Soil Mechanics - Exam 1
What are the differences between sand and clay? (size, shape, strength comes from
__?) - ✔️✔️Sand: larger/coarse grained, rounder, strength from frictional forces
between particles
Clay: small/fine grained, flat, strength from water interaction
What rocks make up the crust, what rocks make up the surface? - ✔️✔️crust = 95%
igneous and metamorphic
surface = 75% sedimentary
Soil Mechanics - ✔️✔️Application of static, mechanics of materials, and fluid
mechanics to describe the behavior of soils
Soil - ✔️✔️Weathering rocks and minerals
Effective stress - ✔️✔️stress felt by soil skeleton
Consolidation - ✔️✔️water forced out of pore spaces
settlement - ✔️✔️volume is changing
differential settlement - ✔️✔️one side settles, not the other
Geosynthetics - ✔️✔️man made plastic sheets (hydraulic barriers)
Retaining Structures - ✔️✔️Hold soil at steeper slope than the soil can stand
How old is the Earth? - ✔️✔️4.6 billion years
Lithosphere - ✔️✔️rocky upper mantle and crust, moves as solid plate
Asthenosphere - ✔️✔️low mantle, hot, weak, ductile
Rock - ✔️✔️naturally formed aggregate(collection) of minerals
Igneous Rock - ✔️✔️solidified from molten rock
Diff between magma and lava? - ✔️✔️magma is underground (intrusive), lava is above
(extrusive)
, Mineral - ✔️✔️naturally formed, solid, forged inorganically, specified chemical
composition
Which are minerals? ice, water, coal - ✔️✔️ice=mineral
water=not mineral
coal=not mineral
Regolith - ✔️✔️loose layer of debris from weathering
What are the three main rock groups? - ✔️✔️igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic
Cycle for rocks - ✔️✔️rocks formed --> uplift --> weathering
Residual soil - ✔️✔️rate of soil formation is faster than transportation/erosion
Eolian soil - ✔️✔️transported by wind
saltation - ✔️✔️large sand picked up and moved a short distance
loess - ✔️✔️wind blown salt (homogeneous size)
Fluvial Soil - ✔️✔️deposited by streams and fresh water
esker - ✔️✔️uniform
What are the 4 phases of field investigation - ✔️✔️1. collect info
2. familiarize with site
3. detailed site investigation
4. write report
Boring and Drilling - ✔️✔️destructive method of sub surface exploration
visual ID of soil type with sample collection
What are three methods of retrieving a soil sample - ✔️✔️shelby tube
split spoon
block
Sizes for coarse and fine grain? - ✔️✔️coarse >.075mm
fine <.075mm
size for coarse and fine gravel - ✔️✔️coarse = 19-75mm
fine=4.75-19mm
What are the differences between sand and clay? (size, shape, strength comes from
__?) - ✔️✔️Sand: larger/coarse grained, rounder, strength from frictional forces
between particles
Clay: small/fine grained, flat, strength from water interaction
What rocks make up the crust, what rocks make up the surface? - ✔️✔️crust = 95%
igneous and metamorphic
surface = 75% sedimentary
Soil Mechanics - ✔️✔️Application of static, mechanics of materials, and fluid
mechanics to describe the behavior of soils
Soil - ✔️✔️Weathering rocks and minerals
Effective stress - ✔️✔️stress felt by soil skeleton
Consolidation - ✔️✔️water forced out of pore spaces
settlement - ✔️✔️volume is changing
differential settlement - ✔️✔️one side settles, not the other
Geosynthetics - ✔️✔️man made plastic sheets (hydraulic barriers)
Retaining Structures - ✔️✔️Hold soil at steeper slope than the soil can stand
How old is the Earth? - ✔️✔️4.6 billion years
Lithosphere - ✔️✔️rocky upper mantle and crust, moves as solid plate
Asthenosphere - ✔️✔️low mantle, hot, weak, ductile
Rock - ✔️✔️naturally formed aggregate(collection) of minerals
Igneous Rock - ✔️✔️solidified from molten rock
Diff between magma and lava? - ✔️✔️magma is underground (intrusive), lava is above
(extrusive)
, Mineral - ✔️✔️naturally formed, solid, forged inorganically, specified chemical
composition
Which are minerals? ice, water, coal - ✔️✔️ice=mineral
water=not mineral
coal=not mineral
Regolith - ✔️✔️loose layer of debris from weathering
What are the three main rock groups? - ✔️✔️igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic
Cycle for rocks - ✔️✔️rocks formed --> uplift --> weathering
Residual soil - ✔️✔️rate of soil formation is faster than transportation/erosion
Eolian soil - ✔️✔️transported by wind
saltation - ✔️✔️large sand picked up and moved a short distance
loess - ✔️✔️wind blown salt (homogeneous size)
Fluvial Soil - ✔️✔️deposited by streams and fresh water
esker - ✔️✔️uniform
What are the 4 phases of field investigation - ✔️✔️1. collect info
2. familiarize with site
3. detailed site investigation
4. write report
Boring and Drilling - ✔️✔️destructive method of sub surface exploration
visual ID of soil type with sample collection
What are three methods of retrieving a soil sample - ✔️✔️shelby tube
split spoon
block
Sizes for coarse and fine grain? - ✔️✔️coarse >.075mm
fine <.075mm
size for coarse and fine gravel - ✔️✔️coarse = 19-75mm
fine=4.75-19mm
