Soil: JAMB Biology Past Questions and Answers

What the JAMB syllabus covers in Soil

Our summary: Soil types, what soil is made of, and how fertility is lost, renewed and conserved.

• Characteristics of different types of soil (sandy, loamy, clayey) ((i) soil structure; (ii) porosity, capillarity and humus content.)
• Components of the soil ((i) inorganic; (ii) organic; (iii) soil organisms; (iv) soil air; (v) soil water.)
• Soil fertility ((i) loss of soil fertility; (ii) renewal and maintenance of soil fertility.)

Objectives

• identify physical properties of different soil types based on simple measurement of particle size, porosity or water retention ability.
• determine the amounts of air, water, humus and capillarity in different soil types experimentally.
• relate soil characteristics, types and components to the healthy growth of plants
• relate such factors as loss of inorganic matter, compaction, leaching, erosion of the top soil and repeated cropping with one variety.
• apply the knowledge of the practice of contour ridging, terracing, mulching, poly-cropping, strip-cropping, use of organic and inorganic fertilizers, crop rotation, shifting cultivation, etc. to enhance soil conservation.

Syllabus content © The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (UTME).