GATE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TUTORIALS

GATE Civil Test Series

Subject : Geotechnical Engineering

Test No. : 1

Max. Marks : 30

Test Duration : 30 min

I) One mark Questions

( 1 x 10 = 10 Marks)

1. A soil sample has a shrinkage limit of 10% and sp. Gravity of soil solids is 2.7. The porosity
of soil at shrinkage limit is
a) 0.27

b) 23%

c) 21%

d) 0.54

2. The true & apparent specific gravities of fully saturated soil are 2.7 & 2.0 respectively. The
void ratio of the soil is
a) 20%

b) 40%

c) 70%

d) 74%

c) Stokes Law

d) Coulombs Law

3. Permeability equation is based on

a) Reynolds law

b) Darcys law
3

4. A sample with a volume of 45 cm is filled with a dry soil sample. When the soil is poured in
3

to a graduated cylinder, it displaces 25 cm of water. The void ratio of the soil is

a) 0.50

b) 0.44

c) 0.65

d) 0.8

5. For sand of uniform spherical particles, the ratio of void ratio in loosest & the densest state is
a) 2.6

b) 3.5

c) 4.6

d) 3.0

c) e = (1 + e) / n

d) e = n / (1 n)

6. Which of the following relation is not correct

a) s = G w

b) e = (w G / S)

7. The hydraulic head that would produce a quick condition in a sand stratum of thickness of
2m, if G = 2.7 and e = 0.7 is
a) 0.5m

b) 1m

c) 2m

d) None of the above

8. A soil has a liquid limit of 25%, plastic limit of 15% and natural water content of 20%. The
liquidity index is
a) 25%

9.

b) 50%

c) 4.6

d) 3.0

Density index is mostly relevant to

a) Coarse grained soil

b) Fine grained soil c) both a & b

d) Organic soil

10. The relationship between water content (w %) and no. of blows (N) in soils as obtained from
Casagrandes liquid limit, is given by w = 20 log 10 N. The liquid limit of the soil is
a) 15.6 %

b) 16.6%

c) 17.6%

II) Two mark Questions

d) 18.6%

( 2 x 10 = 20 Marks)

11. A mass of soil coated with a thin layer paraffin weighs 485 gm. When immersed in water it
displaces 320cc of water. The paraffin is peeled off and is found to weigh 18 gm. The sp.
gravity of soil grains is 2.7 and that of paraffin is 0.9. Then the void ratio of the soil if it has
got water content of 10% is
a) 0.69

b) 0.71

c) 0.91

d) 1.26

12. A clayey soil has natural water content of 15.8%. The sp. gravity of soil is 2.72. Its saturation
percentage is 70.8 %. The soil is allowed to soak up water. After some time the saturation
increases to 90.8 %. Then the water content of the soil in latter case is (write the answer to
the second decimal place)

13. A soil deposit has a void ratio of 1. If the void ratio is reduced to 0.6 by compaction, then %
volume loss is
a) 10%

b) 20%

c) 30%

d) 40%

Common data Questions

A soil deposit has a porosity of 40%. G = 2.5 & water content of 12 %.

14. Water content at full saturation is

a) 15.7%

b) 26.6%

c) 9.5%

d) 23.5%

15. The weight of water required to be added to 100 m of this soil for full saturation is
a) 1.35 tonnes

b) 1.85 tonnes

c) 22 tonnes

d) 31 tonnes

16. Water content which can fully saturate and increase the volume by 5% is
a) 27.7%

b) 30%

c) 35%

d) 38%

17. A 100cc clay sample has natural water content of 30%. Its shrinkage limit is 18%. If the sp.
gravity of soil is 2.72, what will be the volume of the sample at a water content of 12%
a) 100cc

b) 80cc

c) 82cc

d) 75cc
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18. The unit weight of sand backfill was determined by field measurements to be 1746 kg/m .
The water content is 8.6% and unit weight of soil constituents is 2.6 g/cc. In the lab the void
ratios in the loosest and densest states were found to be 0.642 and 0.462 respectively. The
relative density of the soil is
a) 23.4%

b) 13.9%

c) 27.25%
-4

d) None of the above

19. If a sample of weight 0.18kg having a volume of 10 m and dry unit weight of 1600 kg/m
is mixed with 0.02 kg of water, then the water content of the sample will be
a) 30%

b) 20%

c) 15%

d) None of the above

20. A soil has liquid limit = 35, plastic limit = 20, shrinkage limit = 10 and natural moisture
content = 25%. The liquidity index , plasticity index & shrinkage index are respectively
a) 0.67, 15 and 25

b) 0.33, 15 and 10

c) 0.67, 25 and 15

All the Best !

d) 0.33, 20 and 15