CIE 047
ORIENTATIO
N
ORIGIN OF SOIL
AND GRAIN SIZE
LESSON 1
WHAT IS SOIL?
• Soil is the thin layer of material covering the
earth's surface and is formed from the
weathering of rocks. It is made up mainly of
mineral particles, organic materials, air, water
and living organisms—all of which interact
slowly yet constantly.
• Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt,
is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases,
liquids, and organisms that together support life
.
• Soils may be organic or inorganic
SOIL HORIZON LAYERS
Soil horizon layers are the different layers of soil found when
you dig into the ground. Each layer has different materials,
colors, and textures. These layers are like a soil profile and
help us understand how healthy the soil is for plants.
O Horizon (Organic Layer)-The top layer with dead leaves,
plants, and decomposed materials.
Example: A forest floor covered with fallen leaves and twigs.
A Horizon (Topsoil)-Dark, rich soil where most plant roots
grow. It has a mix of organic matter and minerals.
Example: Garden soil where vegetables or flowers are
planted.
E horizon, is a layer of soil found between the topsoil (A
horizon) and subsoil (B horizon). It’s called the leaching layer
because water carries (or "leaches") nutrients, minerals, and
clay from this layer down into the lower layers.
SOIL HORIZON LAYERS
B Horizon (Subsoil)-Below topsoil, has less organic
matter but more clay and minerals like iron and
aluminum.
Example: A reddish or yellowish layer you see when
digging deeper in the backyard.
C Horizon (Parent Material)-Made of broken rocks and
some soil. It’s the base where soil starts to form.
Example: A layer with partly broken rocks just above
solid rock.
R Horizon (Bedrock)-The deepest layer – solid rock
that hasn’t been broken down yet.
Example: Hard rock found deep underground, like
granite or limestone.
3 MAJOR TYPES OF SOIL
1. Fine-Grained Soil -Have poor load bearing qualities
(FGS) -Less permeable in nature
-Change volume and strength with variations
* clay to silt in moisture conditions.
- Have good load bearing qualities
2. Coarse-Grained Soil (CGS)
- More permeable in nature
* sand to gravel
- Strength and volume change,
characteristics are not significantly affected
by change in moisture conditions.
- Practically incompressible when dense, but
significant volume changes can occur when
they are loose.
3. Organic Soil
* used as plant soil
HOW ARE SOILS FORMED?
• Soils are
formed by
weathering of
rocks and
decompositio
n of organic
matter.
WHAT IS WEATHERING?
• Weathering is the breaking down or dissolving of
rocks and minerals on Earth’s surface. Once a
rock has been broken down, a process called erosion
transports the bits of rock and minerals away. Water,
acids, salt, plants, animals, and changes in
temperature are all agents of weathering and erosion.
WHAT IS WEATHERING?
TYPES OF WEATHERING
1. PHYSICAL WEATHERING
*Due to physical effects like temperature, abrasion,
wedging action of ice. Freezing and thawing of water in
cracks (frost wedging).
*NO change in chemical composition of particles.
*Produces coarse grained and non cohesive soil.
2. CHEMICAL WEATHERING
*Due to chemical actions. (oxidation, hydration, solution
and carbonation.)
*Original rock minerals are transformed into clay minerals.
*Produces fine grained and cohesive soils.
hydration-where minerals
absorb water molecules into their
crystal structure, causing
expansion and weakening of the
oxidation-where oxygen reacts rock.
with minerals, particularly those
containing iron, to form oxides or
hydroxides, altering the rock’s
structure and often imparting a
reddish hue. It is especially
significant in iron-rich rocks like
basalt and sandstone.
Solution, or
dissolution, is a
process where minerals
dissolve directly into
water, often under
acidic conditions,
eroding soluble rocks
like limestone and
halite.
SOIL FORMATION AND THE ROCK
CYCLE STAGES:
1. Igneous Rocks:
* Formed from cooled magma or lava,
they weather into soil particles rich in primary
minerals like quartz or feldspar.
2. Sedimentary Rocks:
* Composed of compacted sediments,
they weather into finer particles and often
contribute to fertile soils.
3. Metamorphic Rocks:
* When exposed to surface conditions,
these rocks weather to form soils enriched with
new mineral compositions.
WHAT IS SEDIMENTARY SOILS?
• It is created at one location, transported and finally
deposited in another location.
TRANSPORTATION/DEPOSITION TYPE OF SOIL
River Alluvial Soils
Lakes Lacustrine Soils
Sea Marine Soils
Wind Aeolian Soils
Gravitation Colluvial Soils
Glacier Glacier Soils
WHAT ARE RESIDUAL SOILS?
f o rm e d b y in s itu w e a th e r in g o f th e p a re n t ro c k
1. CREEP SOILS 2. COLLUMVIUM SOILS
*can move slowly *move sudden and rapid
downward on a steep slope.
*formed by a landslide
SOIL PARTICLE SHAPE
1. BULKY
* formed from physical or mechanical weathering
of rocks. Angular in shape, sub angular, rounded and sub
rounded.
2. FLAKY
* has very low sphericity, usually 0.01 or less.
3. NEEDLE SHADED
*examples are corals, attapulgite and clays.
M A S S A C H U S E T T S I N S T I T U T E O F T E C H N O LO GY ( M I T )
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA)
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY AND
TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS (A ASHTO)
UNIFIED SOIL CL ASSIFICATION SYSTEM (USCS)
SOIL PARTICLE SIZE
GRAIN SIZE (mm)
ORGANIZATION GRAVEL SAND SILT CLAY
MIT >2 2-0.06 0.06-0.002 < 0.002
>2 < 0.002
USDA 2-0.05 0.05-0.002
< 0.002
AASHTO 76.2-2 2-0.075 0.075-0.002
4.75-
USCS 76.2-4.75 < 0.075 (fines)
0.075
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
GRAIN SIZE ANALYSIS OF
SOIL/MECHANICAL ANALYSIS
- Is the determination of the size range of particles present in
a soil, expressed as a percentage of the total dry weight.
1.SIEVE ANALYSIS/GRADATION TEST 2. HYDROMETER ANALYSIS
*consist of shaking the soil sample *based on the principle of
through a set of sieves that have “stokes law”. When a soil specimen is
progressively smaller openings. dispersed in water, the particles settle at
*coarse grained soil-larger than different velocities depending on their
0.075mm shape, size, weight and the viscosity of
the water.
*fine grained soil-smaller than 0.075mm
𝟐𝟎 . 𝟖𝟒
∅= 𝟏. 𝟎𝟔𝟔𝟔
( 𝒔𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒐 )
EXAMPLES:
The abscissa needs to be in
the logarithmic scale while
the ordinate, in the linear
scale contains the percent
finer values. The grain size
distribution curve is PARTICLE
SIZE vs. PERCENT FINER.
A semilogarithmic paper contains two
axes, one of which is logarithmic and
one is in a linear scale.
TYPES OF CURVE
BASIC SOIL PARAMETERS
EXAMPLES:
A sample of dry coarse grained material of 500
grams was shaken through a nest of sieves and
the following results are obtained:
a. Determine the effective size (mm)
b. Determine the uniformity coefficient
c. Determine the coefficient of curvature
EXAMPLES:
MASS
SIEVE OPENIN
RETAINED CMR CMP %FINER
NO. G (mm)
(g)
4 4.75 0
10 2.00 14.8
20 0.85 98.0
40 0.425 90.1
100 0.15 181.9
200 0.075 108.8
Pan 6.4
