🔄 The Soil Cycle
Explore how soil continuously forms and transforms through weathering, decomposition, and nutrient cycling. Discover the role of rocks, organisms, climate, and time in creating the living soil that supports plant growth and life in Ontario ecosystems. **What you'll learn:** - How rocks break down and transform into soil through weathering - The role of living organisms in soil formation and decomposition - How nutrients cycle through soil, plants, and organisms - Why soil is a dynamic, living system that changes over time - How climate and parent material shape soil characteristics
Questions in this quiz
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- Question 1
Which process is the FIRST step in soil formation from solid rock?
- Question 2
True or false: Soil is a non-living system that never changes once it forms.
- Question 3
What role do decomposers (such as bacteria and fungi) play in the soil cycle?
- Question 4
Which of the following is an example of physical weathering?
- Question 5
True or false: The time it takes to form a layer of soil from rock is measured in months.
- Question 6
What is 'parent material' in the context of soil formation?
- Question 7
How does climate affect soil formation in Ontario?
- Question 8
True or false: Earthworms and other soil organisms help create better soil by mixing organic matter and improving structure.
- Question 9
In the soil cycle, what do plant roots absorb from the soil?
- Question 10
Which statement BEST describes nutrient cycling in soil?
- Question 11
True or false: Chemical weathering occurs when water, air, or acids react with minerals in rocks, changing their composition.
- Question 12
Why is organic matter (like dead leaves and plant material) important in soil?
- Question 13
What happens to a plant after it dies in the soil ecosystem?
- Question 14
True or false: A rich, dark soil with lots of organic matter can support more plant growth than sandy soil with very little organic matter.
- Question 15
How does the presence of plant roots in soil contribute to weathering?
- Question 16
In Ontario's soil ecosystem, how do insects like beetles and centipedes contribute to soil development?
- Question 17
True or false: The soil cycle is continuous and endless; as long as weathering, decomposition, and nutrient cycling occur, new soil continues to form and change.