Soil Mechanics foundation

 1.The ratio of the volume of air voids to the volume of voids, is called ?

• void ratio 
• air content 
• degree of saturation 
• porosity 

2.When the water table is close to the ground surface, the bearing capacity of a soil is reduced to ?

• one-fourth 
• one-half 
• two-third 
• three-fourth 

3.The void ratio of a soil is defined as the ratio of the ?

• weight of water to the weight of solids 
• volume of water to the volume of voids in the soil mass 
• total volume of voids to the volume of soil solids 
• total volume of voids to the total volume of soil 

4.The earth pressure at rest is defined as the lateral pressure exerted by soil ?

• when it is at rest 
• when the retaining wall has no movement relative to the back fill 
• when the retaining wall tends to move away from the back fill 
• when the retaining wall moves into the soil 

5.Bulk density of a soil is defined as the ratio of ?

• total mass of soil to the total volume of soil 
• weight of water to the weight of solids 
• unit weight of solids to the unit weight of water 
• weight of solid grains to the volume of solids 

6.The permeability of a given soil is ?

• directly proportional to the average grain size 
• inversely proportional to the average grain size 
• directly proportional to the square of the average grain size 
• inversely proportional to the square of the average grain size 

7.The change in volume of soil per unit of initial volume due to a given unit increase in pressure is called ?

• coefficient of permeability 
• coefficient of compressibility 
• coefficient of volume compressibility 
• coefficient of curvature 

8.The seepage force in soils is ?

• proportional to head loss 
• proportional to exit gradient 
• perpendicular to the equipotential lines 
• all of these 

9.The decrease in voids ratio per unit increase of pressure is called ?

• coefficient of permeability 
• coefficient of compressibility 
• coefficient of volume compressibility 
• coefficient 

10.The expansion of soil due to shear at a constant value of press is called ?

• apparent cohesion 
• true cohesion 
• dilatancy 
• consistency

11.The particle size range is measured by ?

• effective size 
• curvature coefficient 
• uniformity coefficient 
• none of these 

12.The lateral earth pressure is ?

• directly proportional to the depth of soil 
• inversely proportional to the depth of soil 
• directly proportional to the square of the depth 
• inversely proportional to the square of the depth of soil 

13.Gravel and sand is a ?

• cohesive coarse grained soil 
• cohesive line grained soil 
• non-cohesive coarse grained soil 
• non-cohesive fine grained soil 

14.The critical height in the stability of soil is the ?

• minimum height at which it is possible for the sloped bank of soil to be stable 
• maximum height at which it is possible for the sloped bank of soil to be stable 
• minimum vertical height of the soil in an open excavation 
• maximum vertical height of the soil is an open excavation 

15.The water content ratio of a soil is defined as the ratio of the ?

• weight of water to the weight of solids 
• volume of water to the volume of voids in the soil mass 
• total volume of voids to the volume of soil solids 
• total volume of voids to the total volume of soil 

16.The maximum unit pressure that a soil can withstand without rupture in shear or without excessive settlement of the structure, is called ?

• allowable bearing pressure 
• safe bearing capacity 
• ultimate bearing capacity 
• bearing capacity 

17.Consolidation and compressibility of soil ?

• is a measure of the ability of soil to allow the water to pass through its pores 
• is a measure of the ability of soil to bear stresses without failure 
• deals with changes in volume of pores in a soil under load 
• any one of the above 

18.The plastic limit of a soil is defined as the ?

• limit of water that makes the soil to flow 
• amount of water content which makes the soil to go into the liquid state 
• amount of water content which makes the soil to go into the solid state from the liquid state 
• minimum amount of water content which makes the soil to be rolled into 3 mm diameter threads 

19.A soil sample is having a specific gravity of 2.60 and a void ratio of 0.78. The water content Soil in percentage required to fully saturate the soil at that void ratio will be ?

• 10 
• 30 
• 50 
• 70 

20.Flow lines and equipotential lines are ?

• perpendicular to each other 
• parallel to each other 
• intersecting lines at 90° to each other 
• intersecting lines at 45° to each other