soil constituents
11bacteria — bacterial, adj. bacterially, adv. /bak tear ee euh/, n.pl., sing. bacterium / tear ee euhm/. ubiquitous one celled organisms, spherical, spiral, or rod shaped and appearing singly or in chains, comprising the Schizomycota, a phylum of the kingdom …
12chemical element — Introduction also called element, any substance that cannot be decomposed into simpler substances by ordinary chemical processes. Elements are the fundamental materials of which all matter is composed. This article considers the… …
13sedimentary rock — Rock formed at or near the Earth s surface by the accumulation and lithification of fragments of preexisting rocks or by precipitation from solution at normal surface temperatures. Sedimentary rocks can be formed only where sediments are… …
14biochemistry — biochemical /buy oh kem i keuhl/, adj., n. biochemic, adj. biochemically, adv. biochemist, n. /buy oh kem euh stree/, n. 1. the science dealing with the chemistry of living matter. 2. the chemistry of living matter. [1880 85; BIO + CHEMISTRY] …
15United States — a republic in the N Western Hemisphere comprising 48 conterminous states, the District of Columbia, and Alaska in North America, and Hawaii in the N Pacific. 267,954,767; conterminous United States, 3,022,387 sq. mi. (7,827,982 sq. km); with… …
16lake — lake1 /layk/, n. 1. a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size, surrounded by land. 2. any similar body or pool of other liquid, as oil. 3. (go) jump in the lake, (used as an exclamation of dismissal or impatience.) [bef. 1000; ME lak(e) …
17Lake — /layk/, n. Simon, 1866 1945, U.S. engineer and naval architect. * * * I Relatively large body of slow moving or standing water that occupies an inland basin. Lakes are most abundant in high northern latitudes and in mountain regions, particularly …
18Mars — /mahrz/, n. 1. the ancient Roman god of war and agriculture, identified with the Greek god Ares. 2. Astron. the planet fourth in order from the sun, having a diameter of 4222 miles (6794 km), a mean distance from the sun of 141.6 million miles… …
19loess — loessial, loessal, adj. /loh es, les, lus/, n. a loamy deposit formed by wind, usually yellowish and calcareous, common in the Mississippi Valley and in Europe and Asia. [1825 35; < G Löss < Swiss G lösch loose, slack (sch taken as a dial.… …
20plant development — Introduction a multiphasic process in which two distinct forms succeed each other in alternating generations. One form, created by the union of sexual cells (gametes (gamete)), contains two sets of similar chromosomes (diploid). At sexual… …
