SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION ENGINEERING

Pre-Board Exam
Prepared by: V.B. Ella

_____1. Horizontal projection of an area containing a natural waterway bounded by an

arbitrarily selected outlet and by ridges, summits and hydraulic boundaries such that
precipitation falling onto this area is trapped within and consequently discharged through the
outlet is called

a) watershed b) topographic map

c) river basin d) a and b
e) a and c

_____2. The lateral movement of infiltrated water when it encounters impervious layer is called

a) percolation b) baseflow
c) interflow d) surface runoff

_____ 3. The diameter of the measuring tube of an 8-inch standard rain gauge is

a) 0.8 inch b) 1.53 inches

c) 2.53 inches d) 3.53 inches

______ 4 Rainfall that results due to convergence of air masses into a low pressure area is

a) convective rainfall b) orographic rainfall

c) cyclonic rainfall d) none of the above

______5. Method of calculating average areal precipitation involving the construction of lines of
equal precipitation is called

a) arithmetic method b) Thiessen method

c) isohyetal method d) kriging method

______6. The estimation of the likelihood of occurrence of an event by determining the

frequency curve of best fit to samples of hydrologic data is called

a) double mass analysis b) risk analysis

c) frequency analysis d) normal-ratio method
______7. If the probability that an annual rainfall of 3,000 mm will be equaled or exceeded is
4%, the return period is

a) 10 years b) 15 years
c) 20 years d) 25 years

______ 8. The peak runoff in a watershed has a mean of 540 m3/s and a standard deviation of
125 m3/s. If the sample data is normally distributed, the magnitude of runoff corresponding to a
probability of exceedence of 16 % is

a) 415 m3/s b) 540 m3/s

c) 665 m3/s d) 86 .4 m3/s

______9. A culvert has been designed for a flood discharge with a return period of 50 years. The
risk that the culvert will experience the design flood one or more times in 100 years is

a) 70% b) 78%
c) 80% d) 87%
e) 90 %

______10. The maximum rate of infiltration for a given soil under a given soil moisture
condition at any given instant is called

a) infiltration rate b) infiltration capacity

c) saturated hydraulic conductivity d) initial infiltration capacity

______11. The infiltration equation that provides a defined value of infiltration capacity at all
instants is called

a) Lewis-Kostiakov b) Horton
c) Philip d) Green-Ampt

_______12. Infiltration equation that relates infiltration capacity and cumulative infiltration is

a) Lewis-Kostiakov b) Horton
c) Philip d) Green-Ampt
_______13. The following infiltration capacity equation has been derived based on experimental
data:
f = 8.1 + 4.1e-12.9t
where f is in mm/hr and t is in hr. The cumulative infiltration in mm after 30 minutes is

a) 4.0 mm b) 4.4 mm
c) 4.6 mm d) 5.0 mm

______ 14. A formation that contains groundwater but is not capable of transmitting it as
sufficient quantities is

a) aquifer b) aquiclude
c) aquifuge d) aquitard

______15. Volume of water that can be stored in or released from an aquifer per unit horizontal
area per unit change in hydraulic head is

a) specific storage b) specific yield

c) storage coefficient d) transmissivity

______16. The repeated pumping of the newly constructed well in order to remove the fine
materials so as to prevent entry of muddy water, minimize head and well losses and the
maximize the effective hydraulic radius of the well is

a) well logging b) pumping test

c) pump testing d) well development

_______ 17. The rate of groundwater movement through a unit area resulting from one unit of
hydraulic gradient is called

a) infiltration capacity b) percolation rate

c) hydraulic conductivity d) baseflow

______18. A fully penetrating well installed in a confined aquifer with a transmissivity of 197
m2/day is pumped at a constant rate. If the drawdowns in two observation wells 8 m and 22 m
from the pumped well were observed to be 1.42 m and 0.44 m, respectively, the steady state
pump discharge is

a) 200 gpm b) 220 gpm

c) 240 gpm d) 260 gpm
 e) 300 gpm

______19. The velocities at 0.2 and 0.8 of the depth of flow in a 1.0-m wide rectangular open
channel are 1.2 m/s and 0.3 m/s, respectively. If the flow depth is 0.8 m, the discharge is

a) 0.4 m3/s b) 0.5 m3/s

c) 0.6 m3/s d) 0.7 m3/s

______20. Streamflow in a river was measured at various stages using a current meter. The
results are given below:

Discharge (m3/s) Stage h (m)

27.2 3.7
21.7 2.8
78.4 5.4
9.7 1.9
166.7 7.9
128.1 6.3
159.6 7.1
129.5 7.0
78.7 4.8
32.7 3.6

The stage-discharge relation of the form q = ahb is to be developed. Based on the observed data,
the value of the exponent b is

a) 0.9 b) 1.9
c) 2.1 d) 2.9

_______21. Given the following direct runoff hydrograph in m3/s taken at 1-hr interval in the
mainstream of a 50 sq. km watershed: 0, 2.8, 13.8, 44.8, 77.8, 37.8, 12.8, 4.5, 1.8, 1.3, 0.9, 0.6,
0.2. The equivalent depth of direct runoff is

a) 10.3 mm b) 12.3 mm
c) 14.3 mm d) 16.3 mm

______ 22. The time required for the most remote point in the watershed to reach the outlet is
called
 a) time to peak b) time of concentration
c) duration of excess rainfall d) travel time

_______23. The peak runoff in a 10 ha-watershed corresponding to a rainfall intensity of 50

mm/hr and a runoff coefficient of 0.8 is

a) 1.1 m3/s b) 2.1 m3/s

c) 3.1 m3/s d) 4.1 m3/s

______24. The type of erosion that takes place in small channels which cannot be obliterated by
tillage operations is called

a) sheet b) rill
c) interrill d) gully

______ 25. The energy of rainfall that induces erosion is called

a) rainfall intensity b) erosivity

c) erodibility d) raindrop erosion

______26. Two depths that give the same specific energy in an open channel is called

a) critical depths b) sequent depths

c) dual depths d) alternate depths

______27. A trapezoidal irrigation canal has a side slope of 1:1 and a b/d ratio of 3 and a bottom
slope of 0.0004. The roughness coefficient n is 0.015. If the discharge is 3.62 m3/s, the normal
depth is

a) 0.75 m b) 0.85
c) 0.95 m d) 1.05 m

______28.The critical depth in a rectangular channel with a bottom width of 4.0 m for a
discharge of 5 m3/s is

a) 0.34 m b) 0.44 m
c) 0.54 m d) 0.64 m
______29. A 30-inch diameter 1-meter long culvert has been designed to carry a maximum
discharge of 1.7 m3/s when flowing half-full. Its roughness coefficient n is 0.014. If the inlet and
the outlet are both unsubmerged, the difference in elevation between the inlet and the outlet
should be

a) 5 cm b) 7.5 cm
c) 10 cm d) 12.5 cm
e) 15 cm

_______30. A concrete-lined trapezoidal canal is to carry a maximum discharge of 2.0 m3/s. The
required head loss over a horizontal distance of 1 km is 2.0 m. The side slope is to be set at 1:1
and the permissible b/d ratio is 3. If the Manning’s roughness coefficient is 0.015, the design
depth required is

a) 0.42 m b) 0.56 m
c) 0.64 m d) 0.78 m
e) 1.1 m

______31. The hydraulic radius of the most hydraulically efficient rectangular and trapezoidal
channel section is

a) y/4 b) y/3
c) y/2 d) y
e) 2y

_______32. The most hydraulically efficient trapezoidal channel section to carry a discharge of 5
m3/s on a bed material with a roughness n of 0.02 and a bottom slope of 1 in 800 should have a
bottom width of

a) 0.75 m b) 1.35 m
c) 1.65 m d) 2.25 m
e) 2.85 m

______33. A soil sample has a wet mass of 120 g and an undisturbed volume of 78 cc. If the dry
mass basis moisture content is 20 %, the bulk density is

a) 1.18 g/cc b) 1.28 g/cc

c) 1.38 g/cc d) 1.48 g/cc
_____ 34. A 5-ha cornfield was irrigated for 12 hrs at a discharge of 250 lps. If the average depth
of water stored in the rootzone as a result of irrigation was observed to be 160 mm, the
application efficiency is

a) 70% b) 72 %
c) 74 % d) 76 %
e) 80%

_____ 35. The soil has a field capacity of 22% and a permanent wilting point of 12 %, both on a
dry mass basis. The apparent specific gravity is 1.4. If the rootzone depth is 1.0 m and the
management allowable deficit is 50%, the net application depth is

a) 50 mm b) 60 mm
c) 70 mm d) 80 mm

______36. Three tanks are installed side by side in a field to measure the evapotranspiration of
rice. Tank A is bottomless and is cropped. Tank B is bottomless but is uncropped. Tank C has a
bottom and is uncropped. If the water losses after 2 rainless days are as follows:
Tank A - 14.0 mm
Tank B - 10.0 mm
Tank C - 5.0 mm

The actual crop evapotranspiration is

a) 4.0 mm/day b) 4.5 mm/day

c) 5.0 mm/day d) 9.0 mm/day

______37. A 3-ha of cornfield is to be irrigated at a discharge of 250 lps. The average available
water holding capacity is 140 mm/m soil, MAD = 40%, drz = 0.5 m. ETo = 5 mm/day and kc =
0.8. Assuming Ea = 70%, the irrigation period should be

a) 1 hr b) 1 ¼ hrs
c) 1 1/3 hrs d) 1 ½ hrs
______38. The soil has the following characteristics: porosity = 50 %, apparent specific gravity
= 1.25, residual moisture content is 15% dry mass. If the rooting depth is 300 mm and the
duration of land soaking is 5 days, the land soaking requirement is

a) 15.75 mm/day b) 16.75 mm/day

c) 17.75 mm/day d) 18.75 mm/day

______39. If the farm water requirement is 21.6 mm/day, the water duty is

a) 1.5 lps/ha b) 2.0 lps/ha

c) 2.5 lps/ha d) 3.0 lps/ha

_____40. Irrigation method that is not suitable when the irrigation water has high salinity is

a) basin b) border
c) furrow d) corrugation
e) wild flooding f) sprinkler

_____ 41. A hydraulic structure that serves as an outlet of water in irrigation canals whereby
water passes through and discharges into the main farm ditch of service area is called

a) headgate b) checkgate
c) turnout d) offtake
e) inverted siphon

______42.Structure built along supplementary farm ditch at the head of the internal farm ditch to
control and regulate the flow is

a) headgate b) checkgate
c) turnout d) offtake
e) inverted siphon

______43. Structure that conveys water across but underneath natural depressions is

a) drop structure b) bench flume

c) Parshall flume d) inverted siphon
e) tail escape
_____ 44. Corn grown in a 75 m by 120 m rectangular area is irrigated using furrow. The furrow
lengths are parallel to the shorter side. The furrow spacing is 50 cm and the gross application
depth is 100 mm. If the inflow rate to irrigate each furrow is 0.4 lps, the time needed to irrigate
each furrow is

a) 2 hrs b) 2.4 hrs

c) 2.6 hrs d) 2.8 hrs
e) 3.0 hrs

______45. Sugarcane is to be irrigated using sprinkler irrigation. The sprinkler spacing is 12.2 m
while the lateral spacing is 18.3 m. The soil water holding capacity is 120 mm/m, crop rooting
depth is 1.0 m and management allowable deficit is 45%. If the irrigation period is 12 hrs and the
application efficiency is 70%, the required sprinkler discharge is

a) 0.2 lps b) 0.3 lps

c) 0.4 lps d) 0.5 lps

______46. The suction head of centrifugal pump should not exceed the

a) gross positive suction head b) net positive suction head

c) total dynamic head d) maximum practical suction lift

______47. Vaporization of liquid that results when the pressure acting on the liquid being
pumped falls below the vapor pressure of the liquid at the existing temperature is

a) suction b) ventilation
c) cavitation d) evaporation

______48. Groundwater is to be pumped from a shallow aquifer for irrigation purposes. The
required discharge is 300 gpm. The suction head is 8 ft and the maximum drawdown is 10 ft. The
friction and minor losses are 0.45 ft and 0.3 ft, respectively. If the pump efficiency is 60%, the
theoretical input power required is

a) 2.0 hp b) 2.2 hp
c) 2.4 hp d) 3.0 hp
e) 3.2 hp

______49. The type of drainage system layout suitable for concave areas is

a) random b) herringbone
c) gridiron d) Hooghoudt
______50. The depth of water to be removed from a drainage area in 24 hrs is called

a) runoff coefficient b) drainage coefficient

c) discharge coefficient d) maximum observed rainfall