CE 602 – COMPREHENSIVE EXAM

1. The minimum water content at which the soil just begins to crumble when rolled into
threads 3mm in diameter is
a. Plastic Limit c. Shrinkage Limit
b. Liquid Limit d. Permeability Limit

2. Molecules of fluids get attracted due to

a. Capillarity Action c. Surface Tension
b. Adhesion d. Cohesion

3. A cylindrical bucket 200mm in diameter and 300mm high is 2/3 full of water. It is swung
in a vertical plane so that the bottom of the bucket describes a radius of 1m. How fast
should the bucket be rotated in rpm so that no water is spilled? Neglect the weight of the
bucket.
a. 3.13 c. 31.53
b. 3.30 d. 29.89

4. Evaluate the kinetic energy of a unit weight of water, in meters, flowing at 10m/sec.
a. 0.721 c. 0.815
b. 0.439 d. 0.534

5. An experiment to determine the permeability of a soil sample was conducted. The

permeameter in a falling head permeability test setup involves a cylindrical soil sample
100mm in diameter and a height of 200mm. The hydraulic head in the 10mm diameter
standpipe through which the test water passed dropped from 1 meter to 600mm in one
minute of observation. In that duration, the water collected in the graduate was recorded
at 2.0 liters. From these data, evaluate the coefficient of permeability of the soil sample,
in cm/sec.
a. 0.000224 c. 0.001890
b. 0.001703 d. 0.001910

6. Which of the following statements is false?

I. Wind blows towards an area at low pressure.
II. Smoke rises faster in a chimney on a windy day.
III. You can squirt water over a greater distance by placing your thumb over the end of a
garden hose than by leaving it completely uncovered.
IV. Between two sinking objects with same shape and volume but of different weights,
the heavier object will teach terminal velocity first.
a. I c. III
b. II d. IV

7. In order to provide water from a nearby spring, a triangular flume of efficient cross-
section was provided on a slope of 0.15 percent. Assuming the roughness coefficient of
the channel equal to 0.20, obtain the depth of flow in meter(s) of the water in the flume if
it is discharging at the rate of 2 cu.m./sec. Utilize the formula, V=(1/n) R^2/3 S^1/2 for
the velocity of flows.
a. 1.85 c. 1.69
b. 1.77 d. 1.31
8. A pressure surge or wave caused when & fluid in motion is forced to stop or change
direction suddenly (momentum change) is referred to in hydraulics as.
a. hydraulic jump c. hydrodynamics
b. potential head d. water hammer

9. If the ground water table in a soil formation rises as a resulting of flooding, the bearing
capacity of the soil.
a. unaffected c. increase
b. decrease d. depends on footings load

10. A hemispherical container 1 meter in diameter is completely filled with scrambled egg
mixture, enough to feed the entire Civil Engineering faculty. If Shifu accidentally bumped
into the container causing it to rotate at a constant angular rate of 4 rad/sec, determine
the volume of mixture spilled in cubic meters.
a. 0.26 c. 0.16
b. 0.32 d. 0.08

11. A granular soil deposit is considered stiff if the unconfined compressive strength is
between.
a. 25-80 c. 150-400
b. 80-150 d. >400

SITUATION: A consolidation test results shows the change in void ratio for every loading
stages.

12. Determine the value of compression index, Cc.

a. 0.284 c. 0.664
b. 0.639 d. 1.200

13. Determine the value of settlement for a 1m thick clay layer with Po=120 Kpa, ∆P=20 Kpa,
e˳=0.70.
a. 5.00 c. 26.15
b. 11.26 d. 47.26

SITUATION: According the elastic theory, the vertical stress induced by a flexible line load of
infinite length that has an intensity of q units/length on the surface of a semi-infinite soil
mass can be estimated by the expression, P = 0.637 q/N

Where N = z(1+(r/z)2)2
r = horizontal distance from the line of the load
z = depth of interest at which stress is induced

A masonry wall weighing 6kN per lineal meter is carried by a wall footing 0.60m wide.
14. Evaluate the bearing pressure in kPa exerted by the footing onto the supporting soil.
a. 14 c. 10
b. 16 d. 12

15. Evaluate the stress in kPa in the soil caused by the load at a depth equal to twice the
width of the footing but directly below the masonry wall.
a. 5.31 c. 4.43
b. 7.35 d. 6.47

16. Evaluate the stress at a depth of 2m and a horizontal distance of 3m from the line of the
load.
a. 0.531 c. 0.301
b. 0.432 d. 0.668

SITUATION: A triaxial shear test was performed on a well-drained sand sample. The normal
stress on the failure plane and the shearing stress on the failure plane were determined to
be 63 kPa and 42 kPa respectively.
17. Determine the angle of internal friction of the sand in degrees.
a. 33.7 c. 27.4
b. 22.4 d. 19.8

18. Determine the angle in degrees of the failure plane with respect to the horizontal plane.
a. 26.2 c. 54.9
b. 61.8 d. 58.7

SITUATION: A circular footing with a 1.5 m diameter is to be constructed 1.22 m below the
ground surface. The groundwater table is at a great depth and its effect can be neglected.
The subsoil consists of a uniform deposit of dense soil having the following strength
parameters:

Angle of internal friction = 25° (Nc = 24.1, Nq = 13.1, Nγ = 9.1)

Unconfined compressive strength = 96 kPa
Unit weight of soil = 20.12 kN/m2

Hint: qu = 1.3cNc + qNq + 0.30γBNγ

19. Compute the ultimate bearing capacity of the soil.

a. 1966.21 kPa c. 1907.79 kPa
b. 1935.25 kPa d. 1981.59 kPa

20. Compute the total allowable load that the footing can carry using a factor of safety of 3.
a. 3474.6 kN c. 3371.3 kN
b. 1123.8 kN d. 1158.2 kN

21. How many meters of water is equivalent to 2.75 atmospheres?

a. 38.7 m c. 31.6 m
b. 24.8 m d. 27.5 m
SITUATION: The coefficient of permeability below a dam is 4m/day. The water on the
upstream side is 20 meters higher than on the downstream side. To estimate the seepage
below the dam, a flow net was graphically drawn such that the number of potential drops,
Nd = 10 and the number of flow channels Nf = 4. The base of the dam is founded 1m belowthe
ground. Between the heel and the toe of the dam, a distance of 30 meters, there are 8
potential drops.

22. Evaluate the seepage of flow per meter width of dam, in liters/min.
a. 18.5 c. 20.6
b. 32.5 d. 22.2

23. Determine the uplift pressure at the heel of the dam in kPa.
a. 114 c. 177
b. 181 d. 198

24. When a cohesionless soil attains quick condition, it loses:

a. shear strength c. both a & b
b. bearing capacity d. neither a or b

SITUATION: A retaining wall 12m high has a horizontal backfill on its vertical face to its
base. Under normal conditions, the backfill has a water content of 10% and a void ratio of
0.50. The specific gravity of the soil grains is 2.50 and the angle of internal friction is 20 deg.
Using Rankine’s theory of lateral earth pressure.

25. Evaluate the total horizontal lateral force per meter width of wall in kN due to the water.
a. 600 c. 810
b. 520 d. 706

26. Evaluate the total horizontal lateral force per meter width of wall in kN due to the soil.
a. 289 c. 220
b. 250 d. 235

27. How many times would the horizontal lateral force be increased if the backfill is fully
saturated with rainwater?
a. 1.54 c. 1.65
b. 1.36 d. 1.06

28. One of the following foundation conditions does not affect the bearing capacity of the
supporting soil.
a. Unit weight of the soil c. Depth of founding of footings
b. Load imposed onto the soil d. Position of ground water table

29. What important property of soil is most influenced by engineering?

a. Porosity c. Specific gravity
b. Void ratio d. Water content
30. A confined aquifer has a source of recharge. The hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer is
40 m/day and its porosity is 0.25. The piezometric heads in the two wells 1000 m apart
are 65 m and 60 m, respectively, from a common data. The average thickness of the
aquifer is 25 m and the average width of 4 km. Compute the rate of flow through the
aquifer in m3/day.
a. 25,000 c. 30,000
b. 20,000 d. 35,000

SITUATION: A vertical triangular plate whose height is 3.6 m has its base horizontal and
vertex upper most in the water surface.
31. Find the depth to which it must be lowered from its vertex so that the difference in level
between the center of gravity and the center of pressure shall be 20 cm.
a. 3.6 m c. 2.4 m
b. 1.2 m d. 1.8 m

32. How far is the center of pressure below the water surface?
a. 4.8 m c. 6.0 m
b. 4.2 m d. 3.6 m

33. What is the base width of the plate if the total hydrostatic force acting on the plate is
76.28 kN?
a. 1.2 m c. 0.9 m
b. 1.5 m d. 1.8 m

SITUATION: Sphere A is attached to Sphere B by a cable whose mass is negligible. Both

spheres are identical in dimensions, R = 0.6m, but differ in material composition. If sphere
A has a weight of 12 kN and sphere B has a weight of 4 kN and both spheres are thrown in
freshwater, determine the following:
34. The draft of sphere B.
a. 98.5 cm c. 79.5 cm
b. 85.8 cm d. 148.6 cm

35. The tension in the cable connecting the spheres.

a. 3241 N c. 4213 N
b. 3124 N d. 2134 N

36. The exposed volume of the sphere B in cubic meters.

a. 0.179 c. 0.144
b. 0.726 d. 0.220

SITUATION: SECTION 304 of the NSCP states:

“…All values of allowable foundation pressure are for footings having a minimum width
of 300mm and a minimum depth of 300mm into natural grade. Increase of 20 percent is
allowed for each additional 300mm of width and/or depth to a maximum value of three
times the designated value.”

A square footing rests on a sandy gravel soil whose allowable foundation pressure is 100
kPa.
37. Determine the allowable foundation pressure (kPa) of a square footing 1.2m wide with
depth of embedment of 0.3 m.
a. 220 c. 180
b. 200 d. 160

38. Determine the allowable foundation pressure (kPa) of a square footing 1.2m wide with
depth of embedment of 0.9 m.
a. 247 c. 224
b. 236 d. 210

39. Determine the gross service load (kN) that can be carried by the footing.
a. 323 c. 303
b. 242 d. 340

40. A right cylindrical container 2.5 m in diameter is 3 m tall. A 50-mm diameter hole is
provided at the bottom of the container to drain the water is necessary. If it is 2/3 full of
water, how long in minutes does it take to empty the container from the instant that the
hole is opened? Coefficient of velocity and coefficient of contraction both equal to 1.0
a. 26.61 mins c. 28.83 mins
b. 21.16 mins d. 23.38 mins

41. The slope of fill surfaces shall be no steeper than is safe for intended use. Fill slopes shall
be no steeper than
a. 33% c. 67%
b. 50% d. 45%

42. A barge weighing 350 kN when empty is 6 m wide, 15 m long and 3 m high. Floating
upright, evaluate the draft of the barge in meters when transporting 5000 bags of cement
along a river, each bag having a mass of 40 kg. Assume the specific gravity of the water in
the river to be 1.02
a. 2.18 m c. 2.62 m
b. 2.22 m d. 2.57 m

SITUATION: The coefficient of permeability below a dam is 4m/day. The water on the
upstream side is 20 meters higher than on the downstream side. To estimate the seepage
below the dam, a flow net was graphically drawn such that the number of potential drops,
Nd = 10 and the number of flow channels Nf = 4. The base of the dam is founded 1m belowthe
ground. Between the heel and the toe of the dam, a distance of 30 meters, there are 8
potential drops.
43. Evaluate the seepage flow per meter width of dam in liters/min.
a. 18.5 c. 20.6
b. 32.5 d. 22.2

44. Determine the uplift pressure at the heel of the dam in kPa.
a. 114 c. 177
b. 181 d. 198
45. Determine the uplift pressure at the toe of the dam in kPa.
a. 11.4 c. 14.7
b. 19.6 d. 17.6

Pile group:
Pile size: 400mm x 400mm
Pile length: 20 m
Total load, Q = 12 MN
Efficiency = 82%
Unconfined compression strength, qu = 120 kPa
46. What is the required number of piles?
a. 6 c. 8
b. 7 d. 9

SITUATION: A 3-layer soil has the following properties from top to bottom:

47. Obtain the equivalent horizontal coefficient of permeability in cm/sec.

a. 0.00689 c. 0.00809
b. 0.00734 d. 0.00747

48. Obtain the equivalent vertical coefficient of permeability in cm/sec.

a. 0.0000709 c. 0.0000689
b. 0.0000534 d. 0.0000805

49. Estimate the rate of flow in the vertical direction per square meter of layer, in liters/hr,
if the hydraulic gradient is 0.50
a. 4.65 c. 1.45
b. 3.24 d. 2.85

50. An upstream point in a horizontal tube has a velocity head equal to 1 m. Determine the
change in pressure head if the velocity of a point downstream is double of that
upstream.
a. 1-m rise c. 3-m rise
b. 1-m drop d. 3-m drop