Soil MCQs
Soil MCQs
Soil MCQs
Soil
Mechanics
and
Foun
dare
a formed
t i o by
1. Residual
soils
a) glaciers n
b) wind
Engineeri
c) water
d) none
nofgtheCabove
ivil
Ans:d
Engineeri
2. Water content of soil can
n g than 100 %
a) never be greater
b) take values only from 0 % to 100 %
multiple
c) be less than 0 %
cho
i c100e%
d) be greater
than
Ans:d
Questions
3. Which of the following types of soil is transported by gravitational forces ?
a) loess
b) talus
c) drift
d) dune sand
Ans:b
4. 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
Ans:c
5. 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
Ans:d
7. 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
Ans:b
8. 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
Ans:c
9. Valid range for n, the percentage voids, is
a) 0<n<100
b) 0<n<100
c) n>0
d) n<0
Ans:a
10. Select the correct statement.
a) Unit weight of dry soil is greater than unit weight of wet soil.
b) For dry soils, dry unit weight is less than total unit weight.
c) Unit weight of soil increases due to submergence in water.
d) Unit weight of soil decreases due to submergence in water.
Ans:d
11. 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
Ans:c
12. 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
Ans:c
13. 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
Ans:b
14. Select the correct range of density index,ID
a) lD>0
b) ID>0
c) 0 < lD < 1
d) 0 < ID < 1
Ans:d
15. 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%
Ans:a
16. 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
Ans:b
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
Ans:b
18. Relative density of a compacted dense sand is approximately equal to
a) 0.4
b) 0.6
c) 0.95
d) 1.20
Ans:c
19. If the sand insitu
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
Ans:b
20. 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
Ans:a
21. 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
Ans:d
22. 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
Ans:c
23. 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
Ans:c
24. 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
Ans:c
25. 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
Ans:b
26. 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
Ans:b
27. Which of the following statements is correct?
a) Uniformity coefficient represents the shape of the particle size distribution curve.
b) For a well graded soil, both uniformity coefficient and coefficient of curvature are nearly unity.
c) A soil is said to be well graded if it has most of the particles of about the same size
d) none of the above
Ans:d
28. 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
Ans:d
29. According to Atterberg, the soil is said to be of medium plasticity if the plasticity index PI is
a) 0 < PI < 7
b) 7<PI< 17
c) 17<PI<27
d) PI>27
Ans:b
30. 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) semisolid
state
d) solid state
Ans:b
32. 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) nonplastic
(NP)
d) 1
Ans:b
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
Ans:b
34. If the plasticity index of a soil mass is zero, the soil is
a) sand
b) silt
c) clay
d) clayey silt
Ans:a
35. 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
Ans:c
36. Select the correct statement.
a) A uniform soil has more strength and stability than a nonuniform
soil.
b) A uniform soil has less strength and stability than a nonuniform
soil.
c) Uniformity coefficient does not affect strength and stability.
d) Uniformity coefficient of a poorly graded soil is more than that of a well graded soil.
Ans:b
38. 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
Ans:a
39. Which of the following soils has more plasticity index ?
a) sand
b) silt
c) clay
d) gravel
Ans:c
40. 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
Ans:a
41. 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
Ans:a
42. According to IS classification, the range of silt size particles is
a) 4.75 mm to 2.00 mm
b) 2.00 mm to 0.425 mm
c) 0.425 mm to 0.075 mm
d) 0.075 mm to 0.002 mm
Ans:d
43. Highway Research Board (HRB) classification of soils is based on
a) particle size composition
b) plasticity characteristics
c) both particle size composition and plasticity characteristics
d) none of the above
Ans:c
a) type of sand
b) flow condition occurring in cohesive soils
c) flow condition occurring in cohesionless soils
d) flow condition occurring in both cohesive and cohesionless soils
Ans:a
54. The hydraulic head that would produce a quick condition in a sand stratum of thickness 1.5 m, specific
gravity 2.67 and
voids ratio 0.67 is equal to
a) 1.0m
b) 1.5 m
c) 2.0 m
d) 3m
Ans:b
55. Physical properties of a permeant which influence permeability are
a) viscosity only
b) unit weight only
c) both viscosity and unit weight
d) none of the above
Ans:c
56. Select the correct statement.
a) The greater the viscosity, the greater is permeability.
b) The greater the unit weight, the greater is permeability.
c) The greater the unit weight, the smaller is permeability.
d) Unit weight does not affect permeability.
Ans:b
57. Effective stress on soil
a) increases voids ratio and decreases permeability
b) increases both voids ratio and permeability
c) decreases both voids ratio and permeability
d) decreases voids ratio and increases permeability
Ans:c
58. If the permeability of a soil is 0.8 mm/sec, the type of soil is
a) gravel
b) sand
c) silt
d) clay
Ans:b
59. 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
Ans:b
60. Which of the following methods is best suited for determination of permeability of coarsegrained
soils ?
a) constant head method
b) falling head method
c) both the above
d) none of the above
Ans:a
61. 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%
Ans:b
62. 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
Ans:b
63. The average coefficient of permeability of natural deposits
a) parallel to stratification is always greater than that perpendicular to stratification
b) parallel to stratification is always less than that perpendicular to stratification
c) is always same in both directions
d) parallel to stratification may or may not be greater than that perpendicular to stratification
Ans:a
64. 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
Ans:b
65. 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
Ans:a
66. The most suitable method for drainage of fine grained cohesive soils is
a) well ppint system
b) vacuum method
c) deep well system
d) electroosmosis method
Ans:d
67. 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
Ans:c
76. 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
Ans:c
77. Within the consolidation process of a saturated clay
a) a gradual increase in neutral pressure and a gradual decrease in effective pressure takes place and sum of the
two is
constant
b) a gradual decrease in neutral pressure and a gradual increase in effective pressure takes place and sum of the
two is
constant
c) both neutral pressure and effective pressure decrease
d) both neutral pressure and effective pressure increase
Ans:b
78. The value of compression index for a remoulded sample whose liquid limit is 50% is
a) 0.028
b) 0.28
c) 036
d) 0.036
Ans:b
79. Which one of the following clays behaves like a dense sand ?
a) overconsolidated
ciay with a high overconsolidation
ratio
b) overconsolidated
clay with a low overconsolidation
ratio
c) normally consolidated clay
d) underconsolidated
clay
Ans:a
80. Coefficient of consolidation of a soil is affected by
a) compressibility
b) permeability
c) both compressibility and permeability
d) none of the above
Ans:c
81. Degree of consolidation is
a) directly proportional to time and inversely proportional to drainage path
b) directly proportional to time and inversely proportional to square of drainage path
c) directly proportional to drainage path and inversely proportional to time
d) directly proportional to square of drainage path and inversely proportional to time
Ans:b
82. Time factor for a clay layer is
a) a dimensional parameter
b) directly proportional to permeability of soil
c) inversely proportional to drainage path
d) independent of thickness of clay layer
Ans:b
84. Clay layer A with single drainage and coefficient of consolidation Cv takes 6 months to achieve 50%
consolidation. The
time taken by clay layer B of the same thickness with double drainage and coefficient of consolidation Cv/2 to
achieve the
same degree of consolidation is
a) 3 months
b) 6 months
c) 12 months
d) 24 months
Ans:a
85. Coefficient of consolidation for clays normally
a) decreases with increase in liquid limit
b) increases with increase in liquid limit
c) first increases and then decreases with increase in liquid limit
d) remains constant at all liquid limits
Ans:a
86. Direct measurement of permeability of the specimen at any stage of loading can be made
a) only in fixed ring type consolidometer
b) only in floating ring type consolidometer
c) both (a) and (b)
d) none of the above
Ans:a
87. Compressibility of sandy soils is
a) almost equal to that of clayey soils
b) much greater than that of clayey soils
c) much less than that of clayey soils
d) none of the above
Ans:c
88. Select the correct statement.
a) coefficient of compressibility of an overconsolidated
clay is less than that of a normally consolidated clay
b) coefficient of compressibility of an overconsolidated
clay is greater than that of a normally consolidated clay
c) coefficient of compressibility is constant
for any clay
d) none of the above
Ans:a
89. Coefficient of compressibility is
a) constant for any type of soil
b) different for different types of soils and also different for a soil under different states of consolidation
c) different for different types of soils but same for a soil under different states of consolidation
d) independent of type of soil but depends on the stress history of soil
Ans:b
90. The ultimate consolidation settlement of a structure resting on a soil
a) decreases with the increase in the initial voids ratio
b) decreases with the decrease in the plastic limit
c) increases with the increase in the initial voids ratio
d) increases with the decrease in the porosity of the soil
Ans:a
91. The ultimate consolidation settlement of a soil is
a) directly proportional to the voids ratio
b) directly proportional to the compression index
c) inversely proportional to the compression index
d) none of the above
Ans:b
92. A normally consolidated clay settled 10 mm when effective stress was increased from 100 kN/m2 to 200
kN/ m2. If the
effective stress is further increased from 200 kN/ m2 to 400 kN/ m2, then the settlement of the same clay is
a) 10 mm
b) 20 mm
c) 40 mm
d) none of the above
Ans:a
93. Coarse grained soils are best compacted by a
a) drum roller
b) rubber tyred roller
c) sheep's foot roller
d) vibratory roller
Ans:d
94. With the increase in the amount of compaction energy
a) optimum water content increases but maximum dry density decreases
b) optimum water content decreases but maximum dry density increases
c) both optimum water content and maximum dry density increase
d) both optimum water content and maximum dry density decrease[ES 93]
Ans:b
95. The maximum dry density upto which any soil can be compacted depends upon
a) moisture content only
b) amount of compaction energy only
c) both moisture content and amount of compaction energy
d) none of the above
Ans:c
97. For better strength and stability, the fine grained soils and coarse grained soils are compacted respectively as
a) dry of OMC and wet of OMC
b) wet of OMC and dry of OMC
c) wet of OMC and wet of OMC
d) dry of OMC and dry of OMC where OMC is optimum moisture content
Ans:b
98. Select the incorrect statement.
a) Effective cohesion of a soil can never have a negative value.
b) Effective angle of internal friction for coarse grained soils is rarely below 30.
c) Effective angle of internal friction for a soil increases as state of compactness
increases.
d) Effective angle of internal friction is a complicated function of mineralogy and clay size content.
Ans:a
99. For a loose sand sample and a dense sand sample consolidated to the same effective stress
a) ultimate strength is same and also peak strength is same
b) ultimate strength is different but peak strength is same
c) ultimate strength is same but peak strength of dense sand is greater than that of loose sand
d) ultimate strength is same but peak
Ans:c
100. The shear strength of a soil
a) is directly proportional to the angle of internal friction of the soil
b) is inversely proportional to the angle of internal friction of the soil
c) decreases with increase in normal stress
d) decreases with decrease in normal stress
Ans:d
101. In a consolidated drained test on a normally consolidated clay, the volume of the soil sample during shear
a) decreases
b) increases
c) remains unchanged
d) first increases and then decreases
Ans:a
d) 0
Ans:b
112. Select the incorrect statement.
a) In a direct shear box test, the plane of shear failure is predetermined.
b) Better control is achieved on the drainage of the soil in a triaxial compression test.
c) Stress distribution on the failure plane in the case of triaxial compression test is uniform.
d) Unconfined compression test can be carried out on all types of soils.
Ans:d
113. If the shearing stress is zero on two planes, then the angle between the two planes is
a) 45
b) 90
c) 135
d) 225
Ans:b
114. In the triaxial compression test, the application of additional axial stress (i.e. deviator stress) on the soil
specimen
produces shear stress on
a) horizontal plane only
b) vertical plane only
c) both horizontal and vertical planes
d) all planes except horizontal and vertical planes
Ans:d
116. In a triaxial compression test when drainage is allowed during the first stage (i. e. application of cell
pressure) only
and not during the second stage (i.e. application of deviator stress at constant cell pressure), the test is known as
a) consolidated drained test
b) consolidated undrained test
c) unconsolidated drained test
d) unconsolidated undrained test
Ans:b
120. During the first stage of triaxial test when the cell pressure is increased from 0.10 N/mm2 to 0.26 N/mm2,
the pore
water pressure increases from 0.07 N/mm2 to 0.15 "N/mm2. Skempton's pore pressure parameter B is
a) 0.5
b) 0.5
c) 2.0
d) 2.0
Ans:a
121. Sensitivity of a soil can be defined as
a) percentage of volume change of soil under saturated condition
b) ratio of compressive strength of unconfined undisturbed soil to that of soil in a remoulded state
c) ratio of volume of voids to volume of solids
d) none of the above
Ans:b
122. Rankine's theory of earth pressure assumes that the back of the wall is
a) plane and smooth
b) plane and rough
c) vertical and smooth
d) vertical and rough
Ans:c
123. The coefficient of active earth pressure for a loose sand having an angle of internal friction of 30 is
a) 1/3
b) 3
c) 1
d) 1/2
Ans:a
124. The major principal stress in an element of cohesionless soil within the backfill of a retaining wall is
a) vertical if the soil is in an active state of plastic equilibrium
b) vertical if the soil is in a passive state of plastic equilibrium
c) inclined at 45 to the vertical plane
d) none of the above
Ans:a
126. The effect of cohesion on a soil is to
a) reduce both the active earth pressure intensity and passive earth pressure intensity
b) increase both the active earth pressure intensity and passive earth pressure intensity
c) reduce the active earth pressure intensity
but to increase the passive earth pressure intensity
d) increase the active earth pressure intensity
but to reduce the passive earth pressure intensity [GATE 99]
Ans:c
127. A retaining wall 6m high supports a backfill with a surcharge angle of 10. The back of the wall is inclined
to the
vertical at a positive batter angle of 5. If the angle of wall friction is 7, then the resultant active earth pressure
will act at
a distance of 2 m above the base and inclined to the horizontal at an angle of
a) 7
b) 10
c) 12
d) 17
Ans:c
128. Coefficient of earth pressure at rest is
a) less than active earth pressure but greater than passive earth pressure
b) greater than active earth pressure but less than passive earth pressure
c) greater than both the active earth pressure and passive earth pressure
d) less than both the active and passive earth pressures
Ans:b
137. Bishop's method of stability analysis
a) is more conservative
b) neglects the effect of forces acting on the sides of the slices
c) assumes the slip surface as an arc of a circle
d) all of the above
Ans:c
138. Allowable bearing pressure for a foundation depends upon
a) allowable settlement only
b) ultimate bearing capacity of soil only
c) both allowable settlement and ultimate bearing capacity
d) none of above
Ans:c
142. The rise of water table below the foundation influences the bearing capacity of soil mainly by reducing
a) cohesion and effective angle of shearing resistance
b) cohesion and effective unit weight of soil
c) effective unit weight of soil and effective angle of shearing resistance
d) effective angle of shearing resistance
Ans:b