
  Soil may be light or dark. The colour of a type
  of soil depends on the types of minerals present
  in the soil and weather it is fertile or not
• Soils that are yellow or red usually contain the
  mineral iron.

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• White soil indicates the presence of the mineral
  calcium.
• Dark coloured soil usually has a higher content
  of nutrients or dead plant and animal material.
  It is usually fertile.

Dark-coloured soil
White soil
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Water Retention

• Soil water retention refers to the ability of a
  soil to hold on water.
• Let us compare the water retention of sand and
  clay.
• Sand and clay are placed in filter funnels lined
  with filter paper. Water is poured into the
  filterfunnels. The water that passes through the
  soil are collected using beakers.

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Sand
We can observe that more water passes through
sand than clay. So, sand does not retain water as
well. The spaces between sand particles are
large. Thus water flows through sand quickly.
Movement of water
Sand
Filter Funnel
Sand Particle
Beaker
Volume of water that flows through sand
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Clay
We can observe that less water passes through
clay than sand. So, clay retain water as well
better than sand. The spaces between clay
particles are small. Thus water does not flows
through clay easily.
Movement of water
Sand
Filter Funnel
Beaker
Volume of water that flows through sand
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Uses of Soil

• What are the uses of soil?

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Farming

• Soil is used in farming to grow crops for food.

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Habitat for organisms

• Other than plants, animals such as woodlice and
  snails live in soil.
• Micro organism and fungi are also found in soil.

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Raw materials

• Soil is a raw material used to make glass, cement
  and pottery. Glass is made from sand. Cement is
  made from sand and clay.

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Growing Plants in Soil

• Why do we use soil in the growing of plants?

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Growing Plants in Soil
The roots of plants hold soil together and
prevent soil erosion.

• We use for growing plants. Soil
  provides plants with conditions needed for plant
  growth. To grow well, plants need
• Water
• Minerals
• Air
• Anchorage to the ground

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Water is present as thin film around each soil
particle. Water moves from this thin film into
the root, then to the rest of the plant.
Air is present in the spaces between the soil
particles. The roots of plants take in air from
the soil too.
Soil contains minerals. These minerals are
dissolved in water. Plants obtain these minerals
when their roots take up water from the soil
Plants grow roots in soil to anchor themselves
firmly to the ground.
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Types of soil for plant growth
Different types of soil support the growth of
different kinds of plants. Some plants can only
grow well in a particular type of soil. Let us
take a look at three common types of soil used
for growing plants.
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Garden Soil

• Garden soil contains a good mix of sand, silt and
  clay. It retains water well and has a good supply
  of oxgen. It also contains plenty of dead plant
  and animal matter and it is very fertile.
• Garden soil is suitable for growing most plants
  such as hibiscus and rose.

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Sandy Soil

• Snady soil is made up largely of sand particles.
  It does not retain water well, however it has a
  good oxygen supply. It is not very fertile.
• Sandy soil is suitable for growing plants that do
  not require a lot of water. Plants that are
  commonly found along the coast, such as coconut
  trees, palm trees and sea shrubs, grow well in
  sandy soil.

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Clayey Soil

• Clayey soil is made up largely of clay particles.
  It is often wet because it retains water well.
  Clayey soil is fertile but has a low oxgen
  supply. Clayey soil is suitable for growing
  plants that require a lot of water. Rice plants
  grow well in clayey soil.

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Enhancing plant growth

• The characteristic of a type of soil can be
  changed to make it more suitable for plants to
  grow in.

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Increasing the amount of air in the soil

• Soil can be loosened so that more air can enter
  it. Tools such as spades are used to loosen soil.
  When animals such as earthworms move and dig
  holes in the soil, air also enters the soil.

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Increasing the amount of nutrients in the soil

• To increase the fertility of soil, we can add
  fertilisers directly to the soil. The fertiliser
  is then taken in by plant roots. Fertilisers
  contain nutrients that are required for plant
  growth.
• Fertilisers can be natural or chemical. The cow
  dung is the natural fertilisers

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Changing the amount of water in the soil

• If the soil is too dry, we can it to make it
  wetter.
• For clayey soil which is wet most of the time, we
  can add sand or decaying plant and animal matter
  to it. This breaks up the clay so thet the number
  of air spaces is increased. This allows water to
  flow through it more easily.

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Other Earth Materials

• What some other earth materials and how does Man
  use these materials ?

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Other Earth Materials

• Beside soil, other materials include rocks,
  minerals, metals, gases, water, and fossil fuels.

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Rocks

• Rocks are found everywhere on land and in
  water. They are made up of one or more minerals.
  Granite and basalt are examples of rocks. Rocks
  are used for constructing roads and building.

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Minerals

• Minerals are obtained from rocks. Gold, silver,
  and diamond are examples of minerals. Minerals
  are also used to construct building and to make
  jewellery.

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Metals

• Metals are a type of mineral that can be obtained
  from ores. Ores are rocks that conatin a large
  amount of a certain mineral. However, ores need
  to be processed first before they can be used.
  For instance, iron ore has to be processed under
  high temperatures before we can
  obtain iron. Iron is used as a
  building material.
  
  Metals like copper are used
  to make wires

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Gases

• Gases in the air include nitrogen, oxygen and
  carbon dioxide. Nitrogen is used to preserve
  food. Oxygen is used in the making of steel.
  Carbon dioxide is used in fire extinguishers to
  put out fires.

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Water

• Water is found in lakes, rivers, ponds, seas and
  oceans. Water is used to grow crops. It is also
  used for washing clothes and dishes, and in
  preparing food.

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Fosil Fuels

• Fosil fuels such as coal and oil provide energy.
  Fossil fuels are also used to make plastic.

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