GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

1. A prestressed concrete pile 360mm x 360 mm in

cross-section is to be driven into a clayey soil (unit
weight = 18.5 kN/cu.m. As
shown in figure 1. The pile has a design capacity of
A. 68.43 B. 64.15 C. 73.21 D. 57.93 E. NOT
360 kN. Use factor of safety of 2. The unconfined
compression shear strength , qu, of the soil is 110 kPa.
Use Nc = 9. What is the end bearing capacity of pile in
kN.
2. From item 1, compute the skin friction in kN
expected to develop
along the shaft of the pile
3. From item 1, compute the length of the pile if
A. 655.8 B. 783.2 C. 623.8 D. 578.5 E. NOT
frictional constant, alpha = 0.75.
4. The result of a tri-axial test on a cohesive soil is as
A. 12.67 m B. 10.58 m C. 11.54 m D. 11.04 E. NOT
follows: angle of shearing resistance = 29deg;
cohesion = 31 kPa; maximum shearing stress = 65
kPa. Compute for the value of the cell pressure at
failure in kPa. A. 15.15 B. 13.15 C. 12.15 D. 14.15 E. NOT
5. From item 4, compute for the value of the maximum
principal stress at failure in kPa
6. From item 4, compute for the value of the normal A. 165.15 B. 154.15 C. 132.15 D. 143.15 E. NOT
stress at the plane of maximum shear in kPa.
A. 78.15 B. 89.15 C. 65.15 D. 71.15 E. NOT
7. Given the properties of soil: SG=2.77; e=73%; S = 92%.
Determine the nearest value of the moisture content of
soil. A. 27.04% B. 28.45% C. 26.45% D. 24.87% E. NOT
8. From item 7, determine the nearest value of the dry
unit weight of soil A. 16.43 B. 17.11 C. 14.65 D. 15.31 E. NOT
9. From item 7, determine the nearest value to the kN/cu.m. kN/cu.m. kN/cu.m. kN/cu.m.
moisture content when the soil is saturated.
A. 24.87% B. 27.04% C. 26.45% D. 28.45% E. NOT
10. A thick layer of saturated clay has moisture content
of 59%. The specific gravity of soil solids is 2.68. The
GWT is on the ground surface. What is the density of A. 1.65 B. 1.78 C. 1.57 D. 1.89 E. NOT
clay in grams per cc?

11. From item 10, what is the effective stress at a depth A. 167.83 kPa B. 191.55 kPa C. 476.54 kPa D. 485.85 kPa E. NOT
of 30-m? 12. From item 10, what is the total stress at a A. 476.54 kPa B. 167.83 kPa C. 485.85 kPa D. 191.55 kPa E. NOT
depth of 30-m?
13. The result of triaxial test on a cohesive soil is as A. 90 B. 70 C. 80 D. 75 E. NOT
follows: Maximum axial stress = 220 kPa; Deviator stress
= 140 kPa; Angle of shearing resistance = 21degress.
Compute for the value of the confining pressure in kPa. A. 19.6 B. 20.2 C. 18.5 D. 17.4 E. NOT
14. From item 13, what is the cohesion of the soil in kPa?
15 From item 13, what is the shearing stress at failure A. 65.35 B. 68.32 C. 62.23 D. 70.45 E. NOT
plane in kPa?
16.The water table in soil layer is 1.5-m below the
ground. A. 88.4 B. 72.1 C. 78.6 D. 81.2 E. NOT
The soil above the water table is also saturated.
Saturated unit weight of soil is 20.3 kN/cu.m.
Determine the total pressure at plane 4-m below the A. 34.2 B. 21.1 C. 28.9 D. 24.5 E. NOT
ground in kPa.
17. From item 16, determine the pore water pressure A. 56.67 B. 59.32 C. 51.23 D. 63.76 E. NOT
at plane 4-m below the ground in kPa.
18. From item 16, determine the effective pressure at
plane 4-m below the ground in kPa.
19. The square footing shown in fig.2, carries a load A. 40.45 B. 43.56 C. 48.54 D. 52.12 E. NOT
of 3500 kN. Assume that the stress below the footing
is distributed at a slope of 1H:2V. The clay layer is
overconsolidated with OCR = 2.
Determine the effective stress at the midheight of the
clay layer in kPa.
20. From item 19, determine the increase in pressure at the midheight
A. 174 B. 198
of the clay layer in kPa. C. 152 D.
121 E. NOT
21. From item 19, determine the settlement of the
overconsolidated clay layer in mm. A. 78.3 B. 69.4 C. 63.3 D. 56.7 E. NOT

22. A group of friction piles is shown in fig.3. The total load on the pile
is less the soil displaced by the footing is 1900 kN. L1 = 1.2-m; L2 =
A. 123.92 B. 121.43
1,2-m; L = 9-m; t = 17-m; qu =C.180
154.98
kPa; FS = 3. D.
132.13 E. NOT
Compute for the
overburden pressure that is the effective pressure at the
midheight of the consolidating clay layer in kPa.
23. From item 22, compute for the compression index of the A. clay.
0.247 B. 0.365 C. 0.156 D. 0.421 E. NOT
24. From item 22, what is the approximate settlement
A. 135mm B. 156mm C. 102mm D. 176mm E. NOT
of the foundation?

A. 49.4% B. 47.1% C. 48.3% D. 46.6% E. NOT

25. Given the laboratory results of the Atterberg Limits
Test in fig.4, plot the water content versus the number
of blows. Determine the nearest value to the Liquid limit
of the soil.
 26. From item 25, determine the value to the Plastic A. 38.4 35.43 C. 37.49 D. 39.65 E. NOT
Limit of the soil. B.

27. From item 25, determine the nearest value to the A. B. 1.87 C. 1.55 D. 2.32 E. NOT
1.3
Liquidity Index of the soil.

28. The results of a consolidated drained tri-axial soil test conducted B. 34.53 C. 46.4 D. 53.53 E. NOT
on a consolidated clay are as follows: Chamber confining pressure A. 28.9
= 240 kPa; Deviator stress at failure = 450 kPa.
Evaluate the angle of friction of the soil sample in
B. 575 C. 133 D. 242 E. NOT
degrees.
29. From item 28, evaluate the shear stress on the failure plane in kPa. A. B.
197244 C. 454 D. 465 E. NOT
30. From item28, evaluate the normal stress on the
plane of maximum shear in kPa. A. 634
31. According to the Boussinesq's theory, the vertical
stress at a point below the surface of a semi-infinite,
homogeneous, isotropic soil mass due to a point load
Ǫ applied at the ground surface is given by the
equation: evaluate the vertical stress in kPa at a point A. 33.1 kPa B. 132.5 kPa C. 353 kPa D. 19 kPa E. NOT
below the ground for Ǫ = 2500 kN if the point is 3-m
directly below the point of application of the load.

32. From item 31, evaluate the vertical stress in kPa at

a point below the ground for Ǫ = 2500 kN if the point is A. 33.1 kPa B. 132.5 kPa C. 353 kPa D. 19 kPa E. NOT
6-m directly below the point of application of the load.

33. From item 31, evaluate the vertical stress in kPa at

A. 33.1 kPa B. 132.5 kPa C. 353 kPa D. 19 kPa E. NOT
a point below the ground for Ǫ = 2500 kN if the point is 6-
m below load but 3-m horizontally from its line of
application.

34. According to Westergaard's theory, the vertical

stress at a point below the surface of a semi-infinite,
homogeneous, isotropic soil mass due to a point load A. 43 kPa B. 12 kPa C. 25 kPa D. 65 kPa E. NOT
Ǫ applied at the ground surface is given by the
equation below: Calculate the vetical stress in kPa at
a point below the ground for Ǫ = 2500 kN and the point
is 6-m below the load but 3-m horizontally from the line
of the load application.

35. A granular soil deposit is considered loose if the

A. 0-4 B. 4-10 C. 10-30 D. 30-50 E. NOT
blow count of a standard penetration test is
between:

36.A sample of granulated soil has 30% water

A. 42.4 B. 1.3 D. 1.46 D. 1.5 E. NOT
content and the SG=2.6. Determine the dry
density of the soil mass in g/cc.

37. The admixture of coarser particles like sand and silt to clay
Causes A. Decrease in
B. Decrease in C. Increase in D. Decrease in E. NOT
LL and LL and both LL and PI LL and no
both
increase in PI change in PI
PI
38. The shear strength of a cohesion soil is: A. inversely proportional B. NOTA C. Proportional to the angle D. Proportional to
E. NOT
to the angle of shearing of shearing stress the tangent of the
resistance angle of shearing
top to hyd resistance
bottom. rauli
39. A 450 kN load is transmitted by a column footing Estimate the c
on the surface through a rectangular footing 1.5-m x rate of flow in gra
2.5-m. Assuming that the pressure on the underlying the vertical dien
A. 23.4 kPa B. 3.35 kPa C. 20.6 kPa D. 24.2 kPa E. NOT
soil formation spreads on 1H:2V. Evaluate the pressure direction per t is
exerted by the footing on a soil 2.7-m below the footing. sqm of layer 0.50
40. A three layer soil has the following properties from in L/hr, if the -m.

A. 42.42 B. 1.325 C. 14.4 D. 1.2 E. NOT

41. A layer of soil having an initial void ratio of 1.0 is 8- 42. The quantity A. Coefficient of
m thick. Under a compressive load applied above it, of seepage of permeability of
the void ratio decreased by 1/2, evaluate the reduction water through soil
soils is
in the thickness of layer. A. 2-m B. 3-m C. 4-m D. 1-m E. NOT
proportional to: B. Neither coefficient of
permeability and total head
loss through soil.

C. Both
coefficient of D. Total
head loss
permeability
and total head NOT
through
loss through the soil
the soil.
43 A soil has a bulk density of 2.3 g/cc and water
content of 15%, determine the dry density of the A. 12.32 g/cc B. 2 g/cc C. 1.4 g/cc D. 9.53 g/cc E. NOT
sample.

44. Evaluate the plastic settlement, in meters, on a layer

of plastic clay due to an increase of pressure caused by A. 0.46 B. 0.641 C. 0.24 D. 0.262 E. NOT
loads above it under the following conditions: initial
intergranular pressure = 180 kPa; increase in
intergranular pressure = 120 kPa; thickness of clay layer
= 8-m; coefficient of consolidation = 0.315; void ratio =
1.132.

45. According to Westergaard's theory, the vertical A. 119.25 kPa B. 29.81 kPa C. 21.33 kPa D. 23 kPa E. NOT
stress at a point below the surface of a semi-infinite,
homogeneous, isotropic soil mass due to a point load A
applied at the ground surface is given by the equation
below: evaluate the vertical stress in kPa, at a point
below the ground for Ǫ = 1500 kN if the point 2-m
A. 119.25 kPa B. 29.81 kPa C. 21.33 kPa D. 23 kPa E. NOT
directly below the point of application of the load.
46. From item 45, evaluate the vertical stress in kPa,
at a point below the ground for Ǫ = 1500 kN if the point
4-m directly below the point of application of the load. A. 119.25 kPa B. 29.81 kPa C. 21.33 kPa D. 23 kPa E. NOT

47. From item 45, evaluate the vertical stress in kPa, at

a point below the ground for Ǫ = 1500 kN if the point 4-
m below the load but 2-m horizontally from the
application of the load. A. 17.47 B. 52.53 C. 13.42 D. 24.3 kN/cu.m. E. NOT
kN/cu.m. kN/cu.m. kN/cu.m.
48. A thick layer of clay underlies a sand formation
having a thickness of 5-m. The groundwater is located
A. 182.93 kPa B. 424.24 kPa C. 132.2 kPa D. 124.0 kPa E. NOT
2-m below the ground surface. SG = 2.65 with sand
having an average void ratio of 0.52. The clay has a MC
= 42%. Compute the saturated unit weight of clay. A. 153.5 kPa B. 142.4 kPa C. 123.23 kPa D. 155.4 kPa E. NOT
49. From item 48, compute the total stress at a depth
of 10-m below the ground surface
50. From item 48, compute the effective stress at a
depth of 10-m below the ground surface.