Soil science 1300-OGR2CW

The lecture presents the following issues:
- object and range of research in fundamentals of soil behaviour,
- basic terminology and definitions in fundamentals of soil behaviour,
- past and future of fundamentals of soil behaviour in Poland and worldwide,
- overview of soil classification in Poland, Europe and worldwide,
- characteristics of soil elements,
- composition, formation conditions and classification of basic types of clay minerals,
- physico-chemical properties of clay minerals,
- chemical and mineral composition of soils,
- composition and properties of water and types of water occurring in soils,
- phenomena in soils at the boundary between the solid, fluid and gaseous phase,
- theory of ion exchange and phenomena of ion exchange in soils,
- types of contact between the structural elements in soils,
- classification and characteristics of structural bonds in soils,
- composition and classification of soil structure,
- characteristics of selected properties of soils in Poland and worldwide,
- characteristics of soils with selected properties.
The lab includes the study and analysis of the following soil parameters and properties:
- specific density of the soil skeleton,
- bulk density of soil and bulk density of the soil skeleton,
- grain size and microaggregate composition,
- optimal humidity and density index,
- swelling,
- shrinkage,
- soaking and thixotropy,
- compressibility and subsidence index,
- sorption, specific surface and ion exchange capacity
- mineral and microstructure composition.
The total number of hours that the student has to devote to achieve the educational effects defined for the course is 120 h.

Type of course

obligatory courses

Prerequisites (description)

Prior to beginning of course, the student should have the knowledge, skills and other abilities in:  recognition of minerals and rocks,  geodynamic processes,  basic soil properties,  pore water and its properties,  basic knowledge of geochemical processes,  fundamentals of solid state physics,  basic knowledge of Excel spreadsheet,  basic knowledge in geological field analyses. This information can be gained after completing the courses in Physical Geology, Fundamentals of Engineering Geology, Hydrogeology, Chemistry, Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Physics, Computer Techniques in Geology, and Field course in Geology.

Course coordinators

Ireneusz Gawriuczenkow
Dorota Izdebska-Mucha

Learning outcomes

On completion of the course, the student:
- has knowledge on the basic terminology and definitions in fundamentals of soil behaviour,
- recognizes soil classifications applied in Poland and worldwide,
- assesses the significance of soil studies in modern world,
- characterizes the genetic types of soils and conditions of their formation,
- characterizes the main types of clay minerals as the principal component of cohesive soils,
- characterizes the components, chemical and mineral composition of soils,
- analyses the physico-chemical phenomena taking place in soils at the boundary between the solid, fluid and gaseous phases,
- analyses the influence of types of contacts and structural bonds on the physico-mechanical properties of soils as a three-phase system,
- recognizes structures and assesses their influence of the physico-mechanical properties of soils,
- characterizes the properties of soils occurring in Poland and in the world, including soils with specific properties.
- completion of the lab, the student:
- knows the standard and non-standard parameters that describe soil properties,
- knows how to conduct standard and non-standard analyses of the physical, physico-mechanical and physico-chemical properties of soils, and checks their structure and texture,
- can evaluate the influence of soil components, mineral composition, water and its chemistry on the properties of soils,
- can conduct calculations of basic soil parameters using empirical formulas,
- can elaborate, compare and interpret results of the analyses.

Assessment criteria

The course comprises a lecture evaluated by a final written examination and a lab evaluated by a final written assessment (only properly conducted and passed experiments). A positive grade from the lab allows to accede to the final written examination.
Assessment of the examination:
- open questions test,
- part of the questions check the student’s level of knowledge,
- part of the questions include solving issues, which require synthetic analysis of facts and knowledge,
- a minimum of 55% points allows to obtain a positive grade.
Assessment of the lab:
- continuous assessment of knowledge and practical accomplishment of each experiment,
- continuous assessment of activity,
- assessment of lab activity,
- assessment of reports after each experiment,
- final written assessment comprising 5-7 open-ended questions.
The questions check the knowledge acquired by the student. A minimum of 55% points allows to obtain a positive grade.
If the first date of the test is not passed, the student has the right to join the retake test.

Requirements: attendance at the classes - a maximum of two absences during the whole semester are allowed, a third absence causes the student to fail the classes.
Each classes during which the student was absent should be worked off on the date agreed with the teacher.

Practical placement

not applicable

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Applied geology

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 1300-OGR2CW in USOSweb