What is Soil?
8th Grade · Science · 45 min
Lesson Preview
Learning Objective
Identify the living and non-living components of soil, and describe the characteristics of healthy soil.
- 1
Scientists call the dirt in our gardens "soil", and it’s home to many living things, including earthworms that help plants get air and food.
- 2
Soil is a mixture of water, small pieces of rock, and air, and it has a lot of organic matter, which is anything that was once alive or is currently alive.
- 3
Decomposers in the soil break down dead plants and animals, acting like recyclers, and they serve as an important source of food for critters like worms and tardigrades.
