Kiosk (pitong hakbang)

A horror story published in Wattpad. . .
Based on the author's experience with her wild imagination. . .

even during her writing time, she experiences goose bumps remembering her traumatic experience. . .


Copy this url it will lead you to the exact website:

http://www.wattpad.com/story/2463840-kiosk-pitong-hakbang

HUMANITIES (what i learned in our class)

HUMANITIES

·         Refers to art, literature, dance, music and etc.

·         Human subjectivity is emphasized as experiences are dramatized

·         Primary concerns: human beings and their feelings

·         Records of man’s experiences, values, ideas and goals

·         Ultimate expression of thought

·         4 E’s of Humanities:

-          Exploration (sense of discovery and unending search for something new)

-          Exposure (exposure to society, media, community)

-          Experience (test in skill and patience)

-          Enjoyment (release)

·         3 domains in learning humanities:

-          Cognitive learning (mental)

-          Psychomotor learning (application)

-          Affective learning (emotion)

ART

·         Is a product of man’s creativity

·         Study of art:

-          Art has a moral implication

-          Art is educational

-          Art is social, cultural

·         Importance of art:

-          Relaxation

-          Spiritual Happiness

-          Art is a powerful means to reform to change behavior and feelings of loneliness, restlessness and uncertainty

·         Work of art applies intellectual movement

·         Subject of an art:

-          Representational art (art that have subject)

-          Nonrepresentational art (art that do not have subject, do not represent)

·         Ways of presenting the subject:

-          Realism (depict the reality)

-          Abstraction (need the meaning to be seeked)

-          Distortion (twisting, stretching, deforming the neutral form of the stage of the object)

BEAUTIFUL

·         Satisfies the eyes

·         Has order

·         Meaningful

·         Relevant

·         Relaxation for our boredom

·         Man needs to experience beautiful to free us from sorrows

My Own Story: Music Box . . . First Part

Music Box

Malalim na ang gabi at masyado nang malamig ang simoy ng hangin. Si Angela ay naghihintay parin sa nobya nitong si Jayson sa labas ng paaralan dahil susunduin ito ng nobya para masiguro nitong ligtas itong makakauwi sa kanilang bahay. Di kalayuan sa kanyang kinatatayuan, may isang lalaking tila nakatitig sa kanya. Napatingin si Angela sa sulok kung saan nandoon ang mismong lalake ngunit hindi niya ito makilala sa dilim ng paligid sa kinatatayuan ng mismong lalake. Bigla siyang nakaramdam ng kaba at agad nitong sinubukang kontakin ang nobya sa telepono. Ilang beses niyang sinubukang tumawag pero hindi ito sinasagot ng nobya. Sa sobrang kaba, naisipan nitong pumasok uli sa loob ng paaralan dahil iniisip niyang mas mapapanatag ang kanyang kalooban at mas masisiguro ang kanyang seguridad. Sa pagpasok nito, sinubukan niyang ngumiti sa guwardiya ng paaralan na para bang walang nangyari. Napansin nito na balisang-balisa si Angela. “Miss? Ayos ka lang bah? Balisang-balisa ka ah. . “ tanong ng guwardiya. “Ayos lng ho ako, ‘wag ho kayong mag-alala” sagot naman ni Angela habang pinipigilan ang panginginig. Dumiretso si Angela sa isa sa mga tambayan ng paaralan at minabuting doon nalang maghintay sa nobya. Ngunit pakiramdam niyang may nanonood parin sa kanya na para bang bawat kilos niya ay binabantayan. Halos hindi siya makakilos. Halos hindi siya makalingon. Ayaw niyang mabigyan ng dahilan ang kanyang sariling mas matakot. At kung andoon lang sa paligid ang taong iyon, ayaw niya itong makaalam napapansin niya ito. Para magkaroon siya ng kasama, hinanap niya ang malapit na kaibigang si Abbie. Tinawagan niya ito at inalam sa kanya kung nasaan siya. Habang naglalakad siya, napadaan siya sa isang madilim na parte ng paaralan. Bigla nanaman niyang naramdaman ang hindi maipaliwanag na kabang naramadaman niya kanina sa labas. Habang naglalakad siya, nakiramdam siya sa kanyang paligid. Napansin niyang may sumusunod sa kanya. Nakiramdam uli siya at sapagkakataong ito, mukhang bumibilis na ang pakakalakad nito. Mas lalo siyang kinabahan at natakot. Walang ibang tao sa madilim na lugar na iyon kung hindi siya at ang taong humahabol sa kanya. Kumaripas siya ng takbo at nawalan ng direksyon kung saan siya pupunta. Hanggang umabot siya sa isang building na may mga silid-aralang hindi ginagamit sa gabi. Gaya ng inaasahan, mas madilim ito dahil malayo ito sa mga silid-aralang ginagamit sa gabi. Nagtago siya sa isa sa mga silid-aralan doon ng biglang tumunog ang kanyang telepono. Si Jayson ay tumatawag! Sinagot niya ang tawag nito habang umiiyak ng dahil sa takot. “Babe, tulungan mo ako. Maawa ka sa akin.”; paghinigi ng tulong sa nobya. “Nasaan kah? Pupuntahan kita diyan.”; tanong ng nobya. “Nasa isa sa mga silid-aralan lamang ako dito sa bakanteng building tuwing gabi.”; sagot din ni Angela. Sa ingay na kanyang nagawa, malamang ay natunton na siya ng taong sumusunod sa kanya kaya dahan-dahan siyang kumilos upang umalis sa silid-aralang iyon. Ngunit, naabutan siya nito. Sinindi ang ilaw at nakita ang kangyang pagmumukha. Laking gulat sa nakita, “Ikaw?!; ang tanging nasambit ng dalaga. “Andyan ka lang pala”; sambit ng tao. “Pinatay ito, punit-punit ang damit at duguan sa mismong silid-aralang pinagtaguan bago namatay.”;kuwento ni Teng sa mga kaklase. “Alam niyo bah sino ang nakita sa crime scene?”;dagdag pa nito. “Ang kanyang nobya”. “Eh, nasaan ang nobya nito?”;tanong naman ni Shane. “Nasa Mental hospital atah. Eh, ayon kasi sa mga napagtanungan ko parang nabaliw atah...”; sagot ni Teng. “Hindi kaya... ang kanyang nobya mismo ang pumatay sa kanya?”; ideya ni Alex. “Posible, pero ang nakakapagtaka lang, walang finger prints ang katawan ni Angela. Kung walang Finger Prints, ibig sabihin ayaw itong magpahuli. Pero bakit hindi umalis si Jayson na alam naman niyang makikita siya ng mga pulis.”; pagtataka ni Teng. “eh, kasi nga baliw siya”; dagdag pa ni Raven. “Nakaktakot naman pala dito”; sabi ni Shane. “Balita ko, nasuspinde raw ang mga klase sa gabi”; pagbahagi ni Sean. “Ooh, nasuspinde nga ang klase... eh; Teng, anong nangayari sa guwardiya? Paano nakapasok ang killer?”; pagsagot at pagtataka ni Bill. “Sa tutuo lang, kahit ang guwardiya ay nasuspindido rin dahil sa nangyari. Pero, hula ko, taga looban lang ang suspect. Eh, nakapasok eh”; sagot ni Teng. “Tama, tagalooban nga kasi naman diba? Kailangan ng ID para makapasok? Malamang may ID yun ng ID dito.”; teorya ni Raven. “eh, Teng? Si Abbie? Diba best friend yun ni Angela?”; tanong ni Shane. “Si Abbie? Ooh. . . yun nga rin ang nakakapagtaka eh, nawala si Abbie matapos nangyari ang krimen.”; dagdag pa ni Teng. “pero, diba ang sabi nakabook na raw ito papuntang America matagal nah?”;tanong ni Shane. “Maaaring planado niya ang lahat”; teorya ni Sean. “Uy, uy,uy... wag niyo nga kayong agad mambintang ng ibang tao, masama yan.”; pakikisali ng kanilang guro sa philisophy na si Sr. Jo. “sir, pasensya ho. Nadala lang po sa diskusyon.”; palusot ni Alex. “Oh sha sige at may klase pa ako.”; pagpapaalam ng guro.

_That's all for now. . .  sorry. . . no time to continue it yet. . .

NatSci: Terrestrial Planets Part 2

VENUS

·         Usually referred to as the “evening star” or “morning star”

·         It is named for the Roman goddess of love, Venus

·         It is considered as a twin of the Earth. It is most like the earth in diameter and mass

·         Its surface has a perpetual layer of thick clouds that completely covers the planet

·         History:

Ø  Venus is the Roman name of the Greek goddess of love; Aphrodite. But there are references to Venus as far back as Babylonian cuneiformic texts, like the Venus table of Ammisaduqa which can be as old as 1600 BC

Ø  Ancient Egyptians thought that Venus was actually two separate objects… a morning star, and then a completely different evening star. The tradition carried on with the ancient Greeks as well.

Ø  The early mathematician Pythagoras was one of the first to recognize that the morning evening stars were actually the same object: Venus. So perhaps he was the first to “discover Venus”

Ø  The Maya civilization held Venus in high regard, and the planet figured prominently in their religious calendar

·         Major Features:

Ø  Equatorial diameter (12104 km)

Ø  Average distance from the sun (1.08 x 10⁸ km)

Ø  Inclination of equator to orbit (177’’)

Ø  Orbital period (0.6152 yr. (224.7 days))

Ø  Period of Rotation (243 days)

Ø  Mass (4.7 x 10²⁴ kg)

Ø  Average Density (5.24 gm/cm³)

Ø  Surface gravity (0.9 earth gravity)

Ø  Escape velocity (10.3 km/s)

Ø  Surface temperature (472 ⁰c)

·         Structure of Interior

Ø  The deep interior of Venus is probably like the Earth’s iron core and rock mantle

·         Orbit and Rotational Motion

Ø  Venus rotates backward or from east to west for a period of 243 days)

Ø  The sun rises in west and sets in the east

Ø  Venus rotates slowly that it cannot generate a strong magnetic field like the earth does

·         Surface

Ø  Rolling plains which cover 65% of the planet’s surface

Ø  Highlands which cover 8% of the planet’s surface

Ø  Lowlands which cover 27% percent of the planet’s surface

·         Venus’ temperature and atmosphere

Ø  96% carbon dioxide

Ø  3.5% Nitrogen

Ø  The rest are:

-          Water, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, and hydrofluoric acid

Ø  The pressure of the atmosphere is 90 times that on earth

Ø  Venussian clouds composed of sulfuric acid droplets and sulfuric crystals

Ø  The highest layer of clouds stretch from 58 – 68 km from the planet’s surface

Ø  The rest lies from 52 – 56 km above the surface

Ø  The rest lies from 52 – 56 km above the surface

Ø  The third and densest layer extends from 48 – 52 km

Ø  A thin laze ranges from 48 km down to 33 km

Ø  The Venus’ carbon dioxide atmosphere creates an extremely strong green house effect

Ø  The Warm surface radiates infrared radiation

Ø  No magnetic field is present, thus the solar wind is deflected by the uppermost layers of the atmosphere

Ø  The high temperature and density of Venus’ atmosphere create a high atmospheric pressure on the planet

·         Greenhouse effect in the atmosphere

Ø  Venus is now a furnace uninhabitable.

Ø  The greenhouse effect is caused by its atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide is its surface temperature over 400 ⁰c, and any water present in the atmosphere is equivalent to a layer of only three inches thick on the surface of the planet

MARS

·         IS THE 4^TH planet from the sun in the solar system

·         Named after the Roman god of war “Mars”

·         The Martian atmosphere is generally clear enough for astronomers on Earth to view its surface clearly

·         The force of gravity on the surface of Mars is about 1/3 of that on Earth. Mars has twice the diameter and twice the surface gravity of Earth’s moon

·         Often described as the red planet as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance

·         Mariner and Viking reveal the true marvels of Mars

·         The Valles Marineris the grand canyon of Mars stretches 500 km (3000 miles) long 100

·         These frozen regions change in size during the cycles of the Martian seasons

·         A cycle resulting from the tilt of mars rotation axis in the same way that our cycle of seasons is caused by the tilt of earth’s rotation axis

·         Interior Surface

Ø  Scientist believe that Mars interior consists  of a crust, mantle and core as if Earth’s interior but they do not know the relative sizes of these components

Ø  Mars probably has a relatively thick crust beneath the _ bulge, an area of volcanic activity in the northern hemisphere. It may be as thick as

Ø  The core is

·         Interior surface

Ø  Mars does not, and probably did not ever, have active plate tectonics, or a crust made of separate sections that move about and sometimes crash into each other.

Ø  Though the Martian crust is not broken into separate plates, mars says liquid mantle has sculpted the surface of the planet.

·         Surface features

Ø  The surface of Mars would be a harsh place for surface of Earth than any other planet

Ø  The surface is probably cooler

·         Mars orbit and rotational motion

Ø  Mars’ average distance from the sun is roughly 230 million km (1.5 AU) and its orbital period is 687 (Earth) days

Ø  The solar day (or sol) on Mars is only slightly longer than an earth day: 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35.224 seconds

Ø  A Martian year is equal to 1.8809 earth years, or 1 year, 320 days and 18.2 hours

Ø  The axial tilt of Mars is 25.19 degrees, which is similar to the axial tilt of the Earth

Ø  Currently the orientation of the north pole of Mars is close to the star Deneb

Ø  Mars passed an aphelion in March 2010 and its perihelion in March 2011. The next aphelion came in February 2012 and the next perihelion came in February 2012 and the next perihelion comes in January 2013

Ø  Mars has relatively pronounced “orbital eccentricity” of about 0.09 of the   

Early Astronomy (NatSci)

Early Astronomy

Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences, dating back to antiquity, with its origins in the religious, mythological, and astrological practices of pre-history: vestiges of these are still found in astrology, a discipline long interwoven with public and governmental astronomy, and not completely disentangled from it until a few centuries ago in the Western World (see astrology and astronomy). In some cultures astronomical data was used for astrological prognostication.

Ancient astronomers were able to differentiate between stars and planets, as stars remain relatively fixed over the centuries while planets will move an appreciable amount during a comparatively short time.

Early cultures identified celestial objects with gods and spirits.[1] They related these objects (and their movements) to phenomena such as rain, drought, seasons, and tides. It is generally believed that the first "professional" astronomers were priests, and that their understanding of the "heavens" was seen as "divine", hence astronomy's ancient connection to what is now called astrology. Ancient structures with possibly astronomical alignments (such as Stonehenge) probably fulfilled both astronomical and religious functions.

Calendars of the world have usually been set by the Sun and Moon (measuring the day, month and year), and were of importance to agricultural societies, in which the harvest depended on planting at the correct time of year. The most common modern calendar is based on the Roman calendar, which divided the year into twelve months of alternating thirty and thirty-one days apiece. In 46 BC Julius Caesar instigated calendar reform and adopted a calendar based upon the 365¼ day year length originally proposed by 4th century BC Greek astronomer Callippus.

Ancient astronomers had only their eyes with which to view the sky, but they had a very practical reason for studying the skies. Thousands of years ago, changes in the heavens were the only available clocks and calendars. The stars could also be used for navigation. See also Archaeoastronomy.

1200-1000 BC- Babylonians study 'astrology' - the belief that people's lives were influenced by the stars. They invented the 12 signs that are still used today. Around the same time, the Greeks name most of the stars and the constellations (Hercules, Perseus, Cassiopea and Cygnus). They also name the "the wandering stars." We now know these wandering stars as planets. The Greeks named these after their gods, Mercury, Venus, Mars & Jupiter.

332 BC- Alexander the Great builds a great museum-library-observatory at the mouth of the Nile in Alexandra.

280 BC- Aristarchus (Greek) stated that the Sun was the center of the 'solar system'. It was almost 1800 yrs later that his theory would be widely accepted.

240 BC- Eratosthenes figured out the size of the Earth.

Year O - At the time of Christ, Egyptians & Chinese were also heavily into the study of the stars.

120 AD- Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy (a.d. 90-168) is credited with the creation of the elaborate mechanism by which he (and later astronomers) calculated the movements of the stars and planets and the moon around the earth.

Ptolemy's most important work was completed early in his career, Almagest. Written originally in Greek, this work on astronomy was translated into Arabic in the ninth century, and in 1410 it was translated into Latin. While never completely unknown, its reappearance during the Renaissance buttressed Catholic doctrine on the centrality of human creation.

1054- Oriental astronomers recorded a breif flaring star, now known as a supernova.

1200 AD- the mariner's compass with a magnetic needle comes into use.

1510 AD - Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer & mathemetician posumously publishs his theories that opposes common Christian beliefs of the time. The book stated that the sun was the center of our solar system. His book was banned by the Roman Catholic Church until 1835.

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) The Italian physicist and astronomer first used a telescope from lenses he made himself, at the beginning of the 17th Century. The telescope was 30X. In 1609, he made a drawing of the moon for the world to see. Again, he stated that the Sun was the center of the universe, for this he was persecuted for going against the Church. The Inquisition forced him to repeal his discoveries in order avoid torture. He also discovered sun spots and Jupiter's 4 satellites.

1618- Johannes Kepler stated that the Earth moved around the Sun in an ellipse ( a squashed circle.) Isaac Newton (1643-1727) at the University of Cambridge, developed the laws of gravity. He coined the now famous term "and to every action there is always an equal and opposite or contrary, reaction." Newton also determined the moon's effect on the tides. He also discovered that the prism seperated light's component colours, which added to the study of stars through spectral analysis.  

1905- Albert Einstein published his Theory of Relativity. This led to the famous E=MC squared (energy is equal to mass times the speed of light squared). This formula helped us understand the atom and the fact that gravity can bend light.

1924- Edwin Hubble (1889-1953) discovered that our Milky Way was not the center of the universe, but rather only one galaxy in among billions. He calulates the distance to the Andromeda and Triangulum 'nebulas'. He also measures the redshift of the spectra of the galaxies and states that the universe is expanding.

1967- A Pulsar (a form of radiation) is discovered at Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory at University of Cambridge.

NatSci Outline: Hydrologic Cycle, Running Water, Stream Erosion and Sediment Transport

HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

-          water is continuously recycled from the oceans through the atmosphere and back to the oceans

·         Evaporation

Ø  Occurs when the physical state of water is changed from a liquid state to a gaseous state

·         Condensation

Ø   Is a process by which water vapor changes its physical state from a vapor most commonly to a liquid

Ø  Brought about by cooling the air or by increasing the amount of vapor in the air to its saturation point

·         Precipitation

Ø  Is the process that occurs when only and all forms of water particles fall from the atmosphere and reach the ground

Ø  2 Subways to release precipitation:

v  Coalescence Process – rain

v  Ice-crystal Process – occurs when ice develop in cold clouds or in cloud formation high in the temperature where freezing temperature occur

§  80% falls directly into the ocean

§  20% falls on land as rain or snow

Ø  When precipitation reaches the ground:

v  Re-evaporate

v  If it isn’t re-evaporated, water will become RUN-OFF

v  Some absorbed into the ground by infiltration

·         Run-off

Ø  Is a flow from a drainage basin or watershed that appears in surface streams

·         Infiltration

Ø  Is a process involving movement of water through the boundary area where the atmosphere interfaces with the soil

·         Storage

Ø  3 storage that occur in the planetary water cycle:

v  Stored in the atmosphere

v  Stored in the surface of the earth

v  Stored in the ground

RUNNING WATER

-          The single most important agent sculpturing the earth’s land surface

·         Infiltration Capacity

Ø  The maximum rate that soil and other surface materials can absorb water

·         Sheet Flows

Ø  An overland flow or down slope movement of water taking the form of a thin, continuous film over relatively smooth soil or rock surfaces and not concentrated into channels larger than rills

·         Sheet Erosion

Ø  Detachment of soil particles by raindrop impact and their removal down slope as a sheet instead of indefinite channels or rills

Ø  2 stages of sheet erosion:

v  Rain Splash – soil particle knocked into the air by raindrop impact

v  Sheet Flooding – loose particles are moved down slope. Blood sheets of rapidly flowing water filled with sediment present a potential higher erosion force

·         Channel Flows

Ø  Those that are not entirely included within rigid boundaries a part of the flow is in contact with nothing at all, just empty space

Ø  3 types of channel:

v  Broad Shallow Channel

v  Narrow Deep Channel

v  Semicircular Channel

·         Stream Flow

Ø  Flow downhill from a source area to a lower elevation where they empty into another stream, a lake or sea

Ø  Gradient – over the slope of a stream flow

v  Vertical drop in a given horizontal distance

v  Expressed in (m/km) or (ft/mi)

v  It is sleeper in the upper reaches of streams where there may be tens of meters per kilometer

·         Velocity

Ø  Measure of downstream distance traveled per unit of time

Ø  Expressed in (m/sec) or (ft/sec)

Ø  Makes the flow of velocity slower near the bed and banks of the stream

Ø  Channel – least perimeter, least friction, greater velocity

v  3 factors contribute to this:

§  Velocity increase continuously in response to the acceleration of gravity unless other factors retard flow

§  Streams – flow resistance high, velocity slow

§  Tributary Streams – total number of water increases and increased in velocity

·         Discharge

Ø  Total volume of water in a stream moving past a particular point in a given period of time

Ø  Multiply a stream’s cross-sectional area by its flow velocity

STREAM EROSION AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT

-          Erosion involves the removal of dissolved substances and loose particle of soil and rock from a source area

-          Sediment transported in a stream consists of both dissolved materials, the dissolved load and solid particles transported as suspended or bed load

·         Suspended Load – consist of silt and clay

·         Bed Load – made up of sand and gravel

-          Hydraulic Action – sediment carried in streams eroded by the power of running water

-          Streams also eroded by Abrasion:

·         Competence

Ø  Factor related to flow velocity

·         Capacity

Ø  Is a measure of the total load a stream carries which varies as a function of discharge

·         Competence and Capacity are actually related to different aspects of stream transport

·         A large slow-flowing stream has a low competence, but may have a very large suspended load and hence a large capacity

Soil (Nat Sci)

Soil

Ø  The loose material that coves the land surfaces of Earth and supports the growth of the plants

Ø  In general: soil is an unconsolidated, or loose combination of organic and inorganic materials

Ø  Introduction:

·        Soils vary widely from place to place. Many factors determine the chemical composition and physical structure of soil at any given location.

·        In some cases, human activity such as farming or building has caused disruption.

·        Takes time to develop (thousands or even millions of years)

·        Soil is a nonrenewable resource

Ø  Soil Science/ Pedology

·        The study of soil types and their properties

·        Plays a key role in agriculture, helping farmers to select and support the crops on their land and maintain fertile, healthy ground for planting

·        Soil engineers carry out detailed analysis of the soil prior to the building of roads, houses, industrial and retail complexes and other structures

Ø  Composition of rocks:

·        Soils comprise a mixture of organic and inorganic components: minerals, air, water, and plant and animal material.

·        Mineral and organic particles generally compose roughly 50% of soil’s volume

·        The other 50% consists of pores:

-          Open areas of various shapes and sizes

-          Networks of pores hold water within the soil and also provide a means of water transport

-          Oxygen and other gases move through pore spaces in soil

-          Pores also serve as passageways for small animals and provide room for the growth of plant roots

·        Components:

a.      Inorganic material

v  the products of rocks and minerals that have been gradually broken down by weather, chemical action and other natural processes

b.      Organic Material

v  composed of debris from plants and from the decomposition of the many tiny life forms that inhabit the soil

c.       Water

v  Soil scientists also characterize soils according to how effectively they retain and transport water

v  Once water enters the soil from rain or irrigation, gravity comes into play, causing water to trickle downward

v  Water is also taken up in great quantities by the roots of plants

v  Plants use anywhere from 200 to 1,000 kg (440 to 2,200 lbs) of water in the formation of 1kg (2.2 lbs) of dry matter

Ø  Soil Formation

·        Also known as “Pedogenesis” (from the Greek words pedon for “ground” and genesis = “birth” or “origin”)

·        An ongoing process that proceeds through the combined effects of five soil-forming factors: parent materials, climate, living organisms, topography and time.

·        Each combination of the five factors produces a unique type of soil that can be identified by its characteristic layers called horizons

·        Factors:

a.      Parent material

v  the first step in Pedogenesis is the formation of parent material from which the soil itself forms

v  roughly 99% of the world’s soils derive from mineral-based parent materials that are the result of weathering, the physical disintegration and chemical decomposition of exposed bedrock

b.      Climate

v  Water, ice, wind, heat and cold cause physical weathering by loosening of and breaking of rocks

v  Climate also influences the developing soil by determining the types of plant growth that occur

c.       Living organisms

v  As parent material accumulates, living organisms gradually gain a foothold in it.

v  The arrival of living organisms marks the beginning of the formation of true soil

d.      Topography

v  The degree of slope on which a soil forms helps to determine how much rainfall will run off the surface and how much will be retained by the soil

e.      Time

v  The amount of time a soil requires to develop varies widely according to the action of the other soil-forming factors.

v  Soil may take a hundreds of thousands of years to form

v  In some areas, the soils may be more than a million years old

f.        Horizons

v  Reflects the different properties and different degrees of weathering

Ø  Soil Characteristics

·        Scientists can learn a lot about a soil’s composition and origin by examining various features of the soil:

a.      Color

v  Color alone does not affect a soil but it is often a reliable indicator of other soil properties

§  A dark color – usually indicates the presence of organic matter

§  A red to yellow range – common soil hues, getting their color from iron oxide minerals coating soil particles

§  Gray, blue or green – saturated by water, the minerals that give them the red and yellow colors have been leached away

b.      Texture

v  Relative percentage of each particle size in a soil

v  Texture differences can affect many other physical and chemical properties and are therefore important in measures such as soil productivity:

§  Soil with predominantly large particles tend to drain quickly and have lower fertility

§  Very fine-textured soils may be poorly drained, tend to become waterlogged and therefore not suited for agriculture

§  Soils with medium texture and relatively even proportion of all particle sizes are most versatile

v  Ideal mixture for productive soil

§  10% to 20% clay

§  Sand and silt in roughly equal amounts

§  Good quantity organic materials

c.       Aggregation

v  Occurs as a result of complex chemical forces acting on small soil components or when organisms and organic matter in soil act as glue binding particles together

v  Soil aggregates (also known as soil peds: individual soil particles tend to bound together into larger unit)

v  3 main soil types:

§  Platelike – aggregates are flat and mostly horizontal

§  Prismlike – greater in vertical and horizontal dimension

§  Blocklike – roughly equal in horizontal and vertical dimensions and either angular or rounded

d.      Porosity

v  The part of the soil that is not solid is made up of pores of various sizes and shapes.

v  The size, number and arrangement of these pores

v  Affects water movement and gas exchange

v  Well-aggregated soils have numerous pores, which are important for organisms that live in the soil and require water and oxygen to survive

v  The transport of nutrients and contaminants will also be affected by soil structure and porosity

e.      Ion Content

v  a chemical characteristic

v  the of certain soil particles, particularly the clays, hold groupings of atoms known as ions

v  cations become attached to the soil particles in a process known as “cation exchange”

v  the chemical reactions in cation exchange make it possible for calcium and other elements to be exchanged into water-soluble forms that plants can use for food

v  therefore, a soil’s cation exchange capacity is an important measure of fertility

f.        pH (positively charged hydrogen atom)

v  another important chemical measure is soil pH, which refers to the soil’s acidity/ alkalinity

v  this property hinges on the concentration of hydrogen ions in solution

v  a greater concentration of hydrogen results in a lower pH, meaning greater acidity

v  scientists consider pure water with a pH of 7, neutral

Ø  Soil Classification

·        There is no worldwide, unified classification scheme for soil

·        Since the birth of the modern discipline of soil science roughly 100 years ago, scientists in different countries have used many systems to organize the various types of soils into groups

Ø  Soil Use

·        For most of human history, soil has not been treated as the valuable and essentially nonrenewable resource that it is

a.      Erosion

v  Removal of rock and soil material by natural processes

b.      Soil Management

v  Prevention for destruction through wise use

Ø  Soil Profile

·        refers to the layers of the soil

·        another term for soil horizon

a.      Organic Matter (O horizon)

v  Surroundings or the things that we can see above the soil

b.      Topsoil (A Horizon)

v  The uppermost layer of the soil

v  Rich in organic matter called humus

v  Holds most of the roots of the plants

c.       Subsoil (B Horizon)

v  Rich in minerals but contains less humus than the topsoil above it

d.      Rock Fragments (C Horizon)

v  Separates the subsoil and the bedrock

e.      Bedrock (D Horizon)

v  The solid rock of the earth. It may be exposed at the surface in an outcrop or be covered by soil, sand or gravely

Ø  Soil Degradation

·        It is when soil deteriorates because of human activity and loses its quality and productivity

·        It happens when soil loses its nutrients or its organic matter

·        Also happens when the soil structure breaks down or if soil becomes toxic because from pollution

·        Cause: erosion and depletion by nutrient-demanding crops

Ø  Mass Wasting/ Mass Movement

·        The down slope movement of rock and regolith near the Earth’s surface mainly due to the force of gravity

·        Important part of erosion process as it moves material from higher elevations to lower elevations where transporting agents like streams and glaciers can then pick up the material and move it to even lower elevations

·        Mass movement processes are occurring continuously on all slopes; some act very slowly, others occur very suddenly, often with disastrous results

a.      Types of Mass Movement Processes

The down-slope movement of material, whether it is bedrock, regolith, or a mixture of these, is commonly referred to as a landslide. All of these processes generally grade into one another, so classification of such processes is somewhat difficult. We will use a classification that divides mass movement processes into two broad categories:

v  Slope Failures

§  a sudden failure of the slope resulting in transport of debris downhill by sliding, rolling, falling, or slumping

o   Slumps (also called Rotational Slides)

-          types of slides wherein downward rotation of rock or regolith occurs along a concave-upward curved surface (rotational slides)

-           The upper surface of each slump block remains relatively undisturbed, as do the individual blocks. Slumps leave actuate scars or depressions on the hill slope

-           Slumps can be isolated or may occur in large complexes covering thousands of square meters

-           They often form as a result of human activities, and thus are common along roads where slopes have been over steepening during construction. They are also common along river banks and sea coasts, where erosion has under-cut the slopes.  Heavy rains and earthquakes can also trigger slumps.

o   Falls/ Rock Falls

-          occur when a piece of rock on a steep slope becomes dislodged and falls down the slope

-          Debris falls are similar, except they involve a mixture of soil, regolith, vegetation, and rocks. A rock fall may be a single rock or a mass of rocks and the falling rocks can dislodge other rocks as they collide with the cliff

-          this process involves the free fall of material, falls commonly occur where there are steep cliffs

-          At the base of most cliffs is an accumulation of fallen material termed talus

o   Slides (also called Translational Slides)

-           Rock slides and debris slides result when rocks or debris slide down a pre-existing surface, such as a bedding plane, foliation surface,  or joint surface (joints are regularly spaced fractures in rock that result from expansion during cooling or uplift of the rock mass)

-          Piles of talus are common at the base of a rock slide or debris slide

-          Slides differ from slumps in that there is no rotation of the sliding rock mass along a curved surface

v  Sediment Flows

§  Occur when sufficient force is applied to rocks and regolith that they begin to flow down slope. A sediment flow is a mixture of rock, and/or regolith with some water or air. They can be broken into two types depending on the amount of water present

o   Slurry Flows

-          Are sediment flows that contain between about 20 and 40% water. As the water content increases above about 40% slurry flows grade into streams.  Slurry flows are considered water-saturated flows

o   Granular Flows

-           are sediment flows that contain between 0 and 20% water. Note that granular flows are possible with little or no water. Fluid-like behavior is given these flows by mixing with air.  Granular flows are not saturated with water

o   Solifluction

-           flowage at rates measured on the order of centimeters per year of regolith containing water. Solifluction produces distinctive lobes on hill slopes. These occur in areas where the soil remains saturated with water for long periods of time

o   Debris Flows

-          These occur at higher velocities than solifluction, with velocities 100 meters/hr and often result from heavy rains causing saturation of the soil and regolith with water. They sometimes start with slumps and then flow downhill forming lobes with an irregular surface consisting of ridges and furrows

o   Mudflows

-           these are a highly fluid, high velocity mixture of sediment and water that has a consistency ranging between soup-like and wet concrete

-          They move at velocities greater than 1 km/hr and tend to travel along valley floors

-           These usually result from heavy rains in areas where there is an abundance of unconsolidated sediment that can be `picked up by streams

-          Thus after a heavy rain streams can turn into mudflows as they pick up more and more loose sediment

-          Because of their high velocity and long distance of travel they are potentially very dangerous

-          Note that the media often refers to mudflows (and sometimes debris flows) as mudslides. This is inaccurate because mud flows rather than slides down a slope. Thus, in this course the word "mudslide" is an illegal word - one that you should never use

o   Creep

-          - the very slow, usually continuous movement of regolith down slope. Creep occurs on almost all slopes, but the rates vary. Evidence for creep is often seen in bent trees, offsets in roads and fences, and inclined utility poles

o   Earth flow

-          are usually associated with heavy rains and move at velocities between several cm/yr and 100s of m/day. They usually remain active for long periods of time. They generally tend to be narrow tongue-like features that begin at a scarp or small cliff

o   Grain flow

-          Usually form in relatively dry material, such as a sand dune, on a steep slope. A small disturbance sends the dry unconsolidated grains moving rapidly down slope

o   Debris Avalanches

-          These are very high velocity flows of large volume mixtures of rock and regolith that result from complete collapse of a mountainous slope. They move down slope and then can travel for considerable distances along relatively gentle slopes. They are often triggered by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions

-          Snow Avalanches are similar to debris avalanches, but involve only snow, and are much more common than debris avalanches. Snow avalanches usually cause hundreds of deaths worldwide each year

b.      Mass Movements in Cold Climates

v  Rock Glaciers

§  a lobe of ice-cemented rock debris (mostly rocks with ice between the blocks) that slowly moves downhill

v  Frost Heaving

§  This process is large contributor to creep in cold climates. When water saturated soils freeze, they expand, pushing rocks and boulders on the surface upward perpendicular to the slope. When the soil thaws, the boulders move down vertically resulting in a net down slope movement

c.       3 types – of mass movements are common, based on degree of disintegration of the material during movements

v  Submarine Slumps

§  Coherent blocks break and slip

v  Submarine Debris Flows

§  Moving material breaks apart

v  Turbidity Currents

§  Sediment moves as a turbulent cloud, called a turbidity current