Engineering geology questions

1. Geologic cycle for the formation of soil, is

A) Upheaval → transportation → deposition → weathering
B) Weathering → upheaval → transportation → deposition
C) Transportation → upheaval → weathering → deposition
D) Weathering → transportation → deposition → upheaval
E) None of these.
2. When the degree of saturation is zero, the soil mass under consideration represents
A) One phase system
B) Two phase system with soil and air
C) Two phase system with soil and water
D) Three phase system
3.Which of the following methods is most accurate for the determination of the water content of soil
A) Oven drying method
B) Sand bath method
C) Calcium carbide method
D) Pycnometer method
4.______ is independent of the total volume of the soil mass.
A) Bulk unit weight
B) Dry unit weight
C) Submerged unit weight
D) Unit weight of solids
5. For a fully saturated soil sample, the volume of voids is equal to _______
A) Volume of air
B) Volume of water
C) The volume of air and volume of water
D) The volume of water and volume of solids
6. Sieve analysis is meant for______
A) Coarse-grained soils
B) Fine-grained soils
C) Coarse-grained gravel
 D) Silt
7. The water content of soil, which represents the boundary between plastic state and liquid state is
A) Liquid limit
B) Plastic limit
C) Shrinkage limit
D) Plastic index
8. If the natural water content of soil mass lies between its liquid limit and plastic limit, the soil mass
is said to be in
A) Liquid state
B) Plastic state
C) Semi-solid state
D) Solid state
9. The property of a soil which allows it to be deformed rapidly, without rupture is _________
A) Elasticity
B) Plasticity
C) Tenacity
D) None of the mentioned
10. Which of the following is not useful for engineer purpose, as proposed by Atterberg?
A) Plastic limit
B) Liquid limit
C) Solid limit
D) Shrinkage limit
11. According to USCS, the fined grained soil are classified on the basis of _____________
A) Plasticity
B) Grain size distribution
C) Group index
D) Particle size composition
12. If the plasticity index of a soil mass is zero, the soil is
A) Silt
B) Sand
C) Clay
 D) Clayey silt
13. The effective size of particles of soil is denoted by
A) D10
B) D20
C) D30
D) D60
14. Coarse grained soils, containing fines between 5-12%, are designated by ___________ Symbol.
A) GW-GM and SP-SM
B) CL-ML
C) None of the mentioned
D) All of the mentioned
15. The clay mineral with the largest swelling and shrinkage characteristics is
A) Kaolinite
B) Illite
C) Montmorillonite
D) None
16. In kaolinite crystal, the layers are held by _________ bond.
A) Ionic bond
B) Cationic linkage
C) Hydrogen bond
D) Electro static bond
17. Dispersed type of soil structure is an arrangement comprising particles having
A) Face to face or parallel orientation
B) Edge to edge orientation
C) Edge to face orientation
D) all
18. Which of the following factors affects the permeability of soil?
A) Grain size
B) Properties of pore fluid
C) Void ratio of soils
D) All of the mentioned
19. What is the relationship between permeability and viscosity of water?
A) Directly proportional
B) Inversely proportional
C) Both are equal
D) None of the mentioned
20. The constant head permeability test is used for ___________
A) Fine-grained soil
B) Coarse-grained soil
C) Clay soil
D) Saturated soil
21. Which of the following methods is more suitable for the determination of permeability of clayey
soil?
A) Constant head method
B) Falling head method
C) Horizontal permeability test
D) None of the above
22. Shear strength of soil is a unique function of
A) Effective stress only
B) Total stress only
C) Both effective stress and total stress
D) None of the above
23. ___________ Soil has never been subjected to an effective pressure greater than existing over -
burden pressure and has completely consolidated.
A) Normally consolidated
B) Pre-consolidated
C) Under- consolidated
D) Pre- compressed
24. The compacted density is increased when the water content of the soil is _________until OMC.
A) Increased
B) Decreased
C) Constant
 D) None of the mentioned
25. Effective stress on soil
A) Increases voids ratio and decreases permeability
B) Increases both voids ratio and permeability
C) Decreases both voids ratio and permeability
D) Decreases voids ratio and increases permeability
26. When a site is said to be sound, which of the following character is not desirable?
A) Strong
B) Impermeable
C) Stable
D) Permeable
27. Which among the following need not be given prime importance during geological investigation?
A) Groundwater conditions
B) Wind conditions
C) Structural constitution
D) Trend and rate of weathering
28. Which of the following is not included under preliminary survey?
A) Knowing the general topography of the area
B) Knowing the lithology of the area
C) Knowing the structural condition of the rocks
D) Driving the pilot tunnels
29. During tunnel site investigation which outline is preferred for weak rocks with unequal lateral
pressure?
A) D-shaped
B) Horse-shoe shaped
C) Circular
D) Rectangular shaped
30. During which condition, permeability of rocks have to be given more importance?
A) When general water is much above the top reservoir level
B) When general water table is much below the minimum water level in the reservoir
C) When general water table and top water level of the proposed reservoir are almost same
 D) When general water table is slightly above the top reservoir level
31. During dam site investigation what is the shape of valley usually preferred for a reservoir?
A) U-shaped only
B) V-shaped only
C) Flat lands or plains
D) U or V-shaped
32. Heavy load of sediments to reservoirs would reduce __________
A) Flow of water in that area
B) Effective storage
C) Total life of reservoir
D) Total life and effective storage of reservoir
33. Which type of rocks requires double lining, i.e., temporary and permanent lining during tunnel
excavation?
A) Hard rocks
B) Crystalline rocks
C) Soft rocks
D) Non-crystalline rocks
34. The information that should be yielded on site exploration is ____________
A) The order of occurrence and extent of rock and soil strata.
B) The nature and engineering properties of soils
C) The location of groundwater.
D) All
35. During site investigation a negative gravity anomaly indicates:
A) An excess of mass
B) A deficiency in mass
C) A reversal of the gravitational field
D) None of the above
36. Which type of geological structure can be remedied by grouting?
A) Joints
B) Folds
C) Faults
 D) Inclined strata
37. Maximum damage in the event of an earth quake is caused by:
A) P-waves
B) L-waves
C) S-waves
D) All of the above
38. Instrument for recording earthquake wave is called :
A) Seismograph
B) Seismogram
C) Seismometer
D) Scintillometer
39. The internal structure of the Earth down up to the core, has been explored with the help of:
A) P-waves
B) S-waves
C) Both P- and S-waves
D) Drilling
40. A concept explaining the portion of rock or soil that may be occupied by groundwater
A) Permeability
B) Porosity
C) Void ratio
D) Saturation
41. A concept explaining the property of rocks that allows water to flow through.
A) Permeability
B) Porosity
C) Void ratio
D) Saturation
42. Which of the following are false statements
A) With increasing grain size, abrasion resistance is reduced
B) Quartz minerals are undesirable in aggregates that will be exposed to the weathering process.
C) The high silica content rock can cause alkali-silica reaction problems
D) Carbonate rock form solution cavities and channels when contact with water.
E) All
43. Which of the following are false
A) The quartz rich rock weather faster than the rock rich in iron, magnesium and calcium mineral.
B) Intrusive Igneous Rocks are coarse grained than Extrusive Igneous Rocks.
C) Very coarse grained igneous rocks are undesirable for use as aggregates for construction.
D) Clastic sedimentary rocks that are formed from compaction and cementation of pre-existing rocks
E) All
44. What is not true about unconfined test?
A) It is also called tri-axial test
B) The specimen has no lateral support
C) The specimen has no lateral restraint
D) It is also called uniaxial test
45. Which type of compressive strength is taken as the most important index property of stones?
A) Confined
B) Drained
C) Undrained
D) Unconfined
46. Which types of rock possesses very high compressive strength in nature without considering degree
of weathering?
A) Igneous
B) Sedimentary
C) Metamorphic
D) Sedimentary and metamorphic
47. ____________ is occur only when the driving force (shear stress) overcome the resisting force
(shear strength) of the slope material
A) Landslide
B) Earthquake
C) Volcanic eruption
D) Erosion
48. Type of landslide where surface of failure is planar is __________
A) Translational
B) Rotational
 C) Rock toppling
D) Longitudinal
49. What is the characteristic sloping surface in rotational slides?
A) Planar
B) Curved
C) Circular
D) Undulated
50. Type in which falls are involved rather than sliding is __________
A) Translational sliding
B) Rotational sliding
C) Rock toppling and falls
D) Subsidence
51. What is the weathering of the exposed walls by physical and chemical processes followed by
slippage of weathered products into river below under the action of gravity called?
A) Mass slipping
B) Mass wasting
C) Rocks wasting
D) Debris wasting
52. Which of the following is the most important factor in causing mass movements?
A) Temperature
B) Pressure
C) Water content
D) Bulk composition
53. Which of the following does not promote mass movement?
A) Steep slopes
B) Forest fires
C) Heavy rainfall
D) All of the above promote mass movement
54. Sinking or settling of the ground in almost vertical direction naturally is called __________
A) Flowage
B) Sliding
 C) Avalanche
D) Subsidence
55. What movements is observed in all cases of subsidence?
A) Horizontal
B) Shearing
C) Vertical
D) Inclined movement
56. Which of the following is not a method of control of mass movement?
A) Afforestation
B) Retaining wall
C) Chemical treatment of rocks
D) Deforestation
57. Which of the following can trigger a landslide?
A) An earthquake
B) A heavy rainstorm
C) Removal of material from the base of a slope
D) All
58. Which of the following is a method of slope treatment?
A) Flattening the slope
B) Decreasing the load
C) Digging rock traps
D) All
59. The term expressing the qualitative effect of earthquake is __________
A) Amplitude
B) Frequency
C) Time period
D) Intensity
60. The point of origin of an earthquake below the earth’s surface is called __________
A) Isocentre
B) Isopoint
C) Focus
 D) Epicenter
61. What is the location of maximum damage caused due to an earthquake?
A) Focus
B) Epicenter
C) 100 km from epicenter
D) Same everywhere
62. During an earthquake, water-saturated sand can behave like a liquid, a process called ____.
A) Consolidation
B) Solifluction
C) Unconsolidation
D) Liquefaction
63. ______ A rock mass classification that quantifies discontinuity by the ratio of the length of the
individual pieces of core recovered in a drill, having lengths of 10 cm or longer, and the total
length of drill run:
A) Fracture pattern
B) Fracture spacing
C) RQD
D) Rock mass rating
64. Based on the rock mass rating (RMR) a rock having a value ranging between 41-60 will be rated
as
A) Very poor quality
B) Poor quality
C) Fair quality
D) Good quality
65. A joint spacing of 20 to 60cm is described as
A) Very closed joint spacing
B) Close spacing
C) Moderate spacing
D) Wide spacing
66. _______Which of the following is false?

A) As temperature increases elastic modulus and compressive decreases.

 B) As confining pressure increases, intact rock strength increases.
C) Strength increases as the aspect ratio (defined as the ratio of diameter to length), increases
D) As grain size of rocks increases, the abrasion resistance of rocks (Strength of rocks) increases.
E) All F) None

67. Which one of the following statements is not correct about rock mass discontinuities?
A) Joint is the most common fracture along which large displacement has occurred due to tectonic
activity.
B) Fault is a type of fracture along which displacement has occurred, and water can freely move
causing weathering.
C) Bedding planes are contacts between sedimentary rocks and can contain weak minerals.
D) Slick side is a polished and striated rock surface that results from friction along a fault or
bedding plane.
68. Which one of the following correctly describes the effect of temperature on rock behavior?
A) Increasing the temperature increases the ductility in the post-peak region.
B) Increasing the temperature increases the modulus and rock compressive strength.
C) Most brittle behavior in rock is experienced at temperatures above 600 degrees.
D) A & B
69. _______ A word commonly used in rock mechanics as a collective term for all fractures or features
in a rock mass such as joints, faults, shears, etc. that have zero or relatively low tensile strengths is
called:
A) Fracture plan
B) lineation
C) Fabric
D) structure
E) discontinuity
70. A solid barrier constructed at a suitable location across a river valley to impound water is
called________.
A) Reservoir
B) Dam
C) Bridge
D) Retaining wall
71. Which among the following is not an objective for the construction of the dam?
A) To make sure rains occur periodically
B) Generation of hydropower energy
C) Providing water supply for domestic and industrial purposes
D) Providing irrigational facilities
72. Which type of dam usually has a triangular profile and can resist the forces by its own weight?
A) Gravity dam
B) Arch dam
C) Buttress dam
D) Embankment dam
73. What is very critical about gravity dams?
A) Strength of the rock foundation
B) Strength of the concrete used
C) Strength of the masonry used
D) Type of water stored in the reservoir
74. Type of dam where the forces acting on the dam are transmitted onto the abutment rocks is
A) Gravity dam
B) Buttress dam
C) Arch dam
D) Embankment dam
75. Which type of dam cannot be constructed even on the rock foundations which are not sufficiently
strong enough?
A) Gravity dam
B) Arch dam
C) Embankment dam
D) Buttress dam
76. Arch dams are best suitable for which site?
A) Flat lands
B) Plateaus
C) Narrow valleys
D) Very wide valleys
 77. Which reservoirs are used to feed the canal systems for irrigation and power generation?
A) Storage and conservation reservoirs
B) Flood control reservoirs
C) Distribution reservoirs
D) Drought control reservoirs
78. The major problem in a reservoir over time which may affect the storage capacity is __________
A) Leakage
B) Silting
C) Reduction in rainfall
D) Weathering of side slopes
79. When is the strength of sound rock always greater?
A) When stresses are normal to bedding planes
B) When stresses are parallel to bedding planes
C) When stresses are inclined at 45° to bedding planes
D) When stresses are inclined at 60° to bedding planes
80. Which of the following is not a method for dam construction when a shear zone is encountered?
A) Construct on shear zone
B) Grouting the shear zones
C) Excavation and back filling
D) Try and avoid the site as much as possible
81. Volume of water in cubic meters available between minimum pool level and normal pool level is
A) Useful storage
B) Dead storage
C) Surcharge storage
D) Specific storage
82. The underground routes or passages driven through the ground without disturbing overlying soil
cover are called __________
A) Bridges
B) Dam
C) Tunnel
D) Road
83. Lithology does not affect which parameter?
A) Type of tunnel
B) Method of tunneling
C) Strength and extent of lining
D) Cost of the project
84. Pick the stone which is objectionable for use in moist conditions.
A) Granite
B) Rhyolite
C) Gabbro
D) Limestone
85. The basic igneous rock which is dark colored and has been extensively used as road materials is
A) Granite
B) Gabbro
C) Basalt
D) Syenite
86. Pick the rock considered as soft rocks for tunneling.
A) Granite
B) Gabbro
C) Basalt
D) Shale
87. Which of the following is not a desirable of a road stone?
A) Non-swelling or hydrophobic in nature
B) Sufficient hardness and toughness
C) Durability at the place of use
D) Hydrophilic in nature
88. The soils which plot above A-line is in plasticity chart are
A) Clays
B) Silts
C) Sands
D) Gravels
89. The plasticity characteristics of clays soils are due to
 A) Free water
B) Adsorbed water
C) Capillary water
D) None
90. The coefficient Permeability of a soil is
A) Decrease with an increase in void ratio
B) Increase with a decrease in temperature
C) Increase with a decrease in unit weight of water
D) Increase with an increase in temperature
91. The effective stress controls the following properties of soils
A) Shear strength
B) Permeability
C) Compressibility
D) All the above
92. If a soil sample has a dry unit weight of 19.5 KN/m3, moisture content of 8% and a specific gravity
of solids particles is 2.67. What the void ratio of soil?
A) 0.68
B) 0.34
C) 1
D) 0
93. The initial void ratio of an inorganic clay is found to be 0.65, while the specific gravity of solids
is 2.68. Determine the dry density and saturate density and also determine moisture content, if the
soil is 50% saturated respectively
A) 1.62 gm/cc, 2.02 gm/cc and 12%
B) 2.24gm/cc, 4.04gm/cc and 24%
C) 0.81gm/cc, 1.01gm/cc and 6%
D) None
94. The causes which tend to reduce the shearing strength of the soil are __________
A) Internal factors
B) External factors
C) Extensive factors
 D) Weather factors
95. The force which helps to retain the position of mass in space is __________
A) Compressive resistance
B) Tensile resistance
C) Shearing resistance
D) Bending resistance
96. The resistance offered by a stone against rubbing action is called __________
A) Rubbing resistance
B) Abrasive resistance
C) Frictional resistance
D) Shear resistance
97. Rocks are inherently which type of materials?
A) Isotropic
B) Anisotropic
C) Homogeneous
D) Non-homogeneous
98. Which type of sandstone is more stable?
A) Cemented with siliceous material
B) Cemented with argillaceous material
C) Cemented with ferruginous material
D) Cemented with clay material
99. The density of the rock with natural moisture content is __________
A) Dry density
B) Wet density
C) Bulk density
D) Natural density
100. Ease with which stone can be extracted and dressed is called __________
A) Consistency
B) Workability
C) Easability
D) Permeability