particles are much larger than clay and are quite inactive chemically because of their mineral composition and limited surface area. Clay particles have about 1,000 times as much external surface area as the particles in an equal weight of sand.
The shaking test: how to differentiate clay from siltCommon names of soils (General texture)SandTextural classLoamy soils (Medium texture)20-50Silty loam0-20SiltLoamy soils (Moderately fine texture)20-45Clay loam45-80Sandy clay loam8 more rows
Each side is divided 100 segments. If we know the percentage of sand, silt, and clay in the soil, we can determine its texture. For example, if a soil is 40% sand, 30% silt, and 30% clay, the texture is clay loam.
si - Silt: 80 percent or more silt and less than 12 percent clay. scl - Sandy clay loam: 20 to 35 percent clay, less than 28 percent silt, and 45 percent or more sand. cl - Clay loam: 27 to 40 percent clay and 20 to 45 percent sand.