Soil Mechanics Chapter 1: Soil Origin & Properties – 20 PYQs with Answers

Soil Mechanics – Chapter 1

Soil Origin & Its Properties | 20 Strictly PYQs

Chapter 1: Soil Origin & Its Properties
Is practice set mein sirf previous-year questions diye gaye hain. Har question ke saath exam, date/year aur shift mention hai.

Important: Questions are reproduced in concise exam-style wording for practice. The exam/date/shift labels are included from the cited PYQ compilations.

20 Previous Year Questions

SSC JE — 03 March 2017 — AN

1. Soil transported by wind is called:

A) Aeolian soil B) Alluvial soil C) Marine soil D) Lacustrine soil

Answer: A) Aeolian soil. Wind-transported soil is called aeolian soil.

SSC JE — 22 January 2018 — AN

2. Which of the following is responsible for the formation of residual soil?

A) Glaciers B) Water C) Wind D) None of these

Answer: D) None of these. Residual soil remains at the place where the parent material has weathered.

SSC JE — 02 March 2017 — FN

3. The 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

Answer: D) Weathering → transportation → deposition → upheaval.

SSC JE — 23 March 2021 — Morning

4. The soils transported and deposited by a river or a stream are called:

A) Lacustrine soils B) Alluvial soils C) Marine soils D) Aeolian soils

Answer: B) Alluvial soils. River-transported and deposited soils are alluvial soils.

DMRC JE — 13 April 2018

5. Lacustrine soils are transported/deposited by:

A) Rivers B) Seas C) Lakes D) Wind

Answer: C) Lakes. Lacustrine deposits are associated with lake beds.

SSC JE — 23 January 2018 — Morning

6. The ______ soil is transported by gravitational forces.

A) Alluvial soil B) Colluvial soil C) Loess D) Till

Answer: B) Colluvial soil. Colluvial deposits are transported mainly under gravity.

SSC JE — 2014 — Shift I

7. Clay is generally:

A) Cohesive B) Permeable C) Having large particle size D) None of the above

Answer: A) Cohesive. Clay is a fine-grained cohesive soil.

SSC JE — 01 March 2017 — Evening

8. Sand generally contains salt if it is obtained from:

A) Nala beds B) River beds C) Sea beds D) All options are correct

Answer: C) Sea beds. Sea sand can contain salts due to marine origin.

SSC JE — 01 March 2017 — AN

9. Pegmatite is an example of:

A) Sedimentary rock B) Intrusive igneous rock C) Extrusive igneous rock D) Metamorphic rock

Answer: B) Intrusive igneous rock. Pegmatite is a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock.

SSC JE — 04 March 2017 — AN

10. Pick up the correct statement from the following:

A) In partially saturated soil, voids are filled partly with air and partly with water B) In perfectly saturated soil, voids are completely filled with water C) In dry soil, voids are completely filled with air D) All options are correct

Answer: D) All options are correct. These statements describe the standard phase conditions of soil.

SSC JE — 24 January 2018 — FN

11. If the voids of a soil are completely filled with air, then it is called:

A) Dry soil B) Partially saturated soil C) Submerged soil D) Saturated soil

Answer: A) Dry soil. In dry soil, all voids contain air.

SSC JE — 25 January 2018 — AN

12. What would be the void ratio of a soil mass, if the porosity is 0.35?

A) 0.26 B) 0.35 C) 0.54 D) 0.60

Answer: C) 0.54. e = n/(1−n) = 0.35/0.65 ≈ 0.538 ≈ 0.54.

SSC JE — 29 January 2018 — AN

13. Which of the following represents the percentage limit of porosity of compacted sand?

A) 5% to 15% B) 15% to 30% C) 30% to 40% D) 40% to 50%

Answer: C) 30% to 40%.

SSC JE — 22 January 2018 — FN

14. If the degree of saturation of soil is 67.89%, what is the percentage of air content of the soil?

A) 10.5% B) 20.25% C) 32.11% D) 40.43%

Answer: C) 32.11%. Air content = 100 − degree of saturation.

SSC JE — 22 January 2018 — FN

15. The moisture content in a soil sample is 18.2% and specific gravity of soil particles is 2.65. What is the void ratio if the soil is fully saturated?

A) 0.157 B) 0.291 C) 0.482 D) 0.634

Answer: C) 0.482. For saturated soil, S = 1, hence wG = e; e = 0.182 × 2.65 ≈ 0.482.

SSC JE — 22 January 2018 — AN

16. Which of the following represents the void ratio of a soil sample whose porosity is 0.452?

A) 0.264 B) 0.561 C) 0.729 D) 0.825

Answer: D) 0.825. e = n/(1−n) = 0.452/0.548 ≈ 0.825.

SSC JE — 24 January 2018 — AN

17. The maximum dry density and optimum moisture content of a soil are 1.65 g/cc and 20.5%, respectively. What is the percentage of air content at OMC if G = 2.65?

A) 10.4% B) 15.5% C) 26.8% D) 35.7%

Answer: A) 10.4%. Using the phase-relation equations gives the air-content value of about 10.4%.

SSC JE — 24 January 2018 — AN

18. The void ratio of a soil sample is 0.58. What is its porosity?

A) 0.157 B) 0.367 C) 0.524 D) 0.602

Answer: B) 0.367. n = e/(1+e) = 0.58/1.58 ≈ 0.367.

SSC JE — 02 March 2017 — AN

19. The void ratio of a soil sample having porosity 0.32 and moisture content 25% will be:

A) 0.33 B) 0.47 C) 0.78 D) 1.28

Answer: B) 0.47. e = n/(1−n) = 0.32/0.68 ≈ 0.47.

SSC JE — 2017 — Previous Year

20. Gravel and sand belong to which category of soils?

A) Alluvial B) Cohesive C) Expansive D) Marine

Answer: A) Alluvial. In the cited SSC JE PYQ compilation this question is listed with answer A.

Quick Revision: Residual soil → remains near parent rock; Alluvial → river water; Lacustrine → lakes; Aeolian → wind; Colluvial → gravity. For phase relations: n = e/(1+e), e = n/(1−n), and for saturated soil e = wG.

Soil Mechanics Chapter 1 MCQs • Strictly PYQ Practice
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