All AP Environmental Science Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #3 : Types Of Soil
__________ soil is considered ideal for food production, usually nutrient-rich, and holds both air and water well.
Alkaline
Sandy
Loamy
Silty
Clay-rich
Loamy
Loamy soil is a mixture between sand, silt, and clay. It is rich in organic matter, and the properties of sand and clay combined allow it to hold air and water well.
Example Question #1 : Types Of Soil
List the soil horizons in order.
Unweathered sediment, organic material, plough zone, zone of accumulation, weathered sediment
Plough zone, zone of accumulation, weathered sediment, unweathered sediment, organic material
Organic material, plough zone, zone of accumulation, weathered sediment, unweathered sediment
Organic material, zone of accumulation, plough zone, weathered sediment, unweathered sediment
Organic material, plough zone, weathered sediment, zone of accumulation, unweathered sediment
Organic material, plough zone, zone of accumulation, weathered sediment, unweathered sediment
Soil horizons labeled with brief descriptions:
Example Question #1 : Types Of Soil
Brett has been collecting soil samples from various city parks for his chemistry class. The chemistry class will measure the amount of nutrients, such as potassium and nitrogen, in each soil sample. The park with the best quality soil will be the location of a community garden. By measuring the soil nutrients, what soil property is Brett trying to quantify?
Soil compressibility
Soil porosity
Soil fertility
Soil strength
Soil infilitration
Soil fertility
The correct response is soil fertility. The amount of nutrients in the soil is a measurement of soil fertility. Soils with high nutrient content (especially with respect to nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium) are considered fertile soils. Soils with low nutrient content are considered infertile soils. Soil porosity refers to the amount of air space between soil particles. Soil infiltration refers to its infiltration (absorption of water) capacity. Soil compressibility, as the name suggests, is the ability for a soil to be compressed. Soil strength involves the capacity of a soil to withstand sheer stress forces, which is influenced by many parameters including those mentioned above.
Example Question #1 : Soil Problems And Solutions
Soil with insufficient nitrogen is generally easier to fix than soil insufficient in phosphorus. Why might this be?
There are significantly more steps in the phosphorus cycle to make phosphorus usable for plants, limiting availability.
Nitrogen is abundant in the soil and the atmosphere, while phosphorus is only available in the soil and in bedrock.
Many plants are incapable of taking up available phosphorus, making it very difficult to have compost that is rich in phosphorus.
Phosphorus is generally scarce in the natural world.
Atmospheric phosphorus disperses in the form of precipitation, and irrigating crops from a well source will be insufficient in replenishing phosphorus to the soil.
Nitrogen is abundant in the soil and the atmosphere, while phosphorus is only available in the soil and in bedrock.
There is a sizable bank of nitrogen in the atmosphere that can be fixed by certain bacteria (and plants that harbor this bacteria in their roots), while phosphorus originates largely from bedrock and is released into the soil in limited quantities. Nitrogen can be fixed from a collective atmosphere that is three-quarters nitrogen, while phosphorus is more region-specific and can be harder to replace than nitrogen once it's depleted. Farms located in phosphorus-poor regions often have to rely on mined phosphates.
Example Question #41 : Soil And Geology
Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for all plants, including the ones we grow to eat. If a farmer faces the challenge of phosphorus-poor soil, what can they do to remedy the problem.
Move the farm elsewhere. Once phosphorus is gone, it's gone.
Spread manure and then mulch to prevent leaching or erosion of nutrients.
Deep-till the soil, bringing up phosphorus-rich soil and rock fragments from the subsoil layers.
Plant phosphorus-fixing cover crops to increase phosphorus presence in soil.
Apply a substantial layer of chemical nitrates to the soil.
Spread manure and then mulch to prevent leaching or erosion of nutrients.
Phosphorus defficiency is a challenge to resolve because phosphorus stores are almost exclusively in bedrock and sediment, and there is only as much as the bedrock weathers over time. Manure is very rich in phosphorus, and since plants do not fix phosphorus directly into the soil, applying manure and then covering with mulch is the best option.
Example Question #2 : Soil Problems And Solutions
Which of the following would be the most accurate example of sheet erosion?
Light rain falls on a farmer's field that is mostly bare soil.
Narrow channels develop in a farmer's field from running irrigation lines over exposed soil.
Wide channels develop in the soil where a stormwater discharge site has been established.
Soil is lost from irrigation ditches, causing the ditch to become wider and deeper.
A farmer employs flood irrigation on a field with a slope, causing thin layers of soil to wash away over time.
A farmer employs flood irrigation on a field with a slope, causing thin layers of soil to wash away over time.
Sheet erosion occurs when either wind or widespread shallow water with a slow current degrades the soil in thin layers. A flooded and uneven field that is mostly bare soil will likely experience sheet erosion because the erosion is shallow and uniform.
Example Question #43 : Soil And Geology
Climate change has increased the variability in weather patterns. Unpredictable weather patterns are hard to manage. In 2015, heavy rainfall events caused farm field soils in Ohio to become saturated with water. This killed off many farmers' crops because the plants couldn't receive carbon dioxide/oxygen due to all the water. What is this phenomenon called?
Salinization
Gully erosion
Waterlogging
Rill erosion
Sheet erosion
Waterlogging
The correct response is waterlogging. In waterlogging, water covers plant roots and soils with water - preventing soils from absorbing oxygen from the air. If the water covers the soil surface for too long, plants begin to die because their roots can't absorb oxygen and/or carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in order to undergo respiration. Salinization involves the increase in salt content of soil. Sheet erosion is the process by which thin layers of soil are moved due to the force of rain drops and overland flow. Gully erosion involves the formation of gullies (small valleys) due to intensive erosion by water. Rill erosion involves water creating rills, small channels through which water flows.
Example Question #5 : Soil Problems And Solutions
Farmers use a variety of techniques to conserve soil nutrient quality. Which of the following is not a soil conservation technique?
Intensification
Add legumes
Contour plowing
Cover crops
Intensification
The correct response is intensification. The term intensification refers to farmers working the fields more heavily and intensely. All the other responses are techniques used by farmers to conserve soil.
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