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The following is a sample first exam in Soil Science 315

The content may not correspond exactly to the content that will be on your exam in 2006
SOIL SCIENCE 315

SOIL SCIENCE FOR LAND USE PLANNERS

EXAM 1

March 9, 2005

INSTRUCTIONS: Print your name and fill in the dots corresponding to the letters in your last name on the answer sheet as instructed on the answer sheet. Check that you have a complete exam. Using information given below, or materials provided, and your knowledge of soil science answer each question by marking the response on the answer sheet that corresponds to the BEST answer. Use only a number 2 pencil. You may find it useful to remove the reference materials from the exam questions. Be sure only one response is given for each question and no other marks are on the answer sheet.

GIVEN: After the questions

The following 5 questions refer to the soil description for the Kewaunee Series in the given materials. You may want to separate the description form the exam questions so that it is easier to view.

1. The depth in inches of the boundary between the loess and the till for this description is a) 10 b) 13 c) 29 d) 60.

2. Of the choices the greatest possible clay content of the A horizon is a) 15 b) 22 c) 40 d) 50.

3. The soil forming process most likely responsible for the formation of the horizon between 13 and 18 inches is a) podzolization b) calcification c) gleization d) argilluviation.

4. The argillic horizon is most likely between a) 8 and 10 inches b) 8 and 13 incles c) 10 and 29 inches d) 13 and 29 inches.

5. The percent clay in the control section could be a) 6 b) 28 c) 46 b) 65.

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6. You have designed a roof top garden. There are 10 boxes of soil each 1 m² and 0.6 m deep. The bulk density of the soil you suggest is 1.3 Mg m^-3 (g/cm3). The architect asks how much the soil will weigh if they were saturated. You decide the first step is to calculate the soil weight dry. The dry weight of the soil in Mg in the 10 boxes if the boxes are full is a) 0.22 b) 7.3 c) 7.8 d) 13.0.

7. The specification for soil porosity is 50% to insure good aeration for plants. The current soil bulk density is 1.6 Mg/m³ (g/cm³). The particle density is 2.65 Mg/m³ (g/cm³). To reach the goal of 50% porosity you would recommend a) leaving the soil as is b) compacting the soil with a roller c) watering the soil with spray irrigation d) adding some organic matter and loosening the soil with a roto-tiller.

8. New legislation allows housing developments if the soil is preserved so that the development can be reverted to agricultural use if needed. As a regulator you want a soil description before construction and one after construction so that you can tell if the contractor should be charged for damages. The soil characteristic you would select as an indicator of soil degradation is a) soil texture b) soil color c) soil structure d) soil water content.

9. You are a Peace Corps worker in a once forested rural area. The forest was cleared for fuel. Farmers are using steeper and steeper lands as the food demands increase. To avoid erosion rain must infiltrate rather than run-off. If all soils are clay loam (CL) texture the soil with the highest infiltration is a) strong, medium, blocky and friable b) massive and friable c) weak, coarse, blocky and very firm d) strong, medium, platy and friable.

10. Soil was found on the pants of a robber. Samples of soil were taken from the flower bed under the window believed to be the point of entry to the building. The prosecuting attorney said the soil in the flower bed contained 21% clay as did the sample of soil from the pants of the accused. The defense attorney said that his laboratory reported the soil in the flower bed was a loam. The statement that is true in this case is a) both attorneys could be talking of the same soil b) the results of at least one of the attorneys is definitely incorrect b) the attorney reporting 23% clay is correct and the other attorney is incorrect d) both attorneys have to be wrong.

11. You are helping one of the Governor's aids create a map of the state of Wisconsin to show wetland areas. The map will be hung on the wall of the Governor's office. Because many wetlands are small the Governor's aid would like to be able to represent areas of about 1 hectare (2.5 acres). The map would therefore need a scale of about 1:20,000. Wisconsin's longest dimension is about 500 km (310 mi) north to south. Joking you correctly state a) we are to be putting the map on a wall not designing a postage stamp b) how would a Governor's aid ever know what is a correct scale to use for the governor's office c) not even the President's office has a ceiling about 24 m (80 feet) tall d) every store has paper 10,000,000 km (6,200,00 mi) long.

12. As an owner of a small planning consulting firm you must organize the work of your staff. Your most recent job is for a township in southeast Wisconsin. You are to determine the areas suited and unsuited for subdivisions (housing developments). In developing the information you are going to consider homes with basements, sewage disposal, areas for parks and highway construction and then merge the information using computers. The first task to ask of your staff is to a) list soil characteristics controlling the processes of each sub-use b) integrate information for each sub-use into the plan c) rate each soil of the county for each sub-use d) define the operational processes of each of the sub-uses.

13. Mark the answer sheet with an “a” and get credit for this question if you attended the lecture of Prof. Fred Madison about histosols. If you did not attend mark your answer as “b”.

14. The graph below that best represents the water content versus the moisture potential (suction) for a soil with mainly small pores is:

15. You are searching for land for your client that can be used for a recreational area. The area is to include a golf coarse, horse riding area, and cottages. The soil horizon sequence that would likely be the most restricting to these uses is a) A-E-2E-2Bt-2Bt2-C b) A-E-Bhs-Bs-C c) Ap-B-Bt-C d) A-E-Bxg-Bg-2C.

16. A soil has a ochric epipedon over an argillic subsurface horizon. The soil could be in the order of a) alfisol b) mollisol c) oxisol d) spodosol.

17. A possible sequence of horizons starting at the ground surface for an Argialbolls is a) A-B-C b) A-E-Bt-C c) A-E-Bhs-C d) A-Bo-C.

18. Since the removal of forests in Northern Wisconsin some 100 years ago the organic matter in Bh horizons has been lost by oxidation. In the past 100 years the soil order would most likely have a) remained as alfisols b) remained as spodosols c) changed from spodosols to entisols d) changed from spodosols to alfisols

19. The soil texture described for the control section of a soil pedon is loamy sand. The particle size classification at the family level is a) loamy sand b) sandy c) coarse loamy d) loamy.

20. When planning for uses of land, such as for housing or for agriculture, many steps lead to the plan. Potential steps include 1. Determination and mapping of inherent suitability for proposed land use 2. Inventory and analysis of landscape components 3. Resolution of areas suitable for more than one land use 4. Interpretation of components for opportunity and constraint.The order of accomplishing the steps is a) 1-4-2-3 b) 3-4-2-1 c) 4-3-2-1 d) 2-4-1-3.

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READ ANNOUNCEMENTS:

When you have completed your exam, turn in the answer sheet only. Keep the questions. Since you will receive a copy of the answers as you leave you may want to mark the answers on the question sheet.

Please do not hang around outside the room since that can disturb others.

We will answer questions about the exam on Friday.

GIVEN MATERIALS:

Hue Value/Chroma

Order-Suborder-Great Group-Subgroup-Family--Series

DIAGNOSTIC SUBSURFACE HORIZONS: Albic - E; Agrillic - Bt; Natric - Btn; Spodic - Bh,Bs,Bhs; Cambic - Bw; Oxic - Bo; Salic Bz; Fragipan - Bx; Kandic - Bt.

Soil Separates

Sand 0.5 - 2.00 mm

Silt 0.002 - 0.05 mm

Clay <0.002 mm

Density of Quartz = 2.56 Mg/m³ (g/cm³)

wilting point  -1,500 KPa

field capacity = -15 to -30 Kpa

Percent water by volume = (volume of water/volume of soil) X 100

SOIL FORMING PROCESSES: MELANIZATION (addition, translocation) incorporation of O.M. into the surface; CALCIFICATION (translocation) accumulation of calcium carbonate in a horizon; PODZOLIZATION (translocation, transformation) migration of Al, Fe and/or O.M.; ARGILLUVIATION (translocation) mechanical migration of clay to lower in pedon; LATERIZATION (translocation, transformation) migration of silica out of soil concentrating oxides; GLEIZATION (transformation) reduction of iron under anaerobic conditions; SALINIZATION (translocation) accumulation of soluble salts; NATRIFICATION (translocation) sodium saturation of cation exchange sites.

MASTER HORIZONS: O - O.M.; A - Mineral with O.M.; E - Loss of clay, Fe, Al; B - Accumulation of Clay, Fe, Al, O.M. etc.; C - Little alteration; R - hard rock.

SUBORDINATE DISTINCTIONS: g - gleying; h - accumulation of O.M.; k - accumulation of carbonates; n - accumulation of sodium; o - residual sesquioxides; p - plowing; s - accumulation of sesquioxides and O.M.; t - accumulation of clay; w - developed color or structure; x - fragipan; a highly decomposed; i - slightly decomposed; e - moderately decomposed.

SOIL STRUCTURE: Shape--prismatic, blocky, granular, platy; Size--fine, medium, coarse; Grade -- strong, moderate, weak, structureless (single grain; massive)

KEWAUNEE SERIES

The Kewaunee Series consists of very deep, well drained soils formed in clayey till, typically with a thin mantle of loess, on ground moraines, end moraines, and recessional moraines. Permeability is moderately slow or slow. Slope ranges from 0 to 45 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 30 inches. Mean annual air temperature is about 48 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, mesic Typic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Kewaunee silt loam - on a north-facing slope of 3 percent cropped to alfalfa at an elevation of about 852feet above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 8 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine roots; neutral; abrupt smooth boundary. (6 to 9 inches thick)

E--8 to 10 inches; brown (10YR 5/3) silt loam; weak thin platy structure; very friable; common fine roots; slightly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)

Bt1--10 to 13 inches; brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay loam; moderate fine and very fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine roots; few faint clay films on faces of peds; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)

2Bt2--13 to 18 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) clay; strong fine and very fine angular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; many faint clay films on faces of peds; few black (5YR 2/1) accumulations (Fe and Mn oxides) on faces of peds; about 5 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.

2Bt3--18 to 24 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) clay; moderate fine prismatic structure parting to strong fine angular blocky; firm; common fine roots; many faint clay films on faces of peds; few black (5YR 2/1) accumulations of iron and manganese oxides on faces of peds; about 5 percent gravel; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary.

2Bt4--24 to 29 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) clay; strong medium prismatic structure parting to moderate medium angular blocky; firm; few fine roots; common faint clay films on faces of prisms; about 8 percent yellowish dolomite gravel; slightly effervescent; moderately alkaline; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the 2Bt horizons ranges from 10 to 30 inches.)

2C--29 to 60 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) silty clay loam; massive; firm; about 5 percent gravel; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

SOIL SCIENCE 315

SOIL SCIENCE FOR LAND USE PLANNERS

EXAM 1

March 9, 2005

ANSWERS