Which of the 5 Soil Forming Factors is not influencing soil formation on Mars or the Moon?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

To tackle this question, we first identify the five soil forming factors: climate, organisms (biota), relief/topography, parent material, and time.
Option 1: Plants & Animals (Biota) — On Mars or the Moon, there is essentially no life or biological activity. Since biota contribute organic matter, soil structure, and weathering through living processes on Earth, their influence would be absent on these bodies. This makes this option the correct choice for a factor not influencing soil formation there.
Option 2: Topography — The surface slope, elevation, and landscape features affect drainage, erosion, and microclimate, even in desert or extraterrestrial contexts. While Mars and the Moon have extreme topographies that influence weathering indirectly, topography still functions as a factor in shaping soil or regolith properties, so it does have influence.
Option 3: Parent Material — The original rocks and minerals from which soils develop are foundational to soil composition. On Mars and the Moon, regolith derives from local bedrock and volcanic or impact-fragmented material, so parent material clearly influences soil formation there.
Option 4: Time — The duration over which weathering and soil-forming processes operate matters everywhere. Longer exposure typically leads to more alteration of materials, regardless of planetary body, so time is an influencing factor on Mars and the Moon as well.
Option 5: Climate — Temperature, precipitation (or lack thereof), wind, and radiation regimes define weathering intensity and soil development. Mars and the Moon have extreme and unique climatic conditions that still constitute a climate factor affecting regolith evolution, albeit differently from Earth.
In summary, while biota profoundly shape soils on Earth, the absence of plants and animals on Mars and the Moon means this factor would not influence soil formation there, whereas the other factors—topography, parent material, time, and climate—remain relevant in shaping extraterrestrial soils.

SAS 005 001 SQ 2025 Week 3 Online Module, Part 1: Graded Mini-Quiz- Soil Forming Factors

Which of the 5 Soil Forming Factors is not influencing soil formation on Mars or the Moon?

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

Similar Questions

What is the difference between regolith and soil?

In a consumer society, many adults channel creativity into buying things

Economic stress and unpredictable times have resulted in a booming industry for self-help products

People born without creativity never can develop it

A product has a selling price of $20, a contribution margin ratio of 40% and fixed cost of $120,000. To make a profit of $30,000. The number of units that must be sold is: Type the number without $ and a comma. Eg: 20000

Which of the following statement regarding cost is correct:

Under the assumptions used in cost-volume-profit analysis, as the activity increases:

The CVP and break-even analysis are supported by a range of important assumptions. Which of the following is not an assumption of the CVP:

More Practical Tools for Students Powered by AI Study Helper

Homework AI Solver

Stylized AI Paper Writer

Plagiarism Checker Assistant

Citation AI Academic Writing Tool

In-Class Translation Assistant

AI Note Generator

AI Quiz Answers

Past Exam Questions from University Test Bank

Smart Practice Assistant

Adaptive Practice

Making Your Study Simpler