Geotechnical Engineering MCQ

What does Consolidated-Undrained test assess?

Answer

Correct Answer: The strength of soil under applied normal loads without drainage

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What is compressibility?

Answer

Correct Answer: Property of a soil pertaining to its susceptibility to decrease in volume, when subjected to load

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What is the compression of a soil layer per unit of original thickness due to a given unit increase in pressure equal to?

Answer

Correct Answer: The coefficient of compressibility divided by one plus the original void ratio

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What is the coefficient of volume compressibility?

Answer

Correct Answer: The compression of a soil layer per unit of original thickness due to a given unit increase in pressure.

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What is the coefficient of uniformity?

Answer

Correct Answer: D60/D10

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What is the value of D60/D10 known as?

Answer

Correct Answer: Coefficient of uniformity

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What is deviator stress?

Answer

Correct Answer: The difference between the axial and radial stresses of a triaxial test sample.

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What is the density of water at sea level?

Answer

Correct Answer: 64.0 lbm/ft³

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What is the average density of the mineral or rock that soil particles are composed of?

Answer

Correct Answer: Density of soil grains

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What is the density index?

Answer

Correct Answer: The density of a granular soil relative to the minimum and maximum densities achieved for that particular soil.

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What is density?

Answer

Correct Answer: The ratio of the total mass to the total volume of a unit of soil.

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What is the ratio of the total mass to the total volume of a unit of soil?

Answer

Correct Answer: Density

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The degree of saturation of a given mass of soil is the _____.

Answer

Correct Answer: Proportion of the volume of water to the total volume of voids

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What is the degree of saturation?

Answer

Correct Answer: The proportion of the volume of water to the total volume of voids of a given mass of soil.

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After a given elapsed time, what is the proportion of consolidation that has occurred?

Answer

Correct Answer: Degree of consolidation

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What is the degree of consolidation?

Answer

Correct Answer: Proportion of consolidation that has occurred after a given elapsed time.

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What is the velocity of flow in Darcy's law?

Answer

Correct Answer: Hydraulic conductivity X hydraulic gradient.

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What is the cyclic stress ratio?

Answer

Correct Answer: A numerical rating of the potential for liquefaction in sands.

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What is the critical hydraulic gradient?

Answer

Correct Answer: The hydraulic gradient at which effective stresses becomes zero.

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What is critical hydraulic gradient?

Answer

Correct Answer: The hydraulic gradient at which effective stresses become zero.

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What is the critical height of a slope?

Answer

Correct Answer: The height of a slope that corresponds to a factor of safety of 1.0 relative to slope failure.

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What is the critical circle?

Answer

Correct Answer: The slip circle that corresponds to the lowest factor of safety.

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What is Creep?

Answer

Correct Answer: Time dependent deformations which occurs in soil at constant effective stress without changes in volume and pore water pressure.

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What is Coulomb's equation named after?

Answer

Correct Answer: Charles Augustin Coulomb

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What is Coulomb's equation?

Answer

Correct Answer: An equation relating the shear strength of soil to the normal effective stress on the failure plane.

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What is the name of the earth pressure theory that includes friction between the soil and retaining structure?

Answer

Correct Answer: Coulomb earth pressure theory

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What does Coulomb earth pressure theory take into account?

Answer

Correct Answer: Friction between the soil and retaining structure

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What is a horizontally long footing which supports a wall called?

Answer

Correct Answer: Continuous footing

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What is a continuous footing?

Answer

Correct Answer: A horizontally long footing supporting a wall.

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What is a consolidation test used for?

Answer

Correct Answer: Predicting consolidation of a soil under applied structural loads

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What is the consistency index?

Answer

Correct Answer: A measure of the relationship between the current water content and the consistency limits.

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What is the consistency index a measure of?

Answer

Correct Answer: The relationship between the current water content and the consistency limits.

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What is water content of clay relative to the Atterberg limits?

Answer

Correct Answer: Consistency

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What is an aquifer?

Answer

Correct Answer: A body of water beneath the earth's surface from which water may be drawn by natural means.

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What is the point of the cone used in a cone penetration test?

Answer

Correct Answer: 60º

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Cone resistance is measured during which test?

Answer

Correct Answer: Cone penetration test

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What is the compression test used for?

Answer

Correct Answer: To measure the amount of compression the soil undergoes.

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What is the purpose of the compression test?

Answer

Correct Answer: To estimate the amount of compression the soil undergoes

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What is the compressibility index?

Answer

Correct Answer: The logarithmic slope of the primary consolidation curve.

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What causes compaction?

Answer

Correct Answer: Vibration, self-weight

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What are colluvial soils?

Answer

Correct Answer: Soils deposited at the base of foot-hills via gravity or erosion.

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Colluvial soils are deposited at the base of _____.

Answer

Correct Answer: Foot-hills

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What is the force that holds together molecules or like particles within a substance called?

Answer

Correct Answer: Cohesion

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What is the definition of a cohesionless soil?

Answer

Correct Answer: Granular soils (sand and gravel type) with values of cohesion close to zero.

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What is a cofferdam?

Answer

Correct Answer: A temporary structure used to enclose a construction area, and prevent soil or water from entering the construction area.

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What is the coefficient of uniformity a measure of?

Answer

Correct Answer: The slope of a grain size distribution curve

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What is coefficient of secondary consolidation?

Answer

Correct Answer: The change in volumetric strain per a logarithmic cycle of time after primary consolidation is complete.

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What is the definition of coefficient of permeability?

Answer

Correct Answer: Hydraulic conductivity

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What is the coefficient of curvature a measure of?

Answer

Correct Answer: Shape parameter obtained from a grain size distribution curve.

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What is the coefficient of curvature?

Answer

Correct Answer: A measure of the shape parameter obtained from a grain size distribution curve.

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What is the coefficient of consolidation?

Answer

Correct Answer: The rate of change of volume during primary consolidation.

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What is the unit of Coefficient of Consolidation?

Answer

Correct Answer: Ft²/day, m²/s

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What is the coefficient of compressibility?

Answer

Correct Answer: The ratio of void ratio difference to the effective pressure difference

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The coefficient of compressibility is the ratio of what to what?

Answer

Correct Answer: Void ratio difference to the effective pressure difference

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What is the size range of cobbles?

Answer

Correct Answer: 3 inches (76 mm) to 12 inches (305 mm)

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What is the minimum percentage of grains retained on the #200 sieve for a soil to be considered coarse-grained?

Answer

Correct Answer: 50%

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What is the definition of coarse-grained soils?

Answer

Correct Answer: Soils with more than 50% by weight of grains retained on the #200 sieve (0.075mm).

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What is the size of Clay Soil particles?

Answer

Correct Answer: 0.002 mm

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What is a circular footing?

Answer

Correct Answer: Isolated/ spread footing that is circular shaped.

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What produces capillary stresses?

Answer

Correct Answer: Surface tension of pore water

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Which of the following is not a result of capillary stresses?

Answer

Correct Answer: Pore water pressures greater than atmospheric values

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What is the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) used for?

Answer

Correct Answer: To determine the suitability of a soil for use as a subbase in a pavement section.

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What does CBR stand for?

Answer

Correct Answer: California Bearing Ratio

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What is a Caisson?

Answer

Correct Answer: A component of a particular foundation system.

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Buoyant density is equal to what?

Answer

Correct Answer: Soil density - Density of water

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What is the bulk unit weight?

Answer

Correct Answer: The total weight of water and soil particles contained in a unit volume of soil.

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What is the unit of measurement for Bulk density?

Answer

Correct Answer: Pcf

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What is the mass of water and soil particles contained in a unit volume of soil called?

Answer

Correct Answer: Bulk density

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What is the British Soil Classification System based on?

Answer

Correct Answer: Size, consistency and structure

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What does the British Soil Classification System classify soils on?

Answer

Correct Answer: Size, consistency, and structure.

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What is braced excavation?

Answer

Correct Answer: The use of bracing to laterally support the side-walls of temporary trenches or cuts.

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What is a borrow?

Answer

Correct Answer: A site that is used to supply soils for earthwork construction

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What is the definition of bedrock?

Answer

Correct Answer: Strong rock underlying surface deposits of soil and weathered rock.

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What is the total stress transferred from the structure to the foundation called?

Answer

Correct Answer: Bearing pressure

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What does bearing pressure refer to?

Answer

Correct Answer: The total stress transferred from the structure to the foundation, then to the soil below the foundation.

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What do bearing capacity factors represent?

Answer

Correct Answer: The angle of internal friction of the soil

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What is the definition of bearing capacity?

Answer

Correct Answer: The ability of the underlying soil to support the foundation loads without shear failure.

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What is the sum of the confining and vertical stresses along an axis of a triaxial test sample called?

Answer

Correct Answer: Axial stress

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What is axial stress?

Answer

Correct Answer: Total or effective stress acting along an axis of a triaxial test sample.

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What is axial strain?

Answer

Correct Answer: Direct strain measured along an axis of a triaxial test sample.

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What do the Atterberg Limits test for?

Answer

Correct Answer: The transition between a solid, semi-solid, plastic solid or liquid

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What are the Atterberg Limits?

Answer

Correct Answer: The water contents of a soil mass corresponding to the transition between a solid, semi-solid, plastic solid or liquid.

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What is at-rest earth pressure?

Answer

Correct Answer: The horizontal stress developed in a mass of soil loaded in conditions of zero horizontal strain.

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What is the definition of artesian?

Answer

Correct Answer: A condition that exists when the water table piezometric surface lies above the ground level.

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What is the meaning of "Aquifer"?

Answer

Correct Answer: A stratum of soil with relatively high permeability; a water-bearing stratum of rock or soil.

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What does the term "anisotropic" refer to?

Answer

Correct Answer: Soil having different properties in different directions

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What is the ratio between the relative deflection between two points in a foundation and the distance between them called?

Answer

Correct Answer: Angular distortion

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What is the angle of wall friction?

Answer

Correct Answer: The angle of friction between soil and the surface of a retaining wall or bottom side of a foundation.

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The angle of friction between soil and the bottom side of a foundation is known as the ___________.

Answer

Correct Answer: Angle of wall friction

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What is the angle referred to horizontal of a plane or other surface along which a discontinuous slip or rupture may occur?

Answer

Correct Answer: Angle of slip plane

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Angle of slip plane refers to the angle of ________.

Answer

Correct Answer: A plane or other surface along which a discontinuous slip or rupture may occur

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What does the angle of shearing resistance measure?

Answer

Correct Answer: The ratio of effective shear and normal stresses mobilized at any state prior to failure.

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What is the angle of repose?

Answer

Correct Answer: The maximum angle, just before failure, of a slope composed of granular material

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At which angle does shear failure occur for a given soil?

Answer

Correct Answer: Angle of internal friction

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What does AASHTO stand for?

Answer

Correct Answer: American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials' Classification System

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What are alluvial soils?

Answer

Correct Answer: Soils deposited in a valley or slightly graded area by transporting sediments through a mountain river or streams.

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The bearing pressure that can be allowed on a foundation soil is called the ___________.

Answer

Correct Answer: Allowable bearing capacity

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The air-voids ratio is the ratio of _____.

Answer

Correct Answer: The volume of air to the total volume of a mass of soil

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What is the air-void ratio?

Answer

Correct Answer: The ratio of the volume of air to the total volume of a mass of soil.

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What is Adhesion?

Answer

Correct Answer: The shear resistance between soil and a structure

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What is the shear resistance between soil and a structure called?

Answer

Correct Answer: Adhesion

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What is the ratio of plasticity index to percent by weight of clay?

Answer

Correct Answer: The ratio of plasticity index to percent by weight of clay.

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What is the purpose of an Active Zone?

Answer

Correct Answer: The area behind a retaining structure that is above the failure plane.

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What is the area behind a retaining structure called if it is above the failure plane?

Answer

Correct Answer: Active (Rankine) zone

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What is the horizontal stress exerted by a mass of soil on a retaining wall called?

Answer

Correct Answer: Active earth pressure

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Retaining walls are used to resist _____.

Answer

Correct Answer: The horizontal stress exerted by a mass of soil

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