Question

........ can be defined as the organic and inorganic materials on the surface of the Earth that provide the medium for plant growth.
A. Humus
B. Soil
C. Minerals
D. Ores

Answer 1

Hint: The atmosphere of the Planet is largely coated with water. The seven continental landmasses constitute the remainder. The earth's surface layer is composed of rock beneath the water that fills the oceans, and the soil and plants that cover the continents. A strong, rocky crust was formed by this outer layer as lava cooled around 4.5 billion years ago. Many large plates that move slowly relative to each other are broken into this crust.

Complete answer:
Humus: Humus is made up of around 60 percent carbon, 6 percent nitrogen, and smaller quantities of phosphorus and sulphur, varying in colour from brown to black. Its components are converted into forms accessible by plants as humus decomposes.
Soils: Soil is the substance that plants can flourish on the top layer of the earth's surface. The part of the surface of the earth that consists of humus, disintegrated rock and a mixture of minerals, organic matter, gases, liquids, and countless species that together sustain the life of the earth. Soil is a natural body that has important functions called the pedosphere, it is a medium for plant growth, it is a way of preserving, supplying and purifying water, it is a modifier of the atmosphere of the Earth. It grows on the earth's surface, it is the "skin of the earth." Soil is capable of maintaining plant life and is essential to earth life. In nearly every habitat, whether a pasture, forest, prairie, wetlands, or suburban watershed, soil performs several essential functions.
Minerals: Mineral, a homogeneous solid that naturally occurs with a definite chemical composition and a highly ordered atomic structure; it is typically formed by inorganic processes. There are several thousand recognised mineral types, about 100 of which are the main mineral components of rocks, the so-called minerals that shape rocks.
Ores: Ore, a natural accumulation of one or more minerals that can profitably be collected, refined and sold. An older meaning limited the use of the word ore to metallic mineral deposits, but the term has extended to include non-metallics in some instances. While more than 2,800 species of minerals have been described, only approximately 100 are considered minerals of ore.

Hence, the correct answer is (B).

Note:
Soil Science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the Earth's surface, including the formation, classification and mapping of soils; the physical, chemical, biological and fertility properties of soils; and, in relation to soil use and management, these properties.