List and briefly describe the various chemical properties used to ...

[jenna1]

List and briefly describe the various chemical properties used to differentiate soils.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Roughly 95 of the Earth's crust is made up of silicates.
 
  Indicate whether the statement is true or false

[sylvia]

Answer to Question 1

Soil colloids are the tiny particles of clay or organic material suspended in the soil solution. These carry a negative electrical charge and, therefore, attract positively charged ions in the soil. These positively charged ions, are often critical to plant growth. Without these negatively charged colloids, these positively charged ions would be leached away.
Colloid surfaces can exchange cations with the soil solution. The ability to do so is called cation-exchange capacity (CEC). This is a measure of soil fertility  the higher the CEC, the higher the fertility.
A soil solution may contain a significant amount of hydrogen ions, which stimulate acid formation. Soils rich in hydrogen ions are an acidic soil, while those high in base cations (such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium) are basic or alkaline soils.

Answer to Question 2

FALSE