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soil mechanics and foundation engineering MCQs

Practise focused soil mechanics and foundation engineering questions with marked answers for exam preparation and subject revision.

soil mechanics and foundation engineering Mcqs
1. For a loose sand sample and a dense sand sample consolidated to the same effective stress_____________?
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A. ultimate strength is different but peak strength is same

B. ultimate strength is same but peak strength of dense sand is greater than that of loose sand

C. ultimate strength is same and also peak strength is same

D. ultimate strength is same but peak

2. Which of the following is a measure of particle size range ?
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A. coefficient of curvature

B. none of the above

C. uniformity coefficient

D. effective size

3. A fully saturated soil is said to be________________?
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A. two phase system with soil and water

B. three phase system

C. two phase system with soil and air

D. one phase system

4. Time factor for a clay layer is_______________?
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A. independent of thickness of clay layer

B. inversely proportional to drainage path

C. a dimensional parameter

D. directly proportional to permeability of soil
5. Highway Research Board (HRB) classification of soils is based on__________________?
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A. particle size composition

B. plasticity characteristics

C. both particle size composition and plasticity characteristics

D. none of the above

6. If the water table rises upto ground surface, then the___________________?
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A. total stress is increased due to de-crease in pore water pressure but effective stress does not change

B. total stress is reduced due to increase in pore water pressure only but effec-tive stress does not change

C. effective stress is reduced due to increase in pore water pressure only but total stress does not change

D. effective stress is reduced due to decrease in total stress only but pore water pressure does not change

7. In the plate loading test for determining the bearing capacity of soil, the size of square bearing plate should be_________________?
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A. between 300 mm and 750 mm

B. greater than 1 m

C. between 750 mm and 1 m

D. less than 300 mm

8. The total discharge from two wells situated near to each other is_________________?
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A. greater than the sum of the discharges from individual wells

B. less than the sum of the discharges from individual wells

C. equal to larger of the two discharges from individual wells

D. sum of the discharges from individual wells

9. 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_________________?
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A. 6 months

B. 3 months

C. 12 months

D. 24 months

10. 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_______________?
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A. 1.5 m

B. 3m

C. 2.0 m

D. 1.0m

11. Uniformity coefficient of a soil is__________________?
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A. always less than 1

B. equal to or less than 1

C. always equal to 1

D. equal to or gi eater than 1
12. The ultimate consolidation settlement of a soil is________________?
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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

13. Select the correct statement?
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A. Unit weight of soil increases due to submergence in water

B. Unit weight of dry soil is greater than unit weight of wet soil

C. Unit weight of soil decreases due to submergence in water

D. For dry soils, dry unit weight is less than total unit weight

14. Rise of water table in cohesionless soils upto ground surface reduces the net ultimate bearing capacity approximately by________________?
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A. 90%

B. 50%

C. 25%

D. 75%

15. Allowable bearing pressure for a foundation depends upon_______________?
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A. allowable settlement only

B. ultimate bearing capacity of soil only

C. both allowable settlement and ultimate bearing capacity

D. none of above

16. If the voids of a soil mass are full of air only, the soil is termed as_______________?
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A. air entrained soil

B. dry soil

C. partially saturated soil

D. dehydrated soil

17. The slope of isochrone at any point at a given time indicates the rate of change of_______________?
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A. pore water pressure with depth

B. effective stress with depth

C. effective stress with time

D. pore water pressure with time

18. If the shearing stress is zero on two planes, then the angle between the two planes is________________?
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A. 225

B. 135

C. 90

D. 45

19. Quick sand is a________________?
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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

20. Bishops method of stability analysis_______________?
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A. all of the above

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. is more conservative

21. Coefficient of permeability of soil______________?
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A. increases with the increase in temperature

B. does not depend upon temperature

C. increases with the decrease in temperature

D. none of the above

22. Coefficient of earth pressure at rest is__________________?
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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

23. Which of the following types of soil is transported by gravitational forces ?
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A. drift

B. dune sand

C. talus

D. loess

24. If the permeability of a soil is 0.8 mm/sec, the type of soil is_______________?
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A. silt

B. clay

C. sand

D. gravel

25. Which of the following soils has more plasticity index ?
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A. clay

B. gravel

C. sand

D. silt

26. Sand particles are made of________________?
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A. illite

B. rock minerals

C. kaolinite

D. montmorillonite

27. If the sand in-situ is in its densest state, then the relative density of sand is_____________?
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A. 1

B. greater than 1

C. zero

D. between 0 and 1

28. Effective stress on soil_____________?
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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

29. Physical properties of a permeant which influence permeability are________________?
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A. viscosity only

B. unit weight only

C. both viscosity and unit weight

D. none of the above

30. The rise of water table below the foundation influences the bearing capacity of soil mainly by reducing_______________?
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A. cohesion and effective angle of shearing resistance

B. cohesion and effective unit weight of soil

C. effective angle of shearing resistance

D. effective unit weight of soil and effective angle of shearing resistance

31. According to Atterberg, the soil is said to be of medium plasticity if the plasticity index PI is____________?
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A. 0 < PI < 7

B. 17<PI27

C. 7
32. When the degree of saturation is zero, the soil mass under consideration represents______________?
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A. two phase system with soil and air

B. three phase system

C. one phase system

D. two phase system with soil and water

33. Sensitivity of a soil can be defined as___________________?
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A. none of the above

B. percentage of volume change of soil under saturated condition

C. ratio of compressive strength of unconfined undisturbed soil to that of soil in a remoulded state

D. ratio of volume of voids to volume of solids

34. Coarse grained soils are best compacted by a_______________?
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A. sheeps foot roller

B. vibratory roller

C. rubber tyred roller

D. drum roller

35. The major principal stress in an element of cohesionless soil within the backfill of a retaining wall is________________?
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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

36. The average coefficient of permeability of natural deposits________________?
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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

37. The coefficient of active earth pressure for a loose sand having an angle of internal friction of 30 is___________________?
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A. 1

B. 1/3

C. 3

D. 2-Jan

38. Which one of the following clays behaves like a dense sand ?
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A. under-consolidated clay

B. normally consolidated clay

C. over-consolidated ciay with a high over-consolidation ratio

D. over-consolidated clay with a low over-consolidation ratio

39. 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_________________?
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A. 7

B. 12

C. 10

D. 17

40. When the plastic limit of a soil is greater than the liquid limit, then the plasticity index is reported as_____________?
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A. zero

B. non-plastic (NP)

C. negative

D. 1

41. Total number of stress components at a point within a soil mass loaded at its boundary is______________?
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A. 16

B. 3

C. 6

D. 9
42. Contact pressure beneath a rigid footing resting on cohesive soil is_________________?
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A. none of the above

B. less at edges compared to middle

C. more at edges compared to middle

D. uniform throughout

43. A cylindrical specimen of saturated soil failed under an axial vertical stress of 100kN/m2 when it was laterally unconfmed. The failure plane was inclined to the horizontal plane at an angle of 45. The values of cohesion and angle of internal friction for the soil are respectively______________________?
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A. 0.05 N/mm2 and 0

B. 0.2 N/mm2 and 0

C. 0.5 N/mm2 and 30

D. 0.05 N/mm2 and 45

44. Select the incorrect statement?
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A. Effective angle of internal friction for a soil increases as state of compact-ness increases

B. Effective cohesion of a soil can never have a negative value

C. Effective angle of internal friction for coarse grained soils is rarely below 30

D. Effective angle of internal friction is a complicated function of mineralogy and clay size content

45. Skemptons pore pressure coefficient B for saturated soil is________________?
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A. 1

B. greater than 1

C. between 0 and 1

D. zero

46. Toughness index is defined as the ratio of____________________?
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A. plasticity index to consistency index

B. plasticity index to flow index

C. liquidity index to flow index

D. consistency index to liquidity index

47. The total and effective stresses at a depth of 5 m below the top level of water in a swimming pool are respectively__________________?
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A. 0.5 kg/cm2 and zero

B. 1.0 kg/cm2 and 0.5 kg/cm2

C. zero and zero

D. 0.5 kg/cm2 and 0.5 kg/cm2

48. Water content of soil can______________?
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A. never be greater than 100 %

B. be greater than 100 %

C. be less than 0 %

D. take values only from 0 % to 100 %

49. Select the correct statement?
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A. A uniform soil has less strength and stability than a non-uniform soil

B. Uniformity coefficient of a poorly graded soil is more than that of a well graded soil

C. Uniformity coefficient does not affect strength and stability

D. A uniform soil has more strength and stability than a non-uniform soil

50. Stokes law is valid only if the size of particle is________________?
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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