Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering MCQs

Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering MCQs

 1. Particles of 0.002 mm size are that of. 

A. clay. 
B. sand. 
C. gravel. 
D. none of these.. 
Answer = clay

2. A fully saturated soil is said to be________________?. 
A. one phase system
B. two phase system with soil and air
C. two phase system with soil and water
D. three phase system. 
Answer = two phase system with soil and water

3. Water content of soil can______________?. 
A. never be greater than 100 %
B. take values only from 0 % to 100 %
C. be less than 0 %
D. be greater than 100 %. 
Answer = be greater than 100 %

4. Constant head permeameter is used to test permeability of_______________?. 
A. silt
B. clay
C. coarse sand
D. fine sand. 
Answer = coarse sand

5. If the voids of a soil mass are full of air only, the soil is termed as_______________?. 
A. air entrained soil
B. partially saturated soil
C. dry soil
D. dehydrated soil. 
Answer = dry soil

6. Voids ratio of a soil mass can_________________?. 
A. never be greater than unity
B. be zero
C. take any value greater than zero
D. take values between 0 and 1 only. 
Answer = take any value greater than zero

7. Which of the following types of soil is transported by gravitational forces ?. 
A. loess
B. talus
C. drift
D. dune sand. 
Answer = talus

8. Residual soils are formed by______________?. 
A. glaciers
B. wind
C. water
D. none of the above. 
Answer = none of the above

9. Valid range for n, the percentage voids, is______________?. 
A. 0<n<100
B. 0<n0
C. n<0. 
D. None of the mentioned. 
Answer = 0<n<100

10. Valid range for S, the degree of saturation of soil in percentage is______________?. 
A. S>0
B. S<0
C. 0<S<100
D. 0 < S < 100. 
Answer = 0 < S < 100

11. When the degree of saturation is zero, the soil mass under consideration represents______________?. 
A. one phase system
B. two phase system with soil and air
C. two phase system with soil and water
D. three phase system. 
Answer = two phase system with soil and air

12. Select the correct range of density index,ID ________________?. 
A. lD>0
B. ID>0
C. 0 < lD < 1
D. 0 < ID < 1. 
Answer = 0 < ID < 1

13. If the volume of voids is equal to the volume of solids in a soil mass, then the values of porosity and voids ratio respectively are________________?. 
A. 1.0 and 0.0
B. 0.0 and 1.0
C. 0.5 and 1.0
D. 1.0 and 0.5. 
Answer = 0.5 and 1.0

14. If the water content of a fully saturated soil mass is 100%, then the voids ratio of the sample is________________?. 
A. less than specific gravity of soil
B. equal to specific gravity of soil
C. greater than specific gravity of soil
D. independent of specific gravity of soil. 
Answer = equal to specific gravity of soil

15. Relative density of a compacted dense sand is approximately equal to_____________?. 
A. 0.4
B. 0.6
C. 0.95
D. 1.20. 
Answer = 0.95

16. Which of the following methods is most accurate for the determination of the water content of soil ?. 
A. oven drying method
B. sand bath method
C. calcium carbide method
D. pycnometer method. 
Answer = oven drying method

17. The ratio of volume of voids to the total volume of soil mass is called______________?. 
A. air content
B. porosity
C. percentage air voids
D. voids ratio. 
Answer = porosity

18. If the degree of saturation of a partially saturated soil is 60%, then air content of the soil is______________?. 
A. 40%
B. 60%
C. 80%
D. 100%. 
Answer = 40%

19. If the sand in-situ is in its densest state, then the relative density of sand is_____________?. 
A. zero
B. 1
C. between 0 and 1
D. greater than 1. 
Answer = 1

20. A pycnometer is used to determine_______________?. 
A. water content and voids ratio
B. specific gravity and dry density
C. water content and specific gravity
D. voids ratio and dry density. 
Answer = water content and specific gravity

21. In hydrometer analysis for a soil mass______________?. 
A. both meniscus correction and dispersing agent correction are additive
B. both meniscus correction and dispersing agent correction are subtractive
C. meniscus correction is additive and dispersing agent correction is subtractive
D. meniscus correction is subtractive and dispersing agent correction is additive. 
Answer = meniscus correction is additive and dispersing agent correction is subtractive

22. For proper field control, which of the following methods is best suited for quick determination of water content of a soil mass ?. 
A. oven drying method
B. sand bath method
C. alcohol method
D. calcium carbide method. 
Answer = calcium carbide method

23. A soil has a bulk density of 22 kN/m3 and water content 10 %. The dry density of soil is_______________?. 
A. 18.6 kN/m3
B. 20.0 kN/m3
C. 22.0 kN/m3
D. 23.2 kN/m3. 
Answer = 20.0 kN/m3

24. Stoke's law is valid only if the size of particle is________________?. 
A. less than 0.0002 mm
B. greater than 0.2 mm
C. between 0.2 mm and 0.0002 mm
D. all of the above. 
Answer = between 0.2 mm and 0.0002 mm

25. Which of the following is a measure of particle size range ?. 
A. effective size
B. uniformity coefficient
C. coefficient of curvature
D. none of the above. 
Answer = uniformity coefficient

26. Uniformity coefficient of a soil is__________________?. 
A. always less than 1
B. always equal to 1
C. equal to or less than 1
D. equal to or gi eater than 1. 
Answer = equal to or gi eater than 1

27. The hydrometer method of sedimentation analysis differs from the pipette analysis mainly in_____________?. 
A. the principle of test
B. the method of taking observations
C. the method of preparation of soil suspension
D. all of the above. 
Answer = the method of taking observations

28. If the plasticity index of a soil mass is zero, the soil is______________?. 
A. sand
B. silt
C. clay
D. clayey silt. 
Answer = sand

29. When the plastic limit of a soil is greater than the liquid limit, then the plasticity index is reported as_____________?. 
A. negative
B. zero
C. non-plastic (NP)
D. 1. 
Answer = zero

30. The admixture of coarser particles like sand or silt to clay causes______________?. 
A. decrease in liquid limit and increase in plasticity index
B. decrease in liquid limit and no change in plasticity index
C. decrease in both liquid limit and plasticity index
D. increase in both liquid limit and plasticity index. 
Answer = decrease in both liquid limit and plasticity index

31. The water content of soil, which represents the boundary between plastic state and liquid state, is known as_________________?. 
A. liquid limit
B. plastic limit
C. shrinkage limit
D. plasticity index. 
Answer = liquid limit

32. At liquid limit, all soils possess________________?. 
A. same shear strength of small magnitude
B. same shear strength of large magnitude
C. different shear strengths of small magnitude
D. different shear strengths of large magnitude. 
Answer = same shear strength of small magnitude

33. Toughness index is defined as the ratio of____________________?. 
A. plasticity index to consistency index
B. plasticity index to flow index
C. liquidity index to flow index
D. consistency index to liquidity index. 
Answer = plasticity index to flow index

34. If the natural water content of soil mass lies between its liquid limit and plastic limit, the soil mass is said to be in______________?. 
A. liquid state
B. plastic state
C. semi-solid state
D. solid state. 
Answer = plastic state

35. Which of the following soils has more plasticity index ?. 
A. sand
B. silt
C. clay
D. gravel. 
Answer = clay

36. If the material of the base of the Casagrande liquid limit device on which the cup containing soil paste drops is softer than the standard hard rubber, then______________?. 
A. the liquid limit of soil always increases
B. the liquid limit of soil always decreases
C. the liquid limit of soil may increase
D. the liquid limit of soil may decrease. 
Answer = the liquid limit of soil always increases

37. Inorganic soils with low compressibility are represented by_________________?. 
A. MH
B. SL
C. ML
D. CH. 
Answer = ML

38. Dispersed type of soil structure is an arrangement comprising particles having______________?. 
A. face to face or parallel orientation
B. edge to edge orientation
C. edge to face orientation
D. all of the above. 
Answer = face to face or parallel orientation

39. Sand particles are made of________________?. 
A. rock minerals
B. kaolinite
C. illite
D. montmorillonite. 
Answer = rock minerals

40. The clay mineral with the largest swelling and shrinkage characteristics is_______________?. 
A. kaolinite
B. illite
C. montmorillonite
D. none of the above. 
Answer = montmorillonite

41. Which of the following methods is best suited for determination of permeability of coarse-grained soils ?. 
A. constant head method
B. falling head method
C. both the above
D. none of the above. 
Answer = constant head method

42. Effective stress is______________?. 
A. the stress at particles contact
B. a physical parameter that can be measured
C. important because it is a function of engineering properties of soil
D. all of the above. 
Answer = important because it is a function of engineering properties of soil

43. Coefficient of permeability of soil______________?. 
A. does not depend upon temperature
B. increases with the increase in temperature
C. increases with the decrease in temperature
D. none of the above. 
Answer = increases with the increase in temperature

44. Which of the following methods is more suitable for the determination of permeability of clayey soil ?. 
A. constant head method
B. falling head method
C. horizontal permeability test
D. none of the above. 
Answer = falling head method

45. Due to a rise in temperature, the viscosity and the unit weight of the percolating fluid are reduced to 60% and 90% respectively. If other things remain constant, the coefficient of permeability__________________?. 
A. increases by 25%
B. increases by 50%
C. increases by 33.3%
D. decreases by 33.3%. 
Answer = increases by 50%

46. The total discharge from two wells situated near to each other is_________________?. 
A. sum of the discharges from individual wells
B. less than the sum of the discharges from individual wells
C. greater than the sum of the discharges from individual wells
D. equal to larger of the two discharges from individual wells. 
Answer = less than the sum of the discharges from individual wells

47. Total number of stress components at a point within a soil mass loaded at its boundary is______________?. 
A. 3
B. 6
C. 9
D. 16. 
Answer = 9

48. The flownet for an earthen dam with 30 m water depth consists of 25 potential drops and 5 flow channels. The coefficient of permeability of dam material is 0.03 mm/sec. The discharge per meter length of dam is________________?. 
A. 0.00018 nrVsec
B. 0.0045 m3/sec
C. 0.18m3/sec
D. 0.1125m3/sec. 
Answer = 0.00018 nrVsec

49. The slope of isochrone at any point at a given time indicates the rate of change of_______________?. 
A. effective stress with time
B. effective stress with depth
C. pore water pressure with depth
D. pore water pressure with time. 
Answer = pore water pressure with depth
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