GEO101 Earth System Science. Life Sciences Assignment

GEO101 Earth System Science Summer 1 2020
Assignment 3 Module 6
Assignment Format and Value:
• 12-point Times New Roman Font• single spacing• Page length: whatever you feel is necessary to accurately answer the questions (not including title page, references cited, diagrams, maps, charts, etc.).• Standard margins (1”)• Headings and Subheadings where appropriate• References Cited at end of paper• APA 6th edition citation style (www.citationmachine.net)• Value: 40 points towards your final grade (breakdown noted in rubric)• Due Date: End of Module 6 (Friday, July 3, 2020; 11:59 PM EST)• Submission: electronic via Blackboard
Assignment Objectives:• To understand the value of soil texture as an indicator of other soil properties
Section 1 – Background
You will want to review the soil lecture, and specifically look at the example of how to determine a soil type using the soil texture triangle (using the percentages of sand, silt, and clay). There are a few important ideas to remember here:• The textural name of a soil is derived from the soil texture triangle;• It is based on the percentages of sand, silt, and clay that make up a soil sample; in order to determine these percentages, soil samples are taken from the field and studied in a lab using various experimental techniques to calculate the percentage of sand, silt, and clay;• The textural name of a soil (e.g., sandy clay loam, silty loam) is not the same as the soil order name (e.g, Histosols, Alfisols). For instance, the Niagara Silt Loam is the textural name of a soil found in Erie County, New York. The Niagara Silt loam is an alfisol;• The best soils for agriculture are those which have:o Loamy textures (look for the term “loam” in the textural name)o Some clay (nutrients and cation exchange capacity; too much clay and the soil will retain too much water)o Some sand (helps with water drainage; too much means water will drain quickly through the soil)• The textural triangle has twelve different categories into which a soil can be classified;• Note that the percentages of sand, silt, and clay always add up to 100%;• If you know the percentages of two components, you can determine the percentage of the unknown component (For instance, if sand=70% and clay=10%, silt must therefore be 20%; we would complete work in the lab to verify this is true).
  
 
Soil Texture Practice – Part 1:
Use the following soil data to determine the soil texture name using the textural triangle. When a number is missing, fill in the blanks knowing that the sum of the percentages of sand, silt, and clay should always add up to 100%. Soil sample A is shown as an example:Soil Sample %Sand %Silt %Clay Textural Name Properties (see Part 2 table below)A 75 10 15 Sandy loam Water infiltration: medium to goodAeration: medium to goodWorkability: medium to goodB 10 83 7 C 42 37 D 52 27 E 35 50 F 30 21 G 5 70 H 55 40 I 45 10 J 5 25 K 15 43
Soil Texture Properties – Part 2:
Using the table below, determine the properties of each of the soil samples you have named in Part 1. List only those properties that are medium and/or good (meaning that nothing would need to be added to these soils to support agriculture). Some, all, or none of these texture properties will be applicable to the soils noted above in Part 1.
 
Soil Forming Factors – Part 3:
Access the Erie County Soil Survey at this weblink (Erie County is home to Buffalo, NY and the UB Campus):
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/new_york/NY029/0/erie.pdf
Starting on page 229, the Soil Survey lists several factors that influence soil formation. Using a bulleted list, list these soil forming factors and in 2-3 sentences describe the importance of each factor. Then, briefly comment on this question:• Do you think that these soil forming factors are the same around the world? Why or why not? Justify your answer.
Grading Rubric:
Critical Element Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Does Not Meet ExpectationsSoil texture triangle correctly used to determine textural name of soils(/10) All soils correctly named using texture triangle
(/10)
1-3 soils incorrectly named using texture triangle
(/7) 4 or more soils incorrectly named using texture triangle
(/5) Not complete
(/0)Soil properties are correctly identified
(/10) All soil properties are correctly identified
(/10) 1-3 soil properties are not correctly identified
(/7) 4 or more soil properties are not correctly identified
(/5) Not complete
(/0)Soil Forming Factors Q3 (Questions)
(/10) All soil forming factors listed, summarized, substantive answer for question provided(/10) 1-3 soil forming factors missing and/or summaries missing and/or question missing(/7) More than 4 soil forming factors missing and/or summaries missing and/or question missing
(/5) Not complete 
(/0)Articulation of Response(/10) Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization. APA 6th style is clearly used where needed. 
(/10) Submission has minor errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization. APA 6th style is clearly used where needed. (/7) Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization. APA 6th style is ambiguously used where needed. 
(/5) AbsentAssignment lacks organization, grammar, and other style elements. 
(/0)TOTAL POINTS: 40 28 20 0