Republic of the Philippines

CEBU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

DANAO CAMPUS
Sabang, Danao City, Cebu, Philippines
Website: http://www.ctu.edu.ph E-mail: info-danao@ctu.edu.ph
Phone: +6332 354 3660; 0917 317-0329
Soil Mechanics – Geotechnical Engineering 1 (2022 – 2023)
Final Exam
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CE-PCS 314
Examination Rules:
1. Students are required to bring their own writing and mathematical instruments. No borrowing, lending or exchange of any materials are allowed
during the Test.
2. A student will be given “0” if he or she is caught cheating in the Test.
3. No mobile phones or electronic gadgets that can store, transmit, receive data or information are allowed.
4. Students must not talk, whisper, do hand signal or any other form of verbal or non-verbal communication during the Test. Such actions will be
considered as having the intention to cheat.
5. Only essential writing materials are allowed on the student’s desk such as calculator, pen, pencil and paper provided by the examiner or proctor.
All bags, books and any unauthorized materials should be left at the front of the classroom.
6. Students are to follow any instructions given by the instructors and instructions stated on the question paper. Failure to follow instructions stated
on the question paper or given by the instructors may lead to students being penalized.
INSTRUCTION: Select the best answer to each of the following questions. On your answer sheet provided, mark only one answer for each item by
shading the circle corresponding to the letter of your choice. STRICTLY NO ERASURES ALLOWED on your answer sheet. If you can’t see your
answer on the choices, select the closest answer on the given.

Situation 1
The sample of soil weighing 30.6 kg had a volume of 0.0183 m³. Situation 3
The sample is allowed to dry in an oven and the weight was The moist unit weight of sample of soil is 17.43 kN/m³. It has a
reduced to 27.2 kg. The specific gravity of the solids was found specific gravity of solid of 2.65 and water content of 16%. The
to be 2.65. Determine the following: sample has a void ratio of 0.88 in the loosest condition and 0.36
1.) Moist unit weight of the soil (kN/m3). in the densest condition. Calculate the natural water content of
A. 14.6 B. 12.7 C. 17.2 D. 16.4 the sample in percent.
2.) Dry unit weight of the soil (kN/m3). 10.) Compute the density index in percent.
A. 14.6 B. 12.7 C. 17.2 D. 16.4
A. 22.88 B. 35.52 C. 28.82 D. 32.55
3.) Moisture Content.
11.) If the dry unit weight at optimum water content was 16.2
A. 0.783 B. 0.423 C. 0.125 D. 0.439
kN/m³, what is the minimum dry unit weight in kN/m3.
4.) Void ratio.
A. 16.4 B. 14.6 C. 13.50 D. 12.6
A. 0.783 B. 0.423 C. 0.125 D. 0.439
Situation 4
5.) Porosity.
A proposed embankment requires 5000 m³ of compaction soil.
A. 0.783 B. 0.423 C. 0.125 D. 0.439 The void ratio of the compacted fill is specified as 0.70. Three
borrow pits are available as described in the following table.
6.) Degree of saturation. Borrow Pit Void Ratio Cost/m3

A. 78.30% B. 42.30% C. 12.50% D. 43.90% A 0.85 Php830

Situation 2 B 0.95 Php760

A fully saturated clay sample has a mass of 1526 grams. After
C 1.10 Php720
oven drying, its mass was reduced to 1053 grams. The specific
gravity soil particles is 2.70.
7.) Calculate the natural water content of the sample in percent. 12.) Which borrow pit is the most economical?

A. 38.61 B. 54.81 C. 44.92 D. 30.60 A. Borrow pit A B. Borrow pit B

C. Borrow pit C D. Borrow pit D
8.) Calculate the void ratio in percent.
13.) How much is needed to acquire soil from that borrow pit?
A. 121.3 B. 78.7 C. 44.92 D. 55.08
A. Php3.64 M B. Php6.34 M
9.) Calculate the porosity in percent.
C. Php4.36 M D. Php4.63 M
A. 38.61 B. 44.92 C. 30.60 D. 54.81
 Republic of the Philippines
CEBU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
DANAO CAMPUS
Sabang, Danao City, Cebu, Philippines
Website: http://www.ctu.edu.ph E-mail: info-danao@ctu.edu.ph
Phone: +6332 354 3660; 0917 317-0329

Situation 5
A sand cone equipment is used to perform a density test on a
compacted earth fill. The soil sample dug from the test hole was
20.6 N. The sample has a dry weight of 17.92 N. Ottawa sand
weighing 16.05 N and having a density of 15.74 kN/m³ was used
to fill the hole. Determine the following:
14.) Water content of the tested soil.
A. 0.20 B. 0.10 C. 0.15 D. 0.25
15.) In situ dry density of the soil in kN/m3.
Situation 7
A confined aquifer is recharged by a continuous supply of water
from a certain source. The average thickness of the aquifer was
determined to be 25 m. and the average width is 4 km. The
hydraulic conductivity (coefficient of permeability) of the
aquifer was obtained at 50 m per day and its porosity is 0.25.
The piezometric heads on two wells 1 km apart are 65 m. and
60 m. from a common reference datum. From the given data,
obtain:

A. 17.57 B. 15.77 C. 18.69 D. 19.35

16.) Percentage of compaction if the dry unit weight at optimum
water content is 18.1 kN/m3.

A. 97% B. 89% C. 72% D. 79%

Situation 6
A sample of dry, coarse-grained material was taken through a
layer of sieves and the following results were obtained:
Sieve No. Opening (mm) Mass of soil retained (g)
4 4.76 46 21.) the rate of flow through the aquifer in cu.m. per minute.
10 2.00 165.6 A. 14.21 B. 15.39 C. 17.36 D. 20.45
200 0.84 92 22.) Evaluate the seepage velocity in meters per day.
40 0.42 55.2 A. 1.0 B. 1.18 C. 0.82 D. 0.89
60 0.25 23 23.) Evaluate the time of travel, in days, from the initial head of the
100 0.149 36.8 aquifer to point 4 km downstream.
A. 3665 B. 3000 C. 3384 D. 2547
200 0.074 23
24.) An experiment to determine the permeability of a soil sample
Pan - 18.4
was conducted. The permeameter in a falling head permeability
test setup involves a cylindrical soil sample 50 mm in diameter
17.) Determine the effective particle size. and a height of 200 mm. The hydraulic head in the 10 mm
diameter standpipe through which the test water passed
A. 0.2201 B. 0.1589 C. 0.1685 D. 0.1811
dropped from 900 mm to 600 mm in one minute of observation.
18.) Determine the uniformity coefficient. In that duration the water collected in the graduated flask was
recorded at 1.5 liters. From these data, evaluate the coefficient
A. 12.56 B. 1.81 C. 14.54 D. 1.22 of permeability of the soil sample, in cm/sec.
19.) Determine the coefficient of curvature. A. 0.00541 B. 0.00311 C. 0.00212 D. 0.00445

A. 12.56 B. 1.81 C. 14.54 D. 1.22 25.) A soil sample has a specific gravity of 2.5 for its solid grains. It
has a void ratio of 0.40 and a degree of saturation of 40%.
20.) A cohesive soil sample was taken from an SPT and taken to the Evaluate the unit weight of the soil, in kN/m3.
laboratory in a glass jar. It was found to weigh 145 grams. The A. 18.64 B. 14.60 C. 16.87 D. 20.32
sample was then placed in a container having a volume V = 500
cm3 and 420 cm3 of water were added to fill the container. 26.) A soil has a bulk unit weight of 20.11 kN/m3 and water content
Evaluate the unit weight of the soil in kN/m3. of 15%. Calculate the water content if the soil partially dries to
a unit weight of 19.42 kN/m3 and the void ratio remains
A. 17.78 B. 15.56 C. 2.86 D. 3.39 unchanged.

A. 9% B. 11% C. 15% D. 18%

 Republic of the Philippines
CEBU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
DANAO CAMPUS
Sabang, Danao City, Cebu, Philippines
Website: http://www.ctu.edu.ph E-mail: info-danao@ctu.edu.ph
Phone: +6332 354 3660; 0917 317-0329

Situation 8 34.) Volume of borrow pit soil required to construct the

A sample of clayey silt is mixed at about its liquid limit of 35%. embankment.
It is placed carefully in a small porcelain dish with a volume of
26.39 cm3 and weighs 44.34 grams. After oven drying, the soil A. 54,356 B. 51,682 C. 55,681 D. 48,985
pat displaced 266.50 grams of mercury.
35.) The weight of water per truckload of sandy soil, if the capacity
27.) Determine the shrinkage limit of the soil sample. of 1 truckload is 10 m3.

A. 14.31 % B. 13.46% C. 10.29% D. 16.34% A. 23.51 B. 28.34 C. 25.61 D. 24.46

28.) Determine the specific gravity of the soil sample. 36.) The degree of saturation of the sandy soil in situ.
A. 54.36% B. 56.68% C. 58.70% D. 59.87%
A. 1.89 B. 2.02 C. 2.21 D. 2.77
Situation 11
29.) Determine the shrinkage ratio of the soil sample. The data below shows a sieve analysis of soil samples A, B, C.

A. 1.47 B.1.68 C. 2.02 D. 2.33

30.) Determine the density of the soil solids in kg/m3.

A. 2205 B. 1890 C. 2020 D. 2,768

31.) Determine the dry density of the soil if it has a void ratio of 0.72
in kg/m3.

A. 1,500 B. 1,282 C. 1,850 D. 1,610

Situation 9
From a Proctor test for a sample of soil, the maximum dry
density and optimum moisture content were determined as
37.) Compute the value of uniformity coefficient of soil sample B.
follows.
A. 14 B. 6.42 C. 1.02 D. 19
Max. dry unit weight 16.40 kN/m3
Optimum moisture content 18% 38.) Classify what type of soil is sample C using AASHTO method.
Specific gravity, Gs 2.70
Moisture content of the soil at borrow site 28.0% A. A – 7 – 6(13) B. A – 7 – 5(13)
C. A – 7 – 6(12) D. A – 7 – 5(12)
Specification require that compaction of soil must be at least 95 %
of the maximum density obtained from the proctor test. 39.) Classify type of soil A using AASHTO method.
A. A – 2 – 5(1) B. A – 2 – 6(0)
32.) Determine the degree of saturation of the soil at its maximum C. A – 2 – 5(0) D. A – 2 – 6(1)
dry density at optimum moisture content.
Situation 12
A. 67% B. 69% C. 75% D. 79% An aquifer of 20 m average thickness is overlain by an
impermeable layer of 30 m thickness. A test well 0.50m
33.) Determine the zero-air void unit weight when the water content diameter and two observation wells at a distance of 10 m and
is 20% in kN/m3. 60 m from test well are drilled through the aquifer. After
pumping 0.10 m3/hr for a long time, the following drawdowns
A. 19.23 B. 18.63 C. 17.20 D. 16.50
are stabilized in these wells. First observation well, 4m and
second observation well is 3m.
Situation 10
An embankment for a highway of 30 m wide and 1.5 m in 40.) Determine the hydraulic conductivity in m/hr.
compacted thickness is to be constructed from a borrow pit. The
water content of the sandy soil in the borrow pit is 15% and its A. 5.13 B. 3.86 C. 7.92 D. 8.92
void ratio is 0.69. The specification requires in the embankment
41.) Determine the drawdown in the test well in meters.
is to be compacted to a dry unit weight of 18 kN/m3, specific
gravity of soil is 2.70. For a 1 km length of embankment, A. 3.33 B. 5.49 C. 6.06 D. 8.75
compute the following:
 Republic of the Philippines
CEBU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
DANAO CAMPUS
Sabang, Danao City, Cebu, Philippines
Website: http://www.ctu.edu.ph E-mail: info-danao@ctu.edu.ph
Phone: +6332 354 3660; 0917 317-0329

42.) Determine the time of travel in days of ground water from the 48.) If falling head permeameter test on a silty clay sample, the
observation well at a distance 60 m to the pumped well if the following results were obtained: sample length 12 mm,
porosity of the aquifer is 0.30. diameter 80 mm, initial head of 1200mm, final head 400mm,
time for fall in head is 6 minutes, stand pipe diameter of 4mm.
A. 7.85 B. 8.65 C. 4.75 D. 9.25 Find the coefficient of permeability of the soil in mm/hr.

A. 1.23 B. 1.89 C. 2.50 D. 3.30

43.) A permeable soil layer that is underlain by an impervious layer
slope at 5 degrees to the horizontal and is 4 m. thick measured 49.) The hydraulic conductivity of a sand at a void ratio of 0.5 is 0.02
vertically. If the coefficient of permeability of the permeable cm/sec. Estimate its hydraulic conductivity at a void ratio of
layer K = 0.005 cm/sec, determine the rate of seepage per meter 0.65 in cm/min.
width of permeable layer in liter per hour.
A. 1.29 B. 1.89 C. 2.11 D. 2.40

50.) Figure shows three layers of soil in a tube that is 100 mm x 100
mm in cross section. Water is supplied to maintain a constant-
head difference of 300 mm across the sample. The hydraulic
conductivities of the soils in the direction of flow through them
are as follows:
Soil K (cm/hr)

A 36

B 10.80

C 1.764

Find the rate of water supply in cm3/hr.

A. 55.63 B. 50.36 C. 59.31 D. 62.51

Situation 3
The flow through aquifer is equal to 0.560 m3/day. The
thickness of the aquifer is 5.20 m. Two piezometers were placed
along a horizontal distance of 920 m. apart between A and B.
Elevation of water surface at A is 100 m.

44.) Compute the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer in cm/min, if

the transmissivity of the aquifer is 80 m2/day.

A. 1.068 B. 1.113 C. 1.314 D. 2.116

45.) Which of the following gives the elevation of water surface at B.

A. 106.44 m B. 118.13m C. 122.31m D. 131.40m

46.) Compute the seepage velocity if the porosity is 0.42 in m/day. A. 291 B. 312 C. 189 D. 246

A. 0.113 B. 0.168 C. 0.212 D. 0.256

47.) What will be the ratio of average permeability in horizontal

direction to that in the vertical direction for a soil deposit
consisting of three horizontal layers, if the thickness and
permeability of the second layer are twice of those of the first ------------------------ Nothing follows -----------------------
and those of the third layer twice those of second? To God Be All the Glory!

A. 7/3 B. 21/7 C. 9/7 D. 7/21

 Republic of the Philippines
CEBU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
DANAO CAMPUS
Sabang, Danao City, Cebu, Philippines
Website: http://www.ctu.edu.ph E-mail: info-danao@ctu.edu.ph
Phone: +6332 354 3660; 0917 317-0329