Quarter 4- Science 5

Week 2- Day 1
Infer that continuous weathering
leads to soil formation
Write True if the statement is correct and False if the
statement is incorrect.
1. Bacteria, molds, mosses and lichens wear away the
surface of rocks.
2. Rocks are hard so they do not break at all.
3. Weathering is the breaking down of rocks into smaller
pieces and finally into soil.
4. Fast water current in rivers can carry big and small rocks
that will break as they are transported to another places.
5. Prolong exposure to hot and cold temperature will result to
breaking of rocks.
Directions: Read each item carefully. Choose the letter for your best
answer.
1. It is a loose minerals and organic material.
A. Erosion C. Weathering
B. Soil D. Wind
2. What do you call the materials transported due to erosion?
B. Rocks C. Water
B. Sediments D. Wind
3. Sand dunes are ridges of sand formed by ________
C. animals C. plants
B. humans D. waves
4. It can be caused by water, wind, animals and
humans.
A. erosion C. rocks
B. landslide D.
sediments
5. Humus is the organic component of soil,
formed by the decomposition of leaves and other
plant material by soil microorganisms.
B. True C. Maybe
B. False D. Not at all
 When rocks are broken, their pieces do not stay in one
place. Some rock fragments become part of the soil. Others are
transferred from one place to another. Soil is loose mineral and
organic material. It’s about half minerals, half-open space – all
within the top few centimeters of the surface. Soil is mixture of
rock particles, minerals, decayed organic material, air and water.
It’s often mixed with organic material, sometimes called humus.
Humus is all the organic stuff. Basically, it’s an accumulation of
decayed matter such as plants and animals. If you have ever
made compost, you are making humus.
How continuous weathering leads to soil formation?
The weathering of rocks on the Earth’s surface results in the
formation of soil. Soil is formed when rocks are continuously
broken down by weathering. As rocks weather, they break into
smaller pieces. These pieces are broken down into even smaller
pieces to form soil Both mechanical and chemical weathering
play an important role in soil formation. These processes will
transform that boulder into particles of sands, silt and clays.
Soil formation is due to the filtration of water
and weathering. This water leakage is what
dissolves rocks into soil. As water seeps
downwards, it breaks down material.
Eventually, you get a set of “soil layers”.
These soil layers are dependent on how far
down water seeps into the ground and the
amount of weathering.
1. Climate:
Climate, temperature and water affect how
fast chemical weathering occurs. Moist regions
experience more chemical weathering because water
affects the abundance of chemical reactions. In addition,
both temperature and its rate of change are critical in
weathering. Again, chemical reactions tend to occur
more rapidly when temperatures are higher, especially in
moist areas.
2. Organic matter
As plants die, small organisms break down
and decay material into organic matter. During this
process, bacteria and plants produce a type of acid. This
acid is a big contributor to the breakdown of soil
particles. Next, soil with organic material is most
important for humans because it supports plant biomass
and agricultural crops. This is the topsoil which takes
hundreds of thousands of years to form.
3. Parent material
Soils are derived from its parent material. For
example, feldspars go through a chemical process which
convert it into clay. But if you have granite with feldspar,
it could develop into clay and sand. As mentioned above,
soils can develop from bedrock in one place. But they
can also be transported. For example, glaciers, water and
wind can move and erode material.
4. Terrain The aspect that a hill faces influences the
amount of sunlight it receives. If there’s more
sunlight, it changes the amount of available water.
At the base of a landform, thicker, soils tend to
form. Gravity moves water downward which is
where water accumulates. Overall, it’s terrain that
affects water availability
Finally, all these factors take a long, long period of
time to make a noticeable difference. Soils take
thousands of years to form. In general, the longer
rocks have the chance to weather, it will result in
finer particle sizes. But the reality is that our
environment is constantly in flux. Soil formation
factors such as water, organisms and relief are
never a constant.
Activity 1: Water, Rocks and Soil In this activity,
you will see how water affects breakdown of rocks
to soil. What you need:
 small and soft rocks samples
 glass or plastic jar half-filled with water
 piece of clean cloth
 rubber band
What to do:
1. Put the small and soft rock samples that you
have prepared inside the glass or plastic jar
half-filled with water then cover it tightly.
2. Shake the glass or plastic jar for about 2
minutes.
3. Remove the cover of the glass or plastic jar. Replace it with
the piece of cloth tied at the brim of the bottle with the use of
the rubber band
4. Turn the glass or plastic jar upside down to empty the water
in the bottle as shown in the illustration below.
5. When the water is gone, remove the piece of cloth in the
glass or plastic jar and examine the rock samples that you
placed inside. Record your observation in your notebook.
Answer these:
1. What happened to the rock samples that you
have placed inside the glass jar?
2. 2. Where did the small particles in the glass jar
come from?
3. What caused the rock to break in small pieces?
4. Do these small particles look the same with the
soil?
Activity 2 Man, Animals, Plants and Rocks
In this Activity, you will observe how many, animals
and plants break down rocks to soil.

What to do:
1. Go round your garden. Look for plants that grew in rocks.
Observe them. You may even draw them in your notebook.
2. 2. Observe how the roots of the plants anchor themselves in the
rocks.
3. Observe a place which is often walked-through by people and
animals.
4. Record your observations.
1.What happened to the rocks where the plants
grow?
2. Do roots have something to do with in the
breakdown of rocks? How?
3. Describe the rocks that you saw in the place
where people and animals often walk-through.
How do they look, like? Why?
Direction: Write True if the statement is correct and write
False if the statement is wrong.
_____ 1. Continuous weathering leads to soil formation.
_____ 2. Humus is an accumulation of decayed matter such as
plants and animals
______ 3. Soils take one year to form.
_______ 4. As plants die, small organisms break down and
decay material into organic matter.
_______ 5. Rock is formed when rocks are continuously
broken down by weathering
Choose the letter of the correct answer.
1. When plants and animals decay _______ form in
the soil
A. humus B. muck C. rock D. rust
2. Soil formation begins with weathering of ________
A. humus B. rock C. rust D. soil
3. The mixture of rock particles, minerals,
decayed organic materials, air and water is
called ______________. A. gravel B. litter
C. silt D. rock
4. Soil begins to form when the process of
____________ break down bed rocks.
A. deposition B. erosion
C. weathering D. wilting
5. Soil is valuable resources because it
is______________
A. has 3 soil horizons
B. rich in decomposer
C. contain sand and gravel
D. important to all living things on land
Write a short reflective journal entry on
this question:
What is the importance of soil in your
life?