The scientific study of soils is called
- A.Petrology
- B.Pedology
- C.Pedagogy
- D.Phrenology
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, pedology. Pedology is the study of soils, including their formation from parent rock, their profile and horizons, their classification and their fertility, and it is the science behind soil surveys and land capability maps. Option A is wrong because petrology is the study of rocks, their mineral composition, texture and origin, which is a branch of geology. Option C is wrong because pedagogy is not a natural science at all but the theory and practice of teaching, and it is offered here because the word looks and sounds close to pedology. Option D is wrong because phrenology was the discredited notion that the shape of the skull reveals character and mental faculties, and it is not accepted as science. A further point is that soil is studied for its horizons, which are labelled from the surface downwards, and that the mapping of soils is the basis of agricultural planning, which is why pedology appears in geography papers too.
Read the full article: Branches of Science and Their Fields of Study
Practice Questions
View allThe branch of science that deals with the study of fungi is called
- A.Phycology
- B.Mycology
- C.Bryology
- D.Pteridology
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Mycology is the study of fungi, the group that includes moulds, yeasts, mushrooms and the rusts and smuts that attack crops, and a specialist in it is called a mycologist.
Read the full explanation →Ornithology is the branch of science concerned with the study of
- A.Insects
- B.Fishes
- C.Birds
- D.Reptiles
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Ornithology is the study of birds, their classification, habits, migration and nesting; Salim Ali, known as the birdman of India, was the country's best known ornithologist and wrote the Book of Indian Birds.
Read the full explanation →Which branch of science deals with the study of earthquakes?
- A.Seismology
- B.Volcanology
- C.Speleology
- D.Geodesy
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Seismology is the study of earthquakes and of the passage of seismic waves through the earth, and it is from seismic wave records that the layered structure of the interior of the earth has been worked out; the instrument used is the seismograph.
Read the full explanation →The study of fossils is known as
- A.Palynology
- B.Palaeontology
- C.Pedology
- D.Petrology
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Palaeontology is the study of fossils, the preserved remains or traces of organisms of past geological ages, and it supplies the evidence on which the history of life and the theory of evolution rest.
Read the full explanation →Sericulture is the rearing of which of the following?
- A.Honey bees
- B.Silkworms
- C.Earthworms
- D.Fish
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Sericulture is the rearing of silkworms for the production of raw silk, and it includes the growing of mulberry, on whose leaves the mulberry silkworm feeds; India produces mulberry silk as well as the wild varieties tasar, eri and muga, the last being special to Assam.
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