Topic 5: Land
15 review questions with answers for Topic 5: Land, marked SL. Read them here, or play the set as a class game on the projector. Free to host, and students join with a code.
A dynamic system with inputs, outputs, storages and flows of organic and inorganic components, water and air?
- Humus
- SoilRight answer
- Leaching
- Monoculture
All 15 questions and answers
A dynamic system with inputs, outputs, storages and flows of organic and inorganic components, water and air?
Answer: Soil
Vertical cross-section of soil showing distinct horizontal layers formed over time?
Answer: Soil profile
Distinct layers of a soil profile, lying one above another, that differ in colour and composition?
Answer: Soil horizons
Dark organic matter formed by the partial decay of plant and animal remains; improves soil structure and holds nutrients?
Answer: Humus
The relative proportions of sand, silt and clay particles in a soil, often plotted on a triangular diagram?
Answer: Soil texture
Loss of dissolved minerals from soil by water moving downward through the profile?
Answer: Leaching
Organisms (e.g. earthworms) that fragment dead organic matter into smaller pieces?
Answer: Detritivores
Organisms (e.g. bacteria, fungi) that chemically break down dead organic matter, releasing nutrients?
Answer: Decomposers (saprotrophs)
Accumulation of salts in soil, often caused by irrigation, reducing fertility?
Answer: Salinization
Methods such as terracing, contour ploughing and windbreaks that reduce soil erosion and degradation?
Answer: Soil conservation
Physical and economic availability of food allowing all individuals a balanced, healthy diet?
Answer: Food security
1950s–60s increase in crop yields using high-yielding varieties, irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides?
Answer: Green Revolution
Cultivation of a single crop species over a large area; reduces biodiversity and resilience?
Answer: Monoculture
Diseases caused by insufficient nutrient intake (undernutrition) or excessive/imbalanced intake (overnutrition)?
Answer: Malnutrition
Diet with a low environmental impact that could feed the whole world population within planetary boundaries, e.g. the EAT–Lancet planetary health diet?
Answer: Sustainable diet
Play it as a class game
Play this set opens it in splycr, where you can host it for your class straight away. Hosting needs no account: put the room code on the projector, and students join from a phone with the code and their first name. Each question plays as multiple choice, and the three wrong options are other answers from the same set.