Question

Which of the following are smallest particles of the soil texture?
a.) Sand
b.) Silt
c.) Clay
d.) None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: During the weathering of the rock, the big stones of the rock start breaking into small particles of different size and shape, finally after several breakdowns of the stone the fine particle soil is formed which is rich in all mineral and highly fertile soil.

Complete step by step answer:
- Weathering process of rock is initiated due to several reasons like air, mosses, water, and other climatic changes.
- Silt has the particle size between sand and the clay, they have a particle size smaller than the sand and larger than the clay.
- Silts are mainly found on the river bank as it is the mud that is collected by the river during its flow from the mountains to the plain area.
- Silt is a water suspension medium of the soil and the sedimentary rock particles placed in the glass, this looks like silt.
- Clay has very small and fine particles of the rock, the particles of the clay hold each other very tightly due to their small size. The force of attraction between these particles is so high that they do not allow the water to pass through them.
- Sand has a huge particle size. The particles are loosely bound with each other so they allow the water to pass through them easily and have a low water retention capacity.
The correct option is option “C” .

Note: Clay soil has very small and fine particles of the rock and is used for the crops which require standing water for the growth like paddy grains.