MCQ in Geotechnical Engineering Part 3 | Civil Board Exam

(Last Updated On: May 31, 2022)

This is the Multiple Choice Questions Part 3 of the Series in Geotechnical Engineering as one of the Hydraulics and Principles of Geotechnical Engineering topic. In Preparation for the Civil Board Exam make sure to expose yourself and familiarize in each and every questions compiled here taken from various sources including but not limited to past Board Examination Questions in Hydraulics and Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, Civil Engineering Books, Journals and other Civil Engineering References.

PRC Board of Civil Engineering Examination Syllabi

The applicant shall acquire a general average of 70% with no grades lower than 50% in any given subject of the examination as follows:

Applied Mathematics, Surveying, Principles of Transportation and Highway Engineering, Construction Management and Methods – 35%

1. Calculus

• Differential Equations
• Integral Calculus

2. Differential Equations

• First Order Differential Equation
• Higher Order Differential Equations

3. Engineering Data Analysis

4. Numerical Methods

5. Physics for Engineers

6. Engineering Economy

• Present Economy Study
• Time-Value Relations
• Selection Among Alternatives: Present, Annual, and Future Worth; Internal and External Rate of Return Method

7. Construction Surveying and Layout

8. Materials for Construction

9. Quantity Surveying

10. Construction Occupational Safety and Health

11. Transportation Engineering

• Highway Engineering
  • Highway and Urban Transportation Planning and Economics
  • Driver, Vehicle, Traffic and Road Characteristics
  • Highway Design
  • Traffic Engineering and Highway Operations
  • Road and Pavement Design
• Airport Engineering
• Ports and Harbors
• Bridges

12. Construction Management Principles and Methods

• Engineering Relations and Ethics
• Contracts & Specifications
• Construction Project Organization
• Planning and Scheduling (PERT/CPM)
• Construction Estimates
• Construction Methods & Operations
• Construction Equipment Operations and Maintenance

Hydraulics and Principles of Geotechnical Engineering – 30%

1. Fluid Mechanics

• Properties of Fluids
• Hydrostatics
• Fluid Flow Concepts and Basic Equations
• Viscous Flow and Fluid Resistance
• Ideal Fluid Flow
• Steady Flow in Closed Conduits
• Steady Flow in Open Channels

2. Buoyancy and Flotation

3. Relative Equilibrium of Liquids

4. Hydrodynamics

5. Soil Mechanics and Foundation

• Soil Properties and Classification
• Fluid Flow through Soil Mass
• Soil Strength and Tests
• Stresses in Soil Mass
• Bearing Capacity
• Compaction
• Consolidation and Settlement
• Soil Improvement
• Lateral Earth Pressures
• Slope Stability

6. Water Supply Soil Properties

Principles of Structural Analysis and Design- 35%

1. Engineering Mechanics

• Statics of Rigid Bodies
• Dynamics of Rigid Bodies
• Kinematics of Rigid Bodies
• Strength of Materials

2. Reinforced Concrete Beams and Columns

• Steal Beams, Columns, Footings and Connections
• Prestressed Concrete Beams

3. Construction Materials Testing

4. Application of the Governing Codes of Practice

Continue Practice Exam Test Questions Part 3 of the Series

⇐ MCQ in Geotechnical Engineering Part 2 | Civil Board Exam

Choose the letter of the best answer in each questions.

101. The soil transported by wind is called –

A) Aeolian soil

B) Marine soil

C) Alluvial soil

D) Lacustrine soil

102. Silt is –

A) Material deposited by a glacier

B) Soil composed of two different soils

C) Fine grained soil with little or no plasticity

D) Clay with a high percentage of the clay mineral

103. The property of soil which of great importance in finding settlement of structures, is –

A) Permeability

B) Shear strength

C) Consolidation

D) Compressibility

104. The specific gravity of soil is the ratio of unit weight of soil solids to that of water at a temperature of –

A) 4°C

B) 17°C

C) 27°C

D) 36°C

105. If the volume of voids = volume of soil solids, then the values of porosity and void ratio are respectively –

A) 0 & 0.5

B) 0 & 1

C) 0.5 & 1

D) 1 & 0.5

106. A flow line in seepage through a soil medium is defined as the –

A) Path of particles of water through a saturated soil mass

B) Line connecting points of equal head of water

C) Flow of movement of fine particles of soil

D) Direction of flow particle

107. The piping failure in a hydraulic structure can be prevented by –

A) Diverting the seepage water into filter wells

B) Increasing the creep length of flow of water

C) Increasing the stress due to weight of the structure

D) All of the above

108. The coefficient of consolidation is used for evaluating –

A) Stress in the soil

B) Total settlement

C) Over consolidation ratio

D) Time rate of settlement

109. The strength of soil is usually identified by –

A) Direct tensile stress

B) Direct compressive stress

C) Ultimate shear stress

D) Effective stress

110. A line showing the dry density as a function of water content for soil containing no air voids, is called –

A) Saturation line

B) Zero air void line

C) Liquid limit line

D) None of the above

111. The expansion of soil due to shear at a constant value of pressure is called –

A) Apparent cohesion

B) True cohesion

C) Dialatancy

D) Consistency

112. Which type of foundation is preferable on soil of poor bearing capacity?

A) Raft

B) Stepped

C) Grillage

D) Footing

113. Inverted arch footing is more suitable for –

A) Residential buildings

B) Bridges

C) Single storey building

D) Light warehouse

114. The pressure piles are –

A) Uncased

B) Cased

C) Precast

D) All of the above

115. A soil having particles of nearly the same size is known as –

A) Well graded

B) Uniformly graded

C) Poorly graded

D) Gap graded

116. The dry density of which sample is expected to be highest?

A) Organic clay

B) Bentonite

C) Stiff clay

D) Dense sand

117. The effective size of soil is –

A) D10

B) D20

C) D30

D) D40

118. A soil having uniformity coefficient > 10 is called –

A) Uniform

B) Fine

C) Coarse

D) Well graded soil

119. The shear strength of soil in the plastic limit state is –

A) Zero

B) Reasonable

C) Small

D) Close to saturated soil strength

120. Permeability of soil is affected by –

A) Grain size

B) Void ratio of soil

C) Structural arrangement of the soil particles

D) All of the above

121. The soil transported by running water is called :

A) Aeolian soil

B) Marine soil

C) Alluvial soil

D) Lacustrine soil

122. Stoke’s law is used to determine :

A) Specific gravity of soil solids

B) Density of soil suspension

C) Grain size distribution of soil finer than 0.075 mm

D) Grain size distribution of soil coarser than 0.075 mm

123. The particle size range is measured by :

A) Effective size

B) Curvature coefficient

C) Uniformity coefficient

D) None of the above

124. The property of soil which enables to regain its strength lost on remoulding in short time, without change of moisture content, is called :

A) Unconfined compressive strength

B) Sensitivity

C) Relative density

D) Thixotropy

125. When the consistency index is zero, then the soil is at its :

A) Elastic limit

B) Plastic limit

C) Liquid limit

D) Semi-solid state

126. Which of the following is highly permeable?

A) Gravel

B) Sand mixture

C) Coarse sand

D) Clay

127. The property of soil mass which permits the seepage of water through its interconnecting voids, is called –

A) Capillarity

B) Permeability

C) Porosity

D) None of the above

128. A flow net is used to determine the :

A) Seepage flow

B) Seepage pressure

C) Exit gradient

D) All of the above

129. The exit gradient of the seepage of water through a soil medium is the :

A) Slope of flow line

B) Slope of equipotential line

C) Ratio of total head to length of seepage

D) Ratio of head loss to length of seepage

130. The vertical deformation of soil mass consists of :

A) Deformation of soil grains

B) Compression of pore fluid

C) Reduction of pore space

D) All of the above

131. The decrease in void ratio per unit increase of pressure is called :

A) Coefficient of permeability

B) Coefficient of compressibility

C) Coefficient of volume compressibility

D) Coefficient of curvature

132. The ratio of settlement at any time (t) to the final settlement is known as :

A) Compression index

B) Coefficient of consolidation

C) Degree of consolidation

D) None of the above

133. The expansion of soil due to shear at a constant value of pressure is called –

A) Apparent cohesion

B) True cohesion

C) Dilatancy

D) Consistency

134. The useful method of finding the shear strength of very plastic cohesive soils is by means of –

A) Cone test

B) Penetration test

C) Vane shear test

D) Torsional shear test

135. The lateral earth pressure exerted by the soil when the retaining wall moves into the soil, is known as –

A) Earth pressure at rest

B) Active earth pressure

C) Passive earth pressure

D) Total earth pressure

136. The earth pressure at rest is calculated by using :

A) Euler’s theory

B) Rankine’s theory

C) Bending theory

D) Theory of elasticity

137. The coefficient of passive earth pressure for cohesionless granular soils is given by :

A) (1+sin⁡Φ)/(1 -sin⁡Φ )

B) (1-sin⁡Φ)/(1+sin⁡Φ )

C) (1+cos⁡Φ)/(1 -cos⁡Φ )

D) (1-cos⁡Φ)/(1+cos⁡Φ )

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

A) Allowable bearing pressure

B) Safe bearing capacity

C) Ultimate bearing capacity

D) Bearing capacity

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

A) 1/4th

B) 1/2th

C) 1/3rd

D) 3/4th

140. The contact pressure of flexible footing on non-cohesive soils is :

A) More in the center than at the edges

B) Less in the center than at the edges

C) Uniform throughout

D) None of the above

141. The ratio of volume of voids to volume of soil mass is called :

A) Water content ratio

B) Porosity

C) Void ratio

D) Degree of saturation

142. Which of the following clay mineral gives maximum swelling?

A) Kaolinite

B) Montmorillonite

C) Illite

D) None of the above

143. When the hydrometer analysis is performed, it requires correction for :

A) Temperature only

B) Meniscus only

C) Dispersing agent only

D) All of the above

144. Sieving is not practicable for grain sizes smaller than about –

A) 0.075 mm

B) 0.095 mm

C) 0.15 mm

D) 0.20 mm

145. The water content in a soil at which just shear strength develops is called :

A) Liquid limit

B) Plastic limit

C) Elastic limit

D) Shrinkage limit

146. When applying Darcy’s law to soils, it is assumed that the –

A) Soil is incompressible

B) Soil is homogenous and isotropic

C) Flow conditions are laminar

D) All of the above

147. The flow net in the seepage of water through a soil medium is a network of :

A) Flow lines

B) Equi-potential lines

C) Flow lines & equi-potential lines

D) Water particles and their movement in the soil

148. The triaxial test is usually carried out as –

A) Unconsolidated undrained test

B) Consolidated undrained test

C) Drained test

D) All of the above

149. For granular soil, with increasing void ratio, the critical hydraulic gradient –

A) Decreases

B) Increases

C) Remains constant

D) Is zero

150. The shear strength of a cohensionless soil depends on :

A) Dry density

B) Rate of loading

C) Confining pressure

D) All of the above