PHYSICAL PROPERTIES TEST

DETERMINATION OF MOISTURE CONTENT

Introduction

The traditional methods of conducting laboratory activities will not be able to provide the avenue for
students to enhance independent learning activities and inculcate creativity and innovation. Level 0
is fully prescriptive where problem, ways & means and answers are provided to the students.
However it is still necessary especially to first and second year students.

Water is present the most naturally occurring soils. The amount of water, expressed as a proportion
by mass of the dry solid particles, now as the moisture content, has a profound effect on soil
behaviour.

Objectives

To determine the moisture content of soils, w %.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the laboratory activities, students would be able to:

1. acquire the understanding of basic physical and mechanical properties of soils in determination
percentage of moisture content.

2. acquire the necessary skill in performing standard laboratory

3. calculate and analyse data to report and present result in a proper engineering format.

PROBLEM STATEMENT.

Moisture content is requiring as a guide to classification of natural soil and as a control criterion in a
recompacted soil and is measure on samples used for most field and laboratory test.

Procedure

1. Clean and dry the container and weight it (m1). Take a samples at least 30 g of wet soil.

2. Place loosely the wet soil in the container.

3. Using the balance, both of the container number and the mass are recorded on the data sheet.

4. Then obtain the mass container and wet soil (m2). Place the container and wet soil in an oven and
then dry the soils overnight (for 12 to 16 hour ) at the temperature of 110º C ± 5º C.

5. Remove the container and dry soil from the oven and allowed the whole to cool. Use a balance to
obtain the mass of the container and dry soil (m3).
Discussion.

This experiment was conducted to acquire the laboratory of basic physical and mechanical
properties of soil in determination percentage of moisture. The percentage of moisture otherwise
known as water content. This percentage can be determined by using sample test.

This experiment can help us as a civil engineer to understand and know the mechanical and
physical properties of the soil. When we know the water content for the soil, we could know the
strength of the soil. That will help us to determine that the soil are suitable for development. If it is
not suitable, we have to find the way to increase the strength of the soil. This is so important to
make sure that the soil at the site are safe to make the development.

This experiment are using the traditional method. The student have to be careful while doing the
experiment to obtain accurate result. The container have to be dry before use because it will effect
the result for mass of container. Then, student have to make sure that the soil are free from leaf and
branches. The most important thing is make sure the sample are left in the oven at least 12 or 16
hours.

From the result, we obtain for three repeated value 2.82%, 2.36%, 2.57% with the average 2.58% .
Conclusion.

Based on the experiment that have been conducted by our group, the objectives of this experiment
has been achieved. This purpose was obtained by experimentation procedures and the calculation
provided based on the data. As a conclusion, 2.58% is average moisture content from 3 samples that
was calculated which is 2.82%, 2.36%, 2.57%. The calculated differences among the samples were
0.46% between the highest and the lowest percentage. However, there some errors that occurred
during conducting the experiment. First, the soil sample may over heated in the oven as it was
heated more than 12 to 16 hours. Second, the mass of the container may not accurate as the
container was not dried completely before taking the measurement. These error may cause some
deviation to the result obtained.

References

1. https://www.scribd.com/document/301743819/Geotechnical-Engineering-Lab-Report-2
2. http://www.rhd.gov.bd/Documents/ContractDocuments/StandardTestProcedures/Determin
ation%20of%20Moisture%20Content.pdf
3. https://www.jove.com/science-education/10011/determination-of-moisture-content-in-soil
4. https://www.coursehero.com/file/14345352/moisture-content-report/