Question

how do soils form?
○ erosion transports mineral particles, and plants die and decay
○ plants provide organic matter and minerals to make soil
○ weathering breaks rocks into minerals, and plants die and decay
○ plants cement mineral particles together to form soil

question 2
1 pts
which order of sediment size in these materials is correct from smaller to
bigger particles?
○ sand-silt-clay
○ clay-silt-sand
○ silt-sand-clay
○ silt-clay-sand

Explanation:

Question 1: How do soils form?

To determine how soils form, we analyze each option:

• "Erosion transports mineral particles, and plants die and decay": Erosion moves particles but isn't the primary formation process.
• "Plants provide organic matter and minerals to make soil": Plants contribute organic matter but don't directly make soil from minerals.
• "Weathering breaks rocks into minerals, and plants die and decay": Weathering (physical/chemical) breaks rocks into mineral particles, and decaying plants add organic matter, which is the correct soil - forming process.
• "Plants cement mineral particles together to form soil": Plants don't cement particles; this is incorrect.

The sizes of sediment particles (clay, silt, sand) are as follows: Clay particles are the smallest (less than 0.002 mm in diameter), silt particles are larger than clay (0.002 - 0.05 mm), and sand particles are the largest (0.05 - 2 mm). So the order from smaller to bigger is clay - silt - sand.

Answer:

Weathering breaks rocks into minerals, and plants die and decay

Question 2: Which order of sediment size in these materials is correct from smaller to bigger particles?