CBSE Class 3 Science Soil MCQs

Question. Sandy soil is mostly found in __________.
(a) deserts and beaches
(b) forests
(c) grasslands
(d) mountains
Answer: A
Explanation: Sandy soil does not retain water and is usually found in deserts and beaches. 

Question. A teacher needs to show to her students that soil contains air. Which of the following should she do ? 
(a) Pour some water into a beaker containing soil
(b) Heat some soil in a pan over stove
(c) Observe the soil under a microscope
(d) All of these
Answer: A
Explanation: Air is trapped between the soil particles. When we pour water on a soil sample then this water occupies these spaces between soil particles and replaces the air present there. This air when escapes, can be seen in the form of bubbles.

Question. Which of these does not contribute in the soil formation?
(a) Erosion
(b) Weathering
(c) Rains
(d) Birds
Answer: D
Explanation: Birds do not contribute in the formation of soil.

Question. Which of the following layer is loosely packed?
(a) Top soil
(b) Sub soil
(c) Bed rock
(d) None
Answer: A

Question. The soil is home to
(a) insects
(b) worms
(c) microorganisms
(d) All of these
Answer: D

Question. Study the venn diagram carefully and choose the right option 

Answer: D

Question. Which three layers form the soil profile?
(a) Air, water and soil
(b) Minerals, organic matter and living organisms
(c) Clay, silt and sand
(d) The topsoil, subsoil and parent material
Answer: D
Explanation: the top soil, the subsoil and the parent material forms the layers of the soil.

Question. Which of these break up the rocks to make soil?
(a) Only sun
(b) Only wind
(c) Only rain
(d) All of these
Answer: D

Question. Ritika conduct it two experiments over two soil samples and tabulated the result as shown here. Identify the soils from results and select the correct option. 

                P              Q 
(a) Sandy soil Loamy soil
(b) Loamy soil Sandy soil
(c) Clayey soil Loamy soil
(d) Loamy soil Clayey soil
Answer: D
Explanation: Loamy soil is a mixture of sand and clay, therefore it can hold both air and water.
There is a lot of air present in the space between their particles. This is the reason that many bubbles float up on pouring water. Hence, soil ‘P’ is a loamy soil. Soil ‘Q’ is a clayey soil. Clay particles are very fine as there are no air space is present between the particles. Therefore, few bubbles will float up on pouring water. Clayey soil has more water holding capacity.

Question. Humus, silt, clay and sand are all parts of:
(a) soil
(b) plants
(c) animals
(d) rocks
Answer: A
Explanation: Humus, silt, clay and sand all are parts of soil 

Question. Humus, which is formed by the decay of plant and animal matter, is important for the formation of most ______. 
(a) round sediments
(b) soils.
(c) surface bedrock
(d) minerals
Answer: D
Explanation: Humus that is made up of dried rotten plant and animal matter is organic in nature and is responsible for the formation of minerals.

Question. Which of the following soil is used in pottery.
(a) Sand
(b) Siel
(c) Clay
(d) Loam
Answer: C

Question. Which of the statement below is false. 
(a) A loam is a mixture containing a substantial proportion of each of the three grades of mineral particle sizes.
(b) The soil consists of matter in all three states - solid, liquid, and gas.
(c) Earthworms eat all the nutrients and minerals in the soil and are thus not good for soil.
(d) Loamy soil is best suited for plantation.
Answer: C
Explanation: Earthworms are very important for the soil as they dig into the soil and convert the decayed plants into organic matter.

Question. ______soil is best for the cultivation of plants. 
(a) Clay
(b) Loamy soil
(c) Sandy soil
(d) Gravel
Answer: B
Explanation: Loamy soil is best suited for cultivation as it contains the desired nutrients and water holding capacity.

Question. Identify the soil which has the given properties. 
(i) Holds lot of water but little air
(ii) Used to make pots and toys
(a) Clayey
(b) Loamy
(c) Sandy
(d) Gravel
(e) All of these
Answer: A

Question. In addition to the rock particles, the soil contains __________.
(a) air and water
(b) water and plants
(c) minerals, organic matter, air and water
(d) water, air and plants
Answer: C
Explanation: In addition to rock particles, soil also contains minerals, organic matter, air and water.

Question. The layer of soil on which plants grow?
(a) Topsoil
(b) Subsoil
(c) Solid rock
(d) none of these
Answer: A

Question. Fertilizers are added in the soil to replenish the lost _______________
(a) air
(b) water
(c) minerals
(d) microorganisms
Answer: C
Explanation: Fertilizers are added to the soil to replace the lost minerals such as nitrogen, iron etc.

Question. Which of these is found in top layer of soil?
(a) Flatworm
(b) Roundworm
(c) Earthworm
(d) Tapeworm
Answer: C

Question. Which of the following is a soft and smooth soil?
(a) Sandy
(b) Gravel
(c) Clay
(d) All of these
Answer: C

Question. The process of breaking of rocks is called ___________. 
(a) Weathering
(b) Soil erosion
(c) Volcanoes
(d) Deforestation
Answer: A

Question. Soil is a ____________.
(a) natural resource
(b) man made resource
(c) both (a) and (b)
(d) none of these
Answer: A

Question. What is a soil horizon?
(a) A factor influencing how soil is formed
(b) layers of soil
(c) An organism found within the soil
(d) A technique used to map soils
Answer: B
Explanation: Soil horizon and soil layers are the same thing. There are four horizons/layers of soil.

Question. Humus, gravel, clay and sand are all parts of 
(a) soil
(b) plants
(c) animals
(d) rocks
Answer: A

Question. The components of soil made up of rotten leaves and the decayed bodies of animals and plants are called? 
(a) Humus
(b) Clay
(c) Gravel
(d) None of these
Answer: A

Question. Read the given paragraph.
The tiny grains that make up rocks are called _______. Some rocks are made of ________ type of grains while others are made of several types of grains. Diamond is the hardest _________ while _________is a soft rock. 
Select the option which consists of words that will correctly complete the above paragraph.
(a) Particles, one, mineral, talc
(b) Minerals, few, rock, talc
(c) Minerals, one, mineral, chalk
(d) Particles, few, rock, chalk
Answer: C
Explanation: Minerals are tiny grains that make up rocks. Some rocks are made up of only one type of grains, while others are made up of several types of grains. Diamond is the
hardest mineral, whereas chalk is a soft rock and breaks easily.

Question. Match the following. 

     A B C D
(a) 4 2 1 3
(b) 1 2 3 4
(c) 2 4 1 3
(d) 4 3 1 2
Answer: A
Explanation: Top soil is nutrient rich, Gravel holds a lot of air, Clay is used for making toys and loam is used for cultivation.

Question. Which soil horizon has the least nutrients?
(a) Humus
(b) Top soil
(c) Small Rocks
(d) Hard Rocks
Answer: D
Explanation: Hard rock contains mainly bed rocks and is deficient in nutrients.

Question. Place in order from top to bottom
(a) Humus, Sub soil, Bedrock
(b) Sub soil, bed rock, Humus
(c) Sub soil, humus, Bedrock
(d) Bedrock, humus, subsoil
Answer: A
Explanation: Humus is the top most layer followed by sub soil and then bedrock. 

Question. Which of the following creatures will you NOT find in the soil?
(a) Earthworm
(b) Lemur
(c) Mite
(d) Centipede
Answer: B
Explanation: Lemur is an animal that usually stays on trees. All other options are found in the soil. 

Question. An average soil is 98% minerals, 1% water and 1% air. True or False. 
(a) True
(b) False
(c) Cant be determined
(d) May be
Answer: B
Explanation: Soil contains 45% minerals , 25% water, 25% air, 5% organic matter.

Question. __________ is added to loamy soil for the better growth of plants
(a) Humus
(b) Insecticides
(c) Fertilizers
(d) Pesticides
Answer: A
Explanation: Humus is added to the loamy soil to make it more rich in nutrients and minerals for the better growth of plants.

Question. Choose the correct option according to the size in order from smallest to largest.
(a) Sand, clay, silt
(b) Clay, silt, sand
(c) Silt, sand, clay
(d) Clay, sand, silt
Answer: B
Explanation: Clay is the finest grain. Sand is the coarse grain and silt comes between clay and sand.

Question. Soil which can hold water is ___________.
(a) clay
(b) sandy
(c) loamy
(d) none of these
Answer: B

Question. Identify the true statement from the following.
(a) Sandy soil is best for the growth of plants.
(b) All types of soils have same size of grains.
(c) Soils differ in size of grains and constituents.
(d) Plants grow mostly in the bed rock.
Answer: C
Explanation: Soil differ in size of grains and constituents.

Question. From which layer of soil do plants get their nutrients? 
(a) Top soil
(b) Sub soil
(c) Bedrock
(d) Weathered fragments
Answer: A
Explanation: Plants get their nutrients from the uppermost layer i.e. Top soil. 

Question. Very fine soil particles are ____________.
(a) loamy
(b) sand
(c) clay
(d) none of these
Answer: C

Question. Largest soil particles are
(a) clay
(b) sand
(c) loamy
(d) none of these
Answer: B

Question. Identify the layer B. 

(a) Top soil
(b) Humus
(c) Subsoil
(d) Bedrock
Answer: C
Explanation: Layer B is Subsoil. The layer is below the topsoil and above the bedrock. 

Question. Match the following.

    A B C D
(a) 4 1 2 3
(b) 2 3 1 4
(c) 1 2 4 3
(d) 2 4 1 3
Answer: D
Explanation: Upper layer of the soil Dark in color
Clayey soil Small particles and packed tight
Middle layer of the soil Lesser amount of humus
Horizon B Tough layer

Question. Study the venn diagram carefully choose the right option 

Answer: A
Explanation: Clay, sandy, loam they all are types of soil. 

Question. Find the odd one out keeping in mind loamy soil? 
(a) Sand
(b) Silt
(c) Gravel
(d) Clay
Answer: C
Explanation: Gravel is the odd one out as all the other three are part of the loamy soil.

Question. Which of the following is true about gravel? 
(a) Gravel has very small sized grains which hold water.
(b) Gravel contains rotten leaves and decayed bodies of plants and animals.
(c) Gravel has very large grains which do not hold any water.
(d) Gravel is a mixture of equal amounts of sand and clay.
Answer: C
Explanation: Gravel has very large grains which do not hold any water. 

Question. Choose the correct option
A. Clayey soil is very sticky.
B. Clayey soil is powdery and dry.
C. Sandy soil has grains smaller than those of gravel.
D. Sandy soil does not hold water at all.
(a) TFTF
(b) FTFT
(c) FFTT
(d) TTFF
Answer: A
Explanation: Clayey soil is smooth and sticky. Sandy soil holds little water and drains quickly. 

Question. Which of the following present in the soil is most helpful to the growth of plants?
(a) Humus
(b) Sand
(c) Clay
(d) Small porous rocks
Answer: A

Question. Read the passage and fill the blanks 
Soil is a mixture of many things. It contains small pieces of broken _1__, fallen leaves, dead critters, decomposed __2___branches, decayed plants etc. Most of the soil are black, __3__ or grey.
1. (a) glasses (b) rocks (c) plastics (d) brown
2. (a) glass (b) plastic (c) tree (d) rock
3. (a) glass (b) brown (c) tree (d) rock
Answer: 1. (b) Rocks 2. (c) Tree 3. (b) Brown

Question. Which of the following is the hardest layer of the soil?
(a) Top soil
(b) Sub Soil
(c) Bed Rock
(d) Sand
Answer: C

Question. Hari brought an unknown type of soil. It has very large grains and it does not hold any water between the grains. What type of soil could it be?
(a) Humus
(b) Clay
(c) Loam
(d) Gravel
Answer: D

Question. Choose the correct option
A. There are only 2 layers of soil.
B. It takes 5 years to form one inch of topsoil.
C. A typical healthy soil sample contains 25% water
D. Soil stores 10% of the world’s carbon dioxide emission.
(a) TFTF
(b) FTFT
(c) TTFF
(d) FFTT
Answer: D
Explanation: There are four layers of soil, top soil, sub soil, small rocks, bed rock. It takes over 500 years to form one inch of top soil.

Question. Water and wind can break rocks into small pieces. What happens to these small pieces when they break away? 
(a) Plants use them for energy
(b) They become part of the soil
(c) They become food for animals
(d) They turn into earthworms
Answer: B

Question. Why is air important in soil? 
(a) It holds water that plants can absorb
(b) It helps the soil particles to stick together
(c) It allows plant roots and soil animals to breathe
(d) None of these
Answer: C
Explanation: Soil contains air trapped between its particles. This air allows plant roots and soil animals to breathe.

Question. Which of the following shows the correct arrangement of layers of the soil?
(a) Sub soil, top soil, bed rock
(b) Bed rock, top soil, sub soil
(c) Sub soil, bed rock, top soil
(d) Top soil, sub soil, bed rock
Answer: D
Explanation: The correct arrangement is top soil, sub soil and bed rock.

Question. Select the correct statement.
(a) The tiny grains that make up a rock are called minerals and there are always more than one mineral in a rock.
(b) Sandstone is the hardest rock while granite is the softest rock.
(c) Rocks break under the effect of sun, wind, water etc. and form humus that makes soil productive.
(d) Talc is the softest mineral while diamond is the hardest mineral
Answer: D
Explanation: Rocks can be made of one or several minerals. Sandstone is not the hardest rock and granite is not the softest rock. Rocks after breaking form soil not humus.

Question. Rohan took three pots A, B and C. Pot A is filled with sand, Pot B with clay and Pot C with loam. If he plants three saplings (one in each pot) in them, which will be most likely to grow? 
(a) The sapling in Pot A
(b) The sapling in Pot B
(c) The sapling in Pot C
(d) None will grow
Answer: C
Explanation: The sapling in pot C is most likely to grow as it has loamy soil and loamy soil is ideal for agriculture.

Question. Soil contain
(a) stones
(b) sand
(c) humus
(d) All of these
Answer: D

Question. The water holding capacity is the highest in __________. 
(a) sandy soil
(b) clayey soil
(c) loamy soil
(d) mixture of sand and loam
Answer: B
Explanation: The water holding capacity is the highest in clayey soil.

Question. Which kind of soil is mostly found on the sea beaches?
(a) Loamy
(b) Sandy
(c) Clayey
(d) All of these
Answer: B 

Question. Rashmi took three troughs each containing equal amounts of soil taken from different locations. Rashmi poured 500 mL of water gently onto the soil in each trough. Her observation after 30 minutes is shown in the given figure. 

According to the observations, which trough contains soil that is the most likely to be found at the base of a pond?
(a) Soil in trough E because it absorbed the most water.
(b) Soil in trough F because it absorbed the most water.
(c) Soil in trough G because it absorbed the least water.
(d) Soil in trough E because it absorbed the least water.
Answer: D
Explanation: Clayey soil is found at the base of a pond. Trough E contains clayey soil that absorbs least water.

Question. From the list below how many are natural calamities.
Firing, floods, collapsing of flyover, hurricanes, building collapsed due to bad construction, earthquake, bombarding, volcano, and tornado.
(a) 4
(b) 5
(c) 7
(d) 3
Answer: B
Explanation: 5, Floods, Hurricanes, Earthquake, Volcano, tornado. 

Directions : Read the given experiment and answer the following questions.
Amit took a handful of soil from his garden into an air tight container and then heated it in the microwave for 2 minutes. After two minutes, he took the container out and opened
the lid. He observed that their were few water droplets on the inner side of the lid.

Question. From this Amit concluded that the soil sample from his garden contained ________.
(a) sand
(b) gravel
(c) moisture
(d) air
Answer: C
Explanation: The soil sample had moisture which got evaporated when Amit heated it in a air tight container. The vapors precipitated on the inner side of the lid.

Question. Soil moisture is required for ________.
(a) growth of plants
(b) the animals living on land
(c) both (a) and (b)
(d) none of the above
Answer: A