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Chapter 2

This chapter discusses soil formation and development. It identifies five main soil-forming factors: climate, organisms, relief, parent material, and time. The parent material, either bedrock or previously deposited sediment, greatly influences early soil development. There are three main types of rocks - igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary - which are classified based on their formation process and mineral composition. Learning activities include identifying the elemental composition of Earth's crust, classifying rocks and minerals, categorizing soil-forming factors, and illustrating the process of soil formation from bedrock through weathering and erosion.

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34 views10 pages

Chapter 2

This chapter discusses soil formation and development. It identifies five main soil-forming factors: climate, organisms, relief, parent material, and time. The parent material, either bedrock or previously deposited sediment, greatly influences early soil development. There are three main types of rocks - igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary - which are classified based on their formation process and mineral composition. Learning activities include identifying the elemental composition of Earth's crust, classifying rocks and minerals, categorizing soil-forming factors, and illustrating the process of soil formation from bedrock through weathering and erosion.

Uploaded by

Cjay Donato
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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WORKBOOK ON PRINCIPLES OF SOIL SCIENCE

CHAPTER 2
SOIL FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT

I. INTRODUCTION

The soil on the earth's surface is undergoing continual change, which escapes a casual
study of the soil. Each soil has a life cycle in terms of geologic time. This dynamic and
evolutionary nature is embodied in a definition of soil as a natural body of the Earth's surface
having "properties due to the integrated effect of climate and living matter (plants and
animals), acting upon parent material, as conditioned by relief (slope), over periods.

The so-called soil forming factors govern the formation of the soil on the Earth's surface "
previously identified by Jenny (1941), a widely accepted hypothesis, are the climate,
organisms, relief, parent material and time (S = f (cl, o, r, p, t, …). Among these factors, the
parent material is one of the most influential factors aside from climate, especially during the
early stages of soil development. Parent material in soil science refers to the underlying
geologic material characterized generally by the bedrock or can also be from a previously
deposited material (sedimentary).

Three types of rocks are identified on the Earth's surface according to the major Earth
processes that formed them namely: igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. They
can also be classified based on their chemical composition as either a mafic type, where it
contains higher amounts of magnesium and iron, or a felsic rock type, where it is enriched
with lighter elements, particularly silica.

II. LEARNING OUTCOME

At the end of this topic, students should be able to:


1. Enumerate the elemental composition of the Earth's crust
2. Identify the different soil-forming minerals
3. Discuss the three general classifications of rocks and their abundance
4. Describe the weathering process and the factors affecting soil formation
5. Describe the development of soil profile and soil horizon.
II. LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Activity 5. Using the circle below, create a pie graph which shows the elemental
composition of earth’s crust.

Activity 6.
Make a compendium of the different rocks and soil forming minerals. Print
pictures of 10 igneous, 10 sedimentary and 10 metamorphic rocks (passport size each
photo) Place your clippings in the table on succeeding page. For rocks, discuss their
characteristics and mineral composition. For minerals, characterize according to
hardness.
ROCKS CHARACTERISTICS MINERAL
COMPOSITION
IGNEOUS ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
Activity 7. Categorize the following into respective soil forming factors. Write C for climate, LO for
Living Organism, R for Relief, P for Parent Material and T for Time. Write briefly between the
parentheses how it influences soil formation.

_____1. Earthworms ( )

_____2. Minerals ( )

_____3. Temperature ( )

_____4. Slope ( )

_____5.Plants ( )

_____6. Precipitation ( )

_____7. Flatness ( )

_____8. Rocks ( )

_____9. Freezimg ( )

____10. Ants ( )

Activity 8. Complete the diagram of rock formation by labelling the appropriate

classification of rock formed in the process.


Activity 9. Illustrate and explain how soil are formed from bedrock. The use of arrows to clearly
indicate the flow of the process is highly advisable.

IV. REFERENCES

Brady N C. 1984. The Nature and Properties of Soils. 9th ed. Macmillan, New York.

Cosico W. C.

Primer on Soil Science. 2005. Agricultural Systems Cluster, College of Agriculture,

UPLB.

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