Experiment No.

2
SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF SOIL SOLIDS

Scope

This method is intended for determining the absolute specific gravity of soils by means of a
pycnometer.

Apparatus

1. Pycnometer or volumetric flask, at least 100 ml. capacity

2. Balance, sensitive to 0.01 gram
3. Oven with temperature control
o
4. Thermometer, graduated to 0.1 C
5. Water bath
6. Evaporating dishes, medicine dropper or pipette

Procedure

In the computation of the specific gravity of a soil from laboratory data, the weight of the
pycnometer filled with distilled water at the test temperature will be needed. This value is usually
taken from a plot of temperature versus weight of bottle plus water. The plot, or calibration
curve, can be determined either by experimental or by theoretical means:

I. Bottle Calibration

A. Experimental Procedure

This procedure consists of obtaining at least three sets of concurrent temperature and
weight measurements about 4 ° C apart and within the temperature range of 20° to 30° C. Each
set, representing the coordinates for a point on the calibration curve, is obtained as follows:

1. To a clean pycnometer add de-aired distilled water at room temperature until the bottom
of the meniscus is at the calibration mark.
2. Carefully dry the outside of the bottle and the inside of the neck above the water surface.
3. Weigh the bottle plus water in a balance sensitive to 0.01 g.
4. Measure the water temperature to 0.1° C. Hold the tip of the thermometer at different
elevations within the water to see if the temperature is uniform. The recorded temperature
is taken with the thermometer inserted to the depth at which the thermometer is designed
to read. (This depth is usually marked on the thermometer.)
5. If the temperature is non-uniform, place the thumb over the open end of the bottle and
turn it upside down and back to mix the water thoroughly for a temperature observation.
6. Heat the bottle of water slightly by placing it in a warm water bath and repeat steps 2-5,
each time removing enough water to bring the meniscus down to the calibration mark.
Repeat this procedure until enough points are obtained to plot the calibration curve as
shown in Figure 1.
 FIGURE 1 Boiling Temperature of Water versus Pressure

B. Theoretical Procedure

Points for the calibration curve can be obtained by successively substituting

different temperatures in the following equation:
 The only bit of data needed is the weight of the pycnometer, which must be absolutely
clean and dry. A good practice is to obtain one check point for the calibration curve by the
previously described experimental method.

II. Specific Gravity Determination

A. Cohesionless Soil

1. Put approximately 150 g of oven-dry soil, weighed to 0.01 g, into a calibrated

pycnometer which is already half full of deaired, distilled water. Be sure no soil grains
are lost when they are put into the pycnometer.
2. Remove all of the air, which is entrapped in the soil by 10 minutes of boiling; accompany
the boiling with continuous agitation. The application of a partial vacuum to the
suspension of soil in water to lower the boiling temperature is desirable, since the lower
the temperature at which the suspension is boiled, the less the cooling which will have to
be done later. Graph 1, a plot of boiling temperature of pure water against applied
pressure, indicates the effect of reduced pressure on boiling temperature.
3. Cool the bottle and suspension to some temperature within the range of the calibration
curve for the bottle.
4. Add water to bring the bottom of the meniscus to the calibration mark.
5. Dry the outside of the bottle and the inside of the neck above the meniscus.
6. Weigh the bottle with water and soil in it to 0.01 g.
7. After checking to be sure that the contents of the bottle are at a uniform temperature,
record the temperature. (See step 4 of the experimental calibration).

B. Cohesive Soil

1. Work a sample of the soil to be tested into a smooth paste by mixing it with distilled
water. The sample used should contain approximately 50 g in dry weight.
2. Pour the paste into a calibrated pycnometer.
3. Remove the entrapped air; cool, and obtain the weight and temperature as was done in
steps 2-7 of the procedure for the cohesionless soil.
4. Pour the entire mixture of soil and water into a large evaporating dish of known weight;
rinse the pycnometer carefully to insure the collection of all the soil.
5. Dry the soil in the oven, cools, and weigh. The dry weight of soil grains can be obtained
by subtracting the weight of the empty dish from the weight of the dish with soil in it.

Calculation
The specific gravity of the soil, Gs , can be obtained from;

In which,
GT =specific gravity of distilled water at temperature T (see Table 1)
Ws = oven-dry weight of soil sample (grams)
W1 =weight of pycnometer bottle, soil and water (grams)
W2 = weight of pycnometer bottle plus water (usually from calibration curve in grams)
Results

Method of Presentation

A pycnometer calibration is usually presented as a plot temperature versus weight of bottle

plus water (see sample problem no.1).

Questions

1. Define specific gravity of soil?

2. What are typical values of the specific gravity for soils?
3. What can you use to measure the specific gravity of material lighter than water?
4. Why do we use vacuum while determining the specific gravity of soils?
5. What is the effect of water temperature on the determination of the specific gravity of soils?
Sample Problem No. 1

Pycnometer Calibration

1. Experimental Procedure

Weight bottle + water, W2 , in g 1 2 3 4

o
Temperature, T , in C 674.55
22.3

2. Theoretical Procedure

Weight of bottle, WB = 176.37 g Cubical expansion for glass ε = 0.10 cc/cc-°C

Temperature of calibration Tc = 20 °C Unit weight of air γ A = 0.0012 g/cc
Volume of bottle VB = 500 mL
Trial No. 1 2 3 4
Temperature, T , in °C 20 25 30 35
Unit weight of water at T , T , in g/cc 0.9982 0.9971 0.9957 0.9941
W2 =WB +VB (1+ T * )( T − A ), in g 674.87 674.35 673.67 672.89
 o
TABLE 1 Specific Gravity of Distilled Water Temperature, C

o
Temperature, C Specific Gravity, GT
20 0.9982
21 0.9980
22 0.9978
23 0.9976
24 0.9973
25 0.9971
26 0.9968
27 0.9965
28 0.9963
29 0.9960
30 0.9957
31 0.9954
32 0.9951
33 0.9947
34 0.9944
35 0.9941
36 0.9937
37 0.9934
38 0.9930
39 0.9928
40 0.9926
 PRELIMINARY DATA SHEET

Trinidad, Rizza Anne G.

Name: ________________________________________ 7
Group No._____________________
Course/Section: ________________________________
CE161P-2 A71 Date: _________________________
September 1, 2022

Experiment No. 2
SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF SOIL SOLIDS

A. Calibration of Pycnometer Bottle

1. Experimental Procedure
Determination No. 1
Weight bottle + water, W2 , in g
Temperature, T , in °C 166.49
28
2. Theoretical Procedure
Weight of bottle, WB =_____________
57.43 Cubical expansion for glass ε = 0.10 10-4 cc/cc-°C
Temperature of calibration Tc = _____°C
28 Unit weight of air A = ____________
0.001217 g/cc
Volume of bottle VB = 100 mL
Trial No. 1 2 3 4
Temperature, T , in °C 29 30 31
Unit weight of water at T , T , in g/cc 0.9963
28 0.9960 0.9957 0.9954

W2 =WB +VB (1+ T *)( T − A ), in g 156.948 156.890

156.919 156.861
B. Specific Gravity Determination
Trial No. 1
Weight of dry pycnometer bottle (grams) 57.43
Weight of pycnometer bottle + water (grams), W2 166.54
Temperature (°C) 28
Weight of dry soil (grams), Ws 50
Weight of pycnometer bottle + water + soil (grams), W1
Specific gravity of water (from table) 197.71
0.9963
Specific gravity of soil
_ 2.646

__________________________ ___________________________
Student’s Signature Instructor’s Signature
 FINAL DATA SHEET

Trinidad, Rizza Anne G.

Name: ________________________________________ 7
Group No._____________________
Course/Section: ________________________________
CE161P-2 A71 Date: _________________________
September 5, 2022

Experiment No. 2
SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF SOIL SOLIDS

A. Calibration of Pycnometer Bottle

1. Experimental Procedure
Determination No. 1
Weight bottle + water, W2 , in g
Temperature, T , in °C 166.49
28
2. Theoretical Procedure
Weight of bottle, WB =_____________
57.43 Cubical expansion for glass ε = 0.10 10-4 cc/cc-°C
Temperature of calibration Tc = _____°C
28 Unit weight of air A = ____________
0.001217 g/cc
Volume of bottle VB = 100 mL
Trial No. 1 2 3 4
Temperature, T , in °C 29 30 31
Unit weight of water at T , T , in g/cc 0.9963
28 0.9960 0.9957 0.9954

W2 =WB +VB (1+ T *)( T − A ), in g 156.948 156.890

156.919 156.861
B. Specific Gravity Determination
Trial No. 1
Weight of dry pycnometer bottle (grams) 57.43
Weight of pycnometer bottle + water (grams), W2 166.54
Temperature (°C) 28
Weight of dry soil (grams), Ws 50
Weight of pycnometer bottle + water + soil (grams), W1
Specific gravity of water (from table) 197.71
0.9963
Specific gravity of soil
2.646

___________________________
Student’s Signature
Answer to Questions

1. Define specific gravity of soil?

 The specific gravity of a substance is defined as the ratio of its density to that of
distilled water for a given volume of substance. The specific gravity of soil
solids, often known as the specific gravity of soil, is an important quantity in
soil mechanics. It's a crucial variable in determining the weight-volume ratio.
Specific gravity (abbreviated Gs) is defined as Gs = unit weight (or density) of
soil solids only / unit weight (or density) or water.

2. What are typical values of the specific gravity for soils?

 Soils can have a specific gravity of anywhere from 2.6 to 2.85. Most problems
are solved with a specific gravity of 2.7. For sands, 2.65 is used because it is the
specific gravity of quartz. Depending on the mineralogy, clays have a specific
gravity between 2.70 and 2.80.

3. What can you use to measure the specific gravity of material lighter than water?

 There are numerous approaches and materials that may be used to test the
specific gravity of materials that are lighter than water. One of the most
fundamental is by using the hydrometer, next is by Westphal balance, Brix and
Baume scale, Buoyancy technique, comparing the densities and by pycnometer.

4. Why do we use vacuum while determining the specific gravity of soils?

 The main reason we use vacuum is to ensure that no air is trapped inside. Doing
so is crucial for obtaining reliable results, as trapped air can lead to
inconsistencies and mistakes when calculating specific gravity.

5.  What is the effect of water temperature on the determination of the specific gravity of
soils?

 Changes in soil density are reflected in shifts in the soil's specific gravity.
Indirectly proportional, because higher water temperatures cause lighter soil. As
a result of this understanding, we know that lower water temperatures result in
a higher specific gravity. Specific gravity and temperature are related, but only
via a third variable.
Sample Computations:
Graph:

Explanation for discrepancy of the figure above:

With respect to the increase in temperature, the theoretical weight of water decreases. In terms of the

discrepancy of the theoretical and experimental results as seen on the weight of the bottle and water at 28

°C, the resulting discrepancy could be caused by the uniformity of the theoretical method by making use

of a calculation to determine the weight of water at a given temperature whereas the experimental method

follows a procedure making use of equipment to determine the more accurate weight of water.
Photos and Documentations