Introduction

Introduction:
1. Soil is a natural body consisting of layers (known as soil horizons) that are primarily composed of minerals which differ from their parent materials in their texture, structure, consistency, colour, chemical, biological and other characteristics. It is the loose covering of  rock particles that cover the surface of the earth. It is composed of 50% minerals, 5% organic matter, and 45% air and water.
2. One of the major difference between soil and dirt is that soil contains living organisms while dirt is dead. Being 'dirty' is being unclean, and one can find dirt on his or her body, like under the fingernails, while soil is the layer of the ground on which we walk.
3. Soil is formed when parent material such as lava, ash, rock, or sediments is broken down through weathering. Then biological activity allows for the accumulation of some organic matter, living organisms, allowing the soil to form.
4. The major factors examined in soil texture are structure, texture, density, porosity, consistency, temperature, color, and and resistivity.
5. Light colored or reddish soils are very dry and fine, while some soil is very dark, which means it is enriched with organic matter.  In general, soil color is used to identify organic matter content, drainage conditions (water concentration), and oxidation degree (of organic, salt and carbonate contents).
6. Soil can have different structural sizes, such as very fine, fine, medium, thick, or very thick. Also, it can be classified into different grades, like weak, where soil easily falls apart, moderate, where there are few clumps, strong, where the clumps are strong and do not break apart easily, and structureless, where the soil clumps do not break apart at all and the soil is one big slab. The effect of pH is to remove from the soil or to make available certain ions. Regarding pH, soils with high acidity usually have toxic amounts of elements aluminium and manganese. Plants which need calcium need moderate alkalinity, but most minerals are more soluble in acid soils. Soil organisms are hindered by high acidity, and most agricultural crops do best with mineral soils of pH 6.5 and organic soils of pH 5.5. The cation exchange capacity is when roots donate positive hydrogen ions to the soil in exchange for nutrients, which the plants replenish by exchanging water with  the soil. However, if too much occurs the soil will become acidic damaging the soil and the plants growing in it.
7. Soils in Lake Zurich, Illinois are relatively dark signifying organic matter inhabiting it. Also, it relatively clumped, probably being in the 'moderate category. The soil structure is also about medium sized.
8. Hawaiian soil is very diverse. The effect of rainfall is the cause, where the islands, surrounded by water, have very moist soils, while on the mainland there are drier soils. Georgia has much red soil, signifying that it consists of a lot of clay and iron. The red also results from warm, humid weathering and climate and rainfall. The soil doesn't consist of much organic matter so many organisms don't live in the Georgian soil. Almost every soil type is found in Arizona, with the exception of tropical soils. Arizona soils have a lot of clay and are very alkaline as a result. Beneath the surface soil there is often a very hard-to-penetrate layer called caliche. Soils there can be low in nutrients and difficult to work with, requiring the addition of organic matter to assist the soil in holding water and nutrients.
9. Farmers should care about soil analysis because they need to use it in order to ensure that their soil can sustain crops to make a profit. Also, farmers care about soil analysis because they need it to ensure their fertzilizers are producing excess elements, like nitrogen, which can harm the environment, and can lead to the farmers having to pay taxes to the government for it. A social reason farmers should care about soil analysis is because they produce the food for the world, and their soil needs to be in excellent shape to do this. Also, when there are harmful things used in the soil that alter the analysis, such as pesticides, and people consume plants from this, they can make the people sick which causes death in society.