soil mechanics and foundation engineering MCQs – Page 2

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

soil mechanics and foundation engineering Mcqs
51. Valid range for S, the degree of saturation of soil in percentage is______________?
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A. 0 < S < 100

B. S<0

C. 0<S<100

D. S>0

52. If the water content of a fully saturated soil mass is 100%, then the voids ratio of the sample is________________?
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A. greater than specific gravity of soil

B. equal to specific gravity of soil

C. independent of specific gravity of soil

D. less than specific gravity of soil

53. Which of the following methods is most accurate for the determination of the water content of soil ?
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A. oven drying method

B. calcium carbide method

C. sand bath method

D. pycnometer method

54. Rise of water table above the ground surface causes________________?
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A. decrease in pore water pressure but increase in total stress

B. equal decrease in pore water pressure and total stress

C. equal increase in pore water pressure and total stress

D. increase in pore water pressure but decrease in total stress

55. For proper field control, which of the following methods is best suited for quick determination of water content of a soil mass ?
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A. sand bath method

B. calcium carbide method

C. oven drying method

D. alcohol method

56. Effective stress is______________?
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A. all of the above

B. the stress at particles contact

C. a physical parameter that can be measured

D. important because it is a function of engineering properties of soil
57. A soil has a bulk density of 22 kN/m3 and water content 10 %. The dry density of soil is_______________?
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A. 18.6 kN/m3

B. 20.0 kN/m3

C. 22.0 kN/m3

D. 23.2 kN/m3

58. For better strength and stability, the fine grained soils and coarse grained soils are compacted respectively as____________________?
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A. dry of OMC and wet of OMC

B. dry of OMC and dry of OMC where OMC is optimum moisture content

C. wet of OMC and wet of OMC

D. wet of OMC and dry of OMC
59. A 300 mm square bearing plate settles by 15 mm in a plate load test on a cohesive soil when the intensity of loading is 0.2 N/mm2. The settlement of a prototype shallow footing 1 m square under the same intensity of loading is___________________?
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A. 167 mm

B. 30 mm

C. 15 mm

D. 50 mm
60. 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__________________?
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A. increases by 50%

B. decreases by 33.3%

C. increases by 25%

D. increases by 33.3%

61. The angle that Coulombs failure envelope makes with the horizontal is called________________?
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A. angle of internal friction

B. none of the above

C. cohesion

D. angle of repose

62. The value of compression index for a remoulded sample whose liquid limit is 50% is______________?
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A. 36

B. 0.28

C. 0.028

D. 0.036

63. Which of the following methods is best suited for determination of permeability of coarse-grained soils ?
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A. constant head method

B. falling head method

C. both the above

D. none of the above

64. Terzaghis bearing capacity factors Nc, Nq and Nr are functions of______________?
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A. cohesion only

B. angle of internal friction only

C. both cohesion and angle of internal friction

D. none of the above

65. Compressibility of sandy soils is______________?
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A. much greater than that of clayey soils

B. none of the above

C. almost equal to that of clayey soils

D. much less than that of clayey soils
66. Dispersed type of soil structure is an arrangement comprising particles having______________?
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A. face to face or parallel orientation

B. edge to face orientation

C. edge to edge orientation

D. all of the above

67. The water content of soil, which represents the boundary between plastic state and liquid state, is known as_________________?
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A. liquid limit

B. shrinkage limit

C. plastic limit

D. plasticity index

68. Within the consolidation process of a saturated clay__________________?
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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

69. In a consolidated drained test on a normally consolidated clay, the volume of the soil sample during shear________________?
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A. increases

B. decreases

C. first increases and then decreases

D. remains unchanged

70. Rankines theory of earth pressure assumes that the back of the wall is_______________?
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A. plane and smooth

B. vertical and rough

C. plane and rough

D. vertical and smooth
71. The hydrometer method of sedimentation analysis differs from the pipette analysis mainly in_____________?
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A. the method of taking observations

B. the principle of test

C. the method of preparation of soil suspension

D. all of the above

72. Select the incorrect statement?
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A. Bearing capacity of a soil depends on the type of soil

B. Bearing capacity of a soil depends upon the amount and direction of load

C. Bearing capacity of a soil is indepen-dent of rate of loading

D. Bearing capacity of a soil depends upon shape and size of footing

73. 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__________________?
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A. unconsolidated drained test

B. consolidated undrained test

C. unconsolidated undrained test

D. consolidated drained test

74. 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________________?
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A. 0.0045 m3/sec

B. 0.1125m3/sec

C. 0.00018 nrVsec

D. 0.18m3/sec

75. Select the correct statement?
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A. Unit weight does not affect per-meability

B. The greater the unit weight, the greater is permeability

C. The greater the unit weight, the smaller is permeability

D. The greater the viscosity, the greater is permeability

76. A 600 mm square bearing plate settles by 15 mm in plate load test on a cohesionless soil under an intensity of loading of 0.2 N/ram2. The settlement of a prototype shallow footing 1 m square under the same intensity of loading is_______________?
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A. 25 mm

B. between 15 mm and 25 mm

C. 15 mm

D. greater than 25 mm

77. If the plasticity index of a soil mass is zero, the soil is______________?
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A. clay

B. silt

C. clayey silt

D. sand
78. The shear strength of a soil_________________?
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A. is inversely proportional to the angle of internal friction of the soil

B. decreases with decrease in normal stress

C. decreases with increase in normal stress

D. is directly proportional to the angle of internal friction of the soil

79. Coefficient of compressibility is_______________?
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A. different for different types of soils but same for a soil under different states of consolidation

B. constant for any type of soil

C. different for different types of soils and also different for a soil under different states of consolidation

D. independent of type of soil but depends on the stress history of soil

80. The ratio of volume of voids to the total volume of soil mass is called______________?
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A. porosity

B. air content

C. percentage air voids

D. voids ratio

81. If a cohesive soil specimen is subjected to a vertical compressive load, the inclination of the cracks to the horizontal is__________________?
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A. 22.5

B. 90

C. 45

D. 0

82. 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. Skemptons pore pressure parameter B is___________________?
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A. -0.5

B. 2.0

C. 0.5

D. 2

83. In the triaxial compression test, the application of additional axial stress (i.e. deviator stress) on the soil specimen produces shear stress on__________________?
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A. horizontal plane only

B. vertical plane only

C. both horizontal and vertical planes

D. all planes except horizontal and vertical planes
84. Coefficient of consolidation of a soil is affected by_______________?
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A. compressibility

B. permeability

C. both compressibility and permeability

D. none of the above

85. Inorganic soils with low compressibility are represented by_________________?
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A. CH

B. SL

C. ML

D. MH

86. Select the correct statement?
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A. coefficient of compressibility of an over-consolidated clay is greater than that of a normally consolidated clay

B. coefficient of compressibility is cons-tant for any clay

C. coefficient of compressibility of an over-consolidated clay is less than that of a normally consolidated clay

D. none of the above

87. The admixture of coarser particles like sand or silt to clay causes______________?
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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

88. Select the incorrect statement ?
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A. In a direct shear box test, the plane of shear failure is predetermined

B. Stress distribution on the failure plane in the case of triaxial compression test is uniform

C. Unconfined compression test can be carried out on all types of soils

D. Better control is achieved on the drainage of the soil in a triaxial compression test

89. If the degree of saturation of a partially saturated soil is 60%, then air content of the soil is______________?
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A. 80%

B. 100%

C. 60%

D. 40%
90. The most suitable method for drainage of fine grained cohesive soils is________________?
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A. deep well system

B. electroosmosis method

C. vacuum method

D. well ppint system

91. According to IS classification, the range of silt size particles is_________________?
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A. 4.75 mm to 2.00 mm

B. 0.425 mm to 0.075 mm

C. 2.00 mm to 0.425 mm

D. 0.075 mm to 0.002 mm
92. 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________________?
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A. 1.0 and 0.5

B. 0.0 and 1.0

C. 0.5 and 1.0

D. 1.0 and 0.0

93. Which of the following statements is correct ?
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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
94. Valid range for n, the percentage voids, is______________?
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A. n<0

B. 0<n0

C. 0
95. The ultimate consolidation settlement of a structure resting on a soil_______________?
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A. decreases with the increase in the initial voids ratio

B. increases with the decrease in the porosity of the soil

C. decreases with the decrease in the plastic limit

D. increases with the increase in the initial voids ratio

96. In hydrometer analysis for a soil mass______________?
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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

97. Residual soils are formed by______________?
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A. none of the above

B. water

C. glaciers

D. wind

98. The maximum dry density upto which any soil can be compacted depends upon____________?
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A. moisture content only

B. amount of compaction energy only

C. both moisture content and amount of compaction energy

D. none of the above

99. The clay mineral with the largest swelling and shrinkage characteristics is_______________?
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A. none of the above

B. montmorillonite

C. kaolinite

D. illite

100. The effect of cohesion on a soil is to______________?
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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 in-tensity but to increase the passive earth pressure intensity

D. increase the active earth pressure in-tensity but to reduce the passive earth pressure intensity