RASCO CIVIL ENGINEERING REVIEW

ALOJA COFFEE SHOP, LIBAS, BANGA, AKLAN

CP: 09164618841 / Landline: (036) 267 - 7343

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING EVALUATION 2

SET A 9. The uplift pressure at the heel of the dam, in kPa

a. 114 c. 198
Directions: Select the best answer. b. 265 d. 181

A clay layer is overlain by a sand layer 8 m thick. A 4-m square 10 The uplift force, in kN/m, per meter length of the dam.
footing supports a load Q=5000 kN, with the base of the footing at a. 11.4 c. 14.7
the ground surface. The distance from the base of the footing to the b. 17.6 d. 4415
bottom of the clay layer is 12 m. Calculate
11. The ratio of the volume of water to the volume of voids
1. Pressure at the base of the footing a. porosity c. degree of saturation
a. 275.4 c. 325.8 b. void ratio d. water content
b. 284.6 d. 312.5
12. A soil mass has Gs=2.40. What is the largest possible unit weight
2. pressure at the mid-height of the clay layer assuming that the (kN/m^3) of this soil?
stress beneath the footing is spread at a slope of 1H to 2V a. 23.54 c. 24
a. 22.48 c. 20.87 b. 20.90 d. 22.45
b. 28.36 d. 25.51
A soil sample has Gs=2.60, e=40%, and S=20%.
3. pressure at the mid-height of the clay layer (below the center of
the footing) using Boussinesq equation assuming point load 13. What is the saturated unit weight (kN/m^3) of this soil?
P=(Q/z^2)NB a. 18.78 c. 19.63
b. 21.02 d. 20.78
NB=3z^5 / (2piR^5)
14. Solve for the dry unit weight.
R=sqrt(r^2 + z^2) a. 17.85 c. 18.69
b. 16.32 d. 18.22
a. 22.38 c. 28.97
b. 24.69 d. 23.87 15. According to USCS, what do you call a solid grain with grain size
greater than 4.75 mm but less than 75 mm?
4. In a triaxial shear test of a cohesionless soil, the soil cylinder was a. rock c. boulder
subjected to a liquid pressure of 20 kPa inside the chamber. It was b. gravel d. cobble
observed that failure of the sample in shear occurred when the axial
compressive stress reached 44 kPa. The angle of internal friction in 16. A layer of soft clay having an initial void ratio of 2 is 10 m thick.
degrees is Under a compressive load applied above it, the void ratio decreased
a. 22.02 c. 23.02 by one-half. Evaluate the reduction in the thickness of the clay layer
b. 20.22 d. 32.22 (m).
a. 4.67 c. 3.33
5. In an unconfined compression test, a sample of sandy clay 50 mm b. 2.50 d. 3.45
in dia falls under a load of 120 N. What is the cohesion of the soil if
the sample fail at 15% strain? 17. An unconfined compression test was conducted on a sample of
a. 28 c. 27 clay having a diameter of 50 mm. The failure load was recorded at
b. 26 d. 25 250 N. The cohesion strength of the clay in kPa
a. 45 c. 63.7
6. In its natural state, a soil mass has a unit weight of 21.7 kN/m^3. b. 127.0 d. 101.0
When fully saturated with water, the soil weighs 22.57 kN/m^3. If
the moisture content is 8%, what is the porosity of the soil? A 4-m diameter circular footing is supporting a water tank. The total
a. 25.25% c. 22.69% weight of the footing, tank and its content is 1.60 MN. Given the
b. 23.65% d. 24.12% Boussinesq’s equation:

7. The ratio of the volume of voids to the total volume of soil P=qxIB
a. porosity c. degree of saturation
b. void ratio d. water content Where IB = 1 – 1/N
N = [(R/z)^2 + 1]^(3/2)
The coefficient of permeability below a dam is 4 m/day. The water
on the upstream side is 30 m higher than on the downstream side. Determine
To estimate the seepage below the dam, a flow net was graphically
drawn such that the number of potential drops, Nd = 10 and the 18. Pressure at the base of the footing (kPa)
number of flow channels Nf = 4. The base of the dam is founded 1 m a. 127.3 c. 136.9
below the ground. Between the heel and the toe of the dam, a b. 114.8 d. 142.8
distance of 30 m, there are 8 potential drops. Evaluate
19. Using the Boussinesq’s equation, what is the increase in pressure
8. The seepage flow per meter width of the dam, in li/min at a depth of 4 m below the base of the footing (kPa)?
a. 18.6 c. 20.6 a. 36.2 c. 30.7
b. 33.33 d. 32.5 b. 32.5 d. 28.4

g. rasco, ce, rmp, ree

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 RASCO CIVIL ENGINEERING REVIEW
ALOJA COFFEE SHOP, LIBAS, BANGA, AKLAN
CP: 09164618841 / Landline: (036) 267 - 7343

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING EVALUATION 2

20. Using the Boussinesq’s equation, at what depth below the base
of footing is the increase in pressure equal to 1/6 of the pressure at 30. how deep (m) below the footing would the pressure be reduced
the base of footing? to 1/10 of the pressure at the base of the footing?
a. 5.56 c. 5.89 a. 8.41 c. 9.01
b. 6.32 d. 4.89 b. 6.95 d. 7.42

21. One of the following foundation conditions does not affect the 31. A 10-mm thick soil sample has a void ratio of 1.8. If its void ratio
bearing capacity of the supporting soil. is decreased to one-half, what would be its new thickness (mm)?
a. unit weight of soil a. 6.79 c. 4.36
b. depth of founding of footings b. 5.00 d. 8.52
c. load imposed onto the soil
d. position of ground water table A 300 mm dia test well penetrates 27 m below the static water
table. After 24 hours of pumping at 69 li/s, the water level in an
22. If the ground water table in a soil formation rises as a result of observation well at a distance of 95 m from the test well is lowered
flooding, the bearing capacity of the soil 0.5 m and the other observation well at a distance of 35 m from the
a. increases c. decreases test well, the water level dropped by 1.1 m. Determine
b. unaffected d. depends on the footing load
32. Rate of flow in m^3/day
23. In a triaxial test, a cohesionless soil is subjected to a confining a. 5961.6 c. 5834.3
pressure of 14 kPa. The soil fails when the increase in axial stress by b. 9546.4 d. 9423.3
the plunger reaches 40 kPa. What is the angle of shearing resistance
of the soil (degrees)? 33. coefficient of permeability of the aquifer in m/day
a. 36 c. 30 a. 51.34 c. 60.27
b. 34 d. 28 b. 11.24 d. 34.09

24. The results of a consolidated drained triaxial shear test 34. transmissibility of the aquifer in m^2/day
conducted on a consolidated clay are as follows: a. 1633 c. 1894
Chamber confining pressure = 240 kPa b. 1579 d. 2491
Deviator stress at failure=450 kPa
Determine 35. A granular soil deposit is considered medium if the blow count of
a standard penetration test is between:
25. angle of friction of the soil sample in degrees a. 0-4 c. 10-30
a. 16.8 c. 27.4 b. 4-10 d. 30-50
b. 22.4 d. 28.9
36. One of the following is not a characteristic of cohesionless soil.
26. shear stress on the failure plane (kPa) a. easy to compact
a. 345 c. 242 b. high shear strength
b. 197 d. 195 c. practically impermeable
d. prone to settlement under vibratory load
27. normal stress on the plane of maximum shear (kPa)
a. 398 c. 465 37. Evaluate the plastic settlement (m) on a layer of plastic clay due
b. 350 d. 245 to an increase of pressure caused by loads above it under the
following conditions:
In accordance with the Bousinesq theory, the vertical stress at a Initial intergranular pressure =200 kPa
point below the center of a flexible circular area in a semi-infinite, Increase in intergranular pressure=120 kPa
homogenous, isotropic soil mass due to a uniform load is given by Thickness of the clay layer=8 m
the expression Coefficient of consolidation=0.315
Void ratio of the clay=1.132
P=q(1-1/N) a. 0.241 c. 0.244
Where N=[1 + (r/z)>>]^1.5 b. 0.421 d. 0.214
q=uniform load per unit area at the base of the footing
r=radius of point of the circular area In accordance with the Boussinesq theory, the stress at depth z, a
z=depth of point below the center of the circular loaded area semi-infinite, homogenous, isotropic soil mass below the corner of a
flexible area may be estimated from the expression P=qIz. The value
Determine of Iz may be obtained from table HGE-001. A square footing 4 m on a
side transmits a load of 1.6 MN onto a soil where a clay layer is
28. Bearing pressure (kPa) exerted at the footing onto the formed at a depth of 8 m to 12 m below the base of the footing.
supporting soil by a 4 m dia circular footing that is transmitting a Determine
column load of 1500 kN
a. 77.9 c. 110 38. pressure exerted by the footing onto the surface (kPa)
b. 119 d. 99.5 a. 200 c. 300
b. 144 d. 100
29. vertical stress (kPa) at a depth of 6 m below the center of the
footing
a. 25.5 c. 17.5
b. 22.6 d. 19.6
g. rasco, ce, rmp, ree
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 RASCO CIVIL ENGINEERING REVIEW
ALOJA COFFEE SHOP, LIBAS, BANGA, AKLAN
CP: 09164618841 / Landline: (036) 267 - 7343

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING EVALUATION 2

39. stress below the center of the footing at the mid-height of the Evaluate the vertical stress, in kPa at a point below the ground for a
clay layer in accordance with Boussinesq theory (kPa) load Q=1200 kN:
a. 200 c. 300
b. 144 d. 7.2 47. The point is 3 m directly below the point of application of the
load
40. if the stress induced on the underlying soil formation is just to a. 32.6 c. 63.8
spread on an angle of 2 vertical to 1 horizontal, evaluate the stress b. 52.4 d. 42.4
at the mid-height of the clay below the center of the footing.
a. 200 c. 300 48. The point is 6 m directly below the point of application of the
b. 144 d. 8.16 load
a. 11.5 c. 9.5
41. The results of a triaxial test conducted on a cohesionless soil are b. 12.4 d. 10.6
as follows: confining pressure=60 kPa, plunger pressure=80 kPa.
What is the angle of shearing resistance (degrees)? 49. The point is 6 m below the load but 3 m horizontally from the
a. 24.3 c. 22.5 line of application of the load.
b. 25.8 d. 23.6 a. 4.25 c. 1.57
b. 6.89 d. 5.77
For a normally consolidated clay layer in the field, the following
values are given: 50. Determine the angle (degrees) of friction of the soil if the
Thickness= 3m Rankine’s coefficient of active force is 0.50
Natural void ratio=1.30 a. 19.65 c. 19.47
Compression index=0.30 b. 18.25 d. 20.14
Average effective pressure in the layer is 125 kPa

42. Estimate the primary consolidation settlement of the layer

caused by an increase in pressure of 55 kPa
a. 62 c. 73
b. 68 d. 85

A 10-m high retaining wall has a backfill with the following profile:
Gs=2.65
e=0.50
w=10%
=20

Determine

43. Active thrust on the wall due to soil and water (kN)
a. 317.7 c. 425.6
b. 467.3 d. 387.4

44. active thrust on the wall due to dry soil only (kN)
a. 365.3 c. 288.9
b. 424.9 d. 486.2

45. increase in force on the wall if the soil is fully saturated with rain
water (kN)
a. 287.7 c. 352.6
b. 305.8 d. 421.2

46. Which of the following does not affect the settlement of a

footing?
a. location of GWT c. plasticity of soil
b. depth of backfill d. none of these

According to the Westergaard theory, the vertical stress at a point

below the surface of a semi-infinite, homogenous, isotropic soil
mass due to a point load Q applied at the ground surface is given by:

P=0.318QN/(z^2)

N=1/[1 + 2(r/z)^2]^1.5

Where r is the horizontal distance of the point from the vertical line
of application of load, and z is the depth of point below ground
surface.
g. rasco, ce, rmp, ree
Page 3 of 4
 RASCO CIVIL ENGINEERING REVIEW
ALOJA COFFEE SHOP, LIBAS, BANGA, AKLAN
CP: 09164618841 / Landline: (036) 267 - 7343

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING EVALUATION 2

g. rasco, ce, rmp, ree

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