CEE 3400 TEST 1 UPDATED QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS

CEE 3400 TEST 1 UPDATED QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS

Question:
1. Minerals
Answer:
chemical elements that constitute rocks

Question:
2. Rocks
Answer:
the aggregation of minerals into a hard mass

Question:
3. Soils
Answer:
materials that are derived from the weathering of rocks

Question:
4. Effective particle size (D10)
Answer:
the average particle diameter of the soil at the 10th percentile; that is, 10% of the particles are smaller than
this size (diameter)

Question:
5. Average particle diameter (D50)
Answer:
the average particle diameter of the soil

Question:
6. Uniformity coefficient (Cu)
Answer:
a numerical measure of uniformity (majority of grains are approximately the same size)
Cu = D60/D10

Question:
7. Coefficient of curvature (CC)
Answer:
a measure of the shape of the particle distribution curve (other terms used are the coefficient of gradation
and the coefficient of concavity)
CC = (D30)^2/(D10*D60)

Question:
8. Igneous

, Answer:
magma (molten rock materials) emitted from volcanoes that have cooled and solidified

Question:
9. Sedimentary
Answer:
sediments, animals and plant materials that are deposited in water or on land on the earth's surface and then
subjected to pressures

Question:
10. Metamorphic
Answer:
formed deep within the earth's crust from the transformation of igneous, sedimentary, and even existing
metamorphic rocks into denser rocks

Question:
11. Mechanical weathering mechanism
Answer:
abrasion, split, collision, stress change

Question:
12. Chemical weathering
Answer:
oxidation, reduction, carbonation, hydration

Question:
13. Thermal weathering
Answer:
freeze-thaw cycle, heating-cooling, melting

Question:
14. Biological weathering
Answer:
roots, mineral dissolution, precipitation

Question:
15. Transport & Transfer
Answer:
wind, water, ice, gravity, residual

Question:
16. Coarse vs fine grained
Answer:
Coarse: gravel and sands Fine: silt and clay

Question:
17. Coarse-grained soils are composed mainly of _______