The Atterberg Limits (developed by Swedish chemist Albert Atterberg in 1911) quantify the critical soil moisture contents (water percentages) at which fine-grained cohesive soils transition between different behavioral states:

• Liquid Limit (LL): The moisture content at which soil transitions from a plastic state to a liquid state.
• Plastic Limit (PL): The moisture content at which soil transitions from a semi-solid to a plastic state.
• Shrinkage Limit (SL): The moisture content below which further loss of water produces no additional volume reduction.

In soil science and engineering:
Statement (I) is correct: A soil profile is defined as the vertical section of the soil exposed from the ground surface down through all its master horizons (O, A, E, B, C) to the underlying parent bedrock.
Statement (II) is incorrect: The arrangement or grouping of individual soil particles into definite aggregates, clusters, or structural patterns is defined as Soil Structure, NOT soil texture. Soil Texture refers strictly to the relative proportions of different soil separates (sand, silt, and clay).

Detailed Analysis of Hydrometer Analysis Corrections:
In grain-size analysis of fine-grained soils (sedimentation by hydrometer method), the observed hydrometer reading ($R_h$) requires three essential corrections:

• Meniscus Correction ($C_m$): Always positive (+), because opaque soil suspensions necessitate reading the top of the meniscus rather than the liquid level.
• Temperature Correction ($C_t$): Can be positive (+) or negative (-) depending on whether test temperature is above or below calibration temperature ($27^\circ\text{C}$).
• Dispersing Agent Correction ($C_d$): Always negative (-), because the added deflocculating chemical increases liquid specific gravity.
  $$R = R_h + C_m \pm C_t - C_d$$
• Pressure correction is not applied in hydrometer analysis.

Detailed Analysis of Soil Phase Parameters:

• Statement (I) is True: Porosity ($n$) is defined as the ratio of void volume ($V_v$) to total soil volume ($V$):
  $$n = \frac{V_v}{V} \times 100$$
  Because total volume consists of solids plus voids ($V = V_s + V_v$), the void volume $V_v$ is strictly less than total volume $V$ ($V_v \lt V$). Therefore, porosity is always less than 100% ($0 \lt n \lt 100\%$). It cannot exceed 100%.
• Statement (II) is False: Degree of saturation ($S$) is defined as:
  $$S = \frac{V_w}{V_v} \times 100$$
  For a completely oven-dry soil, the volume of water is zero ($V_w = 0$), so $S = 0\%$. Thus, the degree of saturation can indeed be zero percent ($0 \le S \le 100\%$).