Memory Game Mixtures and Soil MemoryOnline version Match the vocabulary word to the definition. by Michael Porter The smallest particles of rock that make up soil The largest particles of rock that make up soil The upper layer of soil in which plants have most of their roots decay The breaking down of rocks on Earth’s surface into smaller pieces A mixture of water, air, tiny pieces of rock, and humus mixture topsoil soil Particles of rock that are smaller than sand but larger than clay weathering A characteristic of matter that you can observe or measure directly To be slowly broken down by the natural processes that destroy a plant or body the remains of decayed plants or animals in the soil clay sand silt humus physical property a combination of two or more different substances that keep their identities