MCQ in Geotechnical Engineering Part 4 | Civil Board Exam

(Last Updated On: June 1, 2022)

This is the Multiple Choice Questions Part 4 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 4 of the Series

⇐ MCQ in Geotechnical Engineering Part 3 | Civil Board Exam

Choose the letter of the best answer in each questions.

151. The moisture content of soil below which the soil volume becomes constant, is called the –

A) Liquid limit

B) Plastic limit

C) Shrinkage limit

D) None of the above

152. Bulking of sand is :

A) Less in fine sand

B) More in coarse sand

C) More in medium sand

D) More in fine sand

153. Clay is an example of :

A) Aquifer

B) Aquitard

C) Aquifuge

D) Aquiclude

154. Density Index for a natural soil is used to express :

A) Percentage voids

B) Relative compactness

C) Shear strength of clays

D) Specific gravity

155. The shear strength in plastic undrained clay is due to :

A) Intergranular friction

B) Internal friction

C) Cohesion

D) None of the above

156. Which of the following represents the measure of particle size range?

A) Slope of gradation curve of soil

B) Coefficient of uniformity

C) Fineness of the soil

D) Relative index

157. Which of the following parameter is determined by triaxial test?

A) Hydraulic gradient

B) Permeability

C) Shear strength parameters

D) Grain size

158. For cohesive soils, with increasing compactive effort, the optimum moisture content –

A) Increases

B) Decreases

C) Remains constant

D) Is zero

159. For consolidation test in laboratory, the thickness of the specimen is :

A) 10 mm

B) 20 mm

C) 40 mm

D) 60 mm

160. Unconfined compressive strength test is :

A) Undrained test

B) Drained test

C) Consolidated undrained test

D) None of the above

161. Void Ratio of soil mass can –

A) Never be greater 1

B) Be zero

C) Take any value greater zero

D) Take values between 0 & 1 only

162. 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

163. 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

164. Dispersed type of soil structure is an arrangement comprising particles having –

A) Face to face or parallel orientation

B) Edge to edge orientation

C) Edge to face orientation

D) All of the above

165. Which of the following methods is best suited for the determination of permeability of coarse-grained soils?

A) Constant head method

B) Falling head method

C) Both of the above

D) None of the above

166. The most suitable method for drainage of fine-grained cohesive soils is –

A) Well point system

B) Vacuum method

C) Deep well system

D) Electro-osmosis method

167. The hydrostatic pressure on the phreatic line within a dam section is –

A) Less than atmospheric pressure

B) Equal to atmospheric pressure

C) Greater than atmospheric pressure

D) None of the above

168. 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

169. The ultimate consolidation settlement of a structure resting on a soil –

A) Decreases with the increase in the initial void ratio

B) Decreases with the decrease in the plastic limit

C) Increases with the increase in the void ratio

D) Increases with the decrease in the porosity of the soil

170. Base failure of finite slope –

A) Occurs when soil below the level of toe is strong

B) Occurs when there is a relatively weak zone in upper part of slope

C) Occurs when the soil below the toe is relatively soft and weak

D) Is a most common failure and occurs in relatively steep slopes

171. Rise of water table in cohesionless soils up to ground surface reduces the net ultimate bearing capacity approximately by –

A) 25%

B) 50%

C) 75%

D) 90%

172. According to IS specifications, the minimum depths of foundation in sand and clay should be respectively –

A) 600 mm and 700 mm

B) 800 mm and 900 mm

C) 1 m and 800 mm

D) 1 m and 1.2 m

173. The maximum differential settlement in isolated footings on clayey soils should be limited to –

A) 25 mm

B) 40 mm

C) 65 mm

D) 100 mm

174. A soil having particles of nearly the same size is known as :

A) Well graded

B) Uniformly graded

C) Poorly graded

D) Gap graded

175. The soils most susceptible to liquefaction are –

A) Saturated dense sands

B) Saturated fine and medium sands of uniform particle size

C) Saturated clays of uniform size

D) Saturated gravels and cobbles

176. The upstream slope of an earth dam under steady seepage condition is :

A) Equipotential line

B) Phreatic line

C) Flow-line

D) Seepage line

177. In consolidation testing, curve fitting method is used to determine :

A) Compression index

B) Swelling index

C) Coefficient of consolidation

D) Time factor

178. Undisturbed soil samples are required for conducting :

A) Hydrometer test

B) Shrinkage limit test

C) Consolidation test

D) Specific gravity test

179. During seepage through an earth mass, the direction of seepage is :

A) Parallel to the equipotential lines

B) Perpendicular to streamlines

C) Perpendicular to equipotential lines

D) Along the direction of gravity

180. Which of the following parameters can be used to estimate the angle of internal friction of sandy soil?

A) Particle size

B) Roughness of particle

C) Particle size distribution

D) Density index

181. Uniformity coefficient of well graded sand is –

A) < 2

B) > 2

C) > 6

D) none of the above

182. The moisture content of a soil below which the soil volume becomes constant is called the –

A) Liquid limit

B) Plastic limit

C) Shrinkage limit

D) None of the above

183. If the diameter of a capillary tube is doubled, the capillary rise will be :

A) Unaffected

B) Doubled

C) Halved

D) None of the above

184. Standard Penetration resistance in very stiff clays lies between :

A) 2 – 4

B) 4 – 8

C) 8 – 15

D) 15 – 30

185. If fineness modulus of sand is 2.5, it is graded as –

A) Very fine sand

B) Fine sand

C) Medium sand

D) Coarse sand

186. Vane shear test is used to find out shear strength of –

A) Sandy soil

B) Gravelly soil

C) Clayey soil

D) All of the above

187. Soil transported by wind is called –

A) Aeolian soil

B) Alluvial soil

C) Marine soil

D) Lacustrine soil

188. Which of the following is responsible for the formation of residual soil?

A) Glaciers

B) Water

C) Wind

D) None of the above

189. Which of the following bonding is responsible to combine the silica-gibbsite sheet in kaolinite clay mineral?

A) Covalent bond

B) Hydrogen bond

C) Ionic bond

D) Polar covalent bond

190. What would be the void ratio of the soil mass, if the porosity of a soil mass is 0.35?

A) 0.2

B) 0.23

C) 0.54

D) 0.6

191. The consolidation time for soils –

A) Increases with increasing compressibility

B) Decreases with increasing permeability

C) In independent of the stress change

D) All of the above

192. If voids of a soil mass are full of air only, the soil is termed as :

A) Entrained soil

B) Partially saturated soil

C) Dry soil

D) None of the above

193. Optimum moisture content is obtained from :

A) Triaxial test

B) Standard proctor test

C) Consolidation test

D) Hydrometer test

194. Which of the following type of roller is most suitable for proof rolling subgrades and for finishing operation of fills with clayey or sandy soils?

A) Pneumatic rubber tired roller

B) Sheep foot roller

C) Smooth wheel roller

D) Vibratory roller

195. What is the assumption made about back of wall, in the Rankine’s theory of earth pressure?

A) Plane and rough

B) Plane and smooth

C) Vertical and rough

D) Vertical and smooth

196. A footing is resting on a fully saturated clayey strata. For checking the initial stability, shear parameters are used from :

A) Consolidated undrained test

B) Unconsolidated drained test

C) Unconsolidated undrained test

D) Unconsolidated undrained test with pore pressure measurement

197. A shallow foundation is defined as a foundation which :

A) Has low bearing capacity

B) Has a depth of embedment less than its width

C) Is resting on ground surface

D) Causes less settlement

198. A plate load test is used to estimate :

A) Both bearing capacity and settlement of foundation

B) Consolidation of soil

C) Bearing capacity of foundation

D) Settlement of foundation

199. The two criteria for the determination of allowable bearing capacity of a foundation are :

A) Tensile failure and compression failure

B) Tensile failure and settlement

C) Bond failure and shear failure

D) Shear failure and settlement

200. Which of the following factors can affect the bearing capacity of the soil?

A) Grain size of the soil

B) Shape of footing

C) Size of footing

D) All of the above