VDOT Soils and Aggregate Compaction Exam
Comprehensive Resource To Help You Ace 2026-2027 Exams
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100% Correct COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
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1. T or F - The voids in a saturated soil are partly filled with water and partly
filled with air. - Correct Answer: False - They are completely filled with
water
2. What classification system does VDOT use to classify soils? - Correct
Answer: AASHTO and Unified Soil Classification System
3. ___ refers to the texture and firmness of a soil - Correct Answer:
Consistency
4. Silt and clay are made up of particles that are smaller than the ___ sieve. -
Correct Answer: No. 200 (75um)
5. What is the distribution of various particles sizes within the material? -
Correct Answer: Gradation
,6. ___ means that the particles in a mixture are sized so that they fill most of
the voids; there is very little space in between soil or stone particles -
Correct Answer: Dense graded
7. What is the moisture content at which a soil begins to behave like a liquid
called? - Correct Answer: Liquid Limit
8. What is the behavior of a material where the material deforms under load
and does not go back to it's original shape called? - Correct Answer:
Plasticity
9. What is the moisture content at which a soil can be compacted to its
maximum dry density with the least amount of compactive effort called? -
Correct Answer: Optimum Moisture Content
10.T or F - A soil that contains a high percentage of fines is more affected by
water than one with a low percentage of fines - Correct Answer: True
11.T or F - Open graded aggregates are used in a pavement to give the
structure more strength - Correct Answer: False - Dense graded
aggregates are used in a pavement to give the structure more strength
12.T or F - Clearing and Grubbing is required in fill sections less than 5 feet in
depth, in borrow areas before excavation can begin, and in all cut sections. -
Correct Answer: True
,13.In fill sections where stumps may be left in place, they must be no more
than ___ high - Correct Answer: 6 inches
14.___ means to crown surface of embankment, roll surface of embankment
smooth, direct water to appropriate erosion and siltation controls -
Correct Answer: Grading to Drain
15.What is the first lift of embankment material placed in swampy areas
called? - Correct Answer: Work Platform
16.How should layers of embankment material be placed? - Correct
Answer: Placed with uniform thickness and parallel to finished grade
17.Material is being placed 15 feet below the proposed subgrade in a rock fill.
The maximum nominal size of the rocks is 3 feet. The maximum lift
thickness in this case is ___? - Correct Answer: 3 feet
18.T or F - In building an embankment on a hillside, benching provides a place
to test - Correct Answer: False - In building an embankment on a
hillside, benching provides a foundation for the new embankment and a
bond to the existing slope
19.Is frozen embankment material acceptable to use in embankments? -
Correct Answer: No
20.Is 108% compaction acceptable for embankment - Correct Answer: No
, 21.T or F - For subgrade and embankment, the specifications require that each
lift be compacted at optimum moisture content with a tolerance of +-40% -
Correct Answer: False +-20%
22.T or F - Embankment is a structure of soil, soil aggregate, soil-like materials,
or broken rock between the existing ground and the subgrade - Correct
Answer: True
23.What is the minimum bench width for a slope steeper than 4:1 and less
steep than 1.5:1? - Correct Answer: 6 feet
24.What is the density testing rate for fill areas less than 500 feet long? -
Correct Answer: One test per 2500 cubic yards, plus one test for every other
6 inch layer in the embankment from the bottom of the fill to the top of the
fill, starting with the second lift
25.What is the density testing rate for fill areas between 500 feet and 2000
feet? - Correct Answer: One test per 2500 cubic yards, plus two tests for
every 6 inch layer within the top 5 feet of fill
26.What is the maximum distance from the heel of an abutment gravity or
cantilever retaining wall that is to be tested by the specified rates for walls if
the structure is 12 feet high? - Correct Answer: The height of the
structure plus 10 feet (12+10=22)
Comprehensive Resource To Help You Ace 2026-2027 Exams
Includes Frequently Tested Questions With ELABORATED
100% Correct COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
Guaranteed Pass First Attempt!! Current Update!!
Instant Download Pdf
1. T or F - The voids in a saturated soil are partly filled with water and partly
filled with air. - Correct Answer: False - They are completely filled with
water
2. What classification system does VDOT use to classify soils? - Correct
Answer: AASHTO and Unified Soil Classification System
3. ___ refers to the texture and firmness of a soil - Correct Answer:
Consistency
4. Silt and clay are made up of particles that are smaller than the ___ sieve. -
Correct Answer: No. 200 (75um)
5. What is the distribution of various particles sizes within the material? -
Correct Answer: Gradation
,6. ___ means that the particles in a mixture are sized so that they fill most of
the voids; there is very little space in between soil or stone particles -
Correct Answer: Dense graded
7. What is the moisture content at which a soil begins to behave like a liquid
called? - Correct Answer: Liquid Limit
8. What is the behavior of a material where the material deforms under load
and does not go back to it's original shape called? - Correct Answer:
Plasticity
9. What is the moisture content at which a soil can be compacted to its
maximum dry density with the least amount of compactive effort called? -
Correct Answer: Optimum Moisture Content
10.T or F - A soil that contains a high percentage of fines is more affected by
water than one with a low percentage of fines - Correct Answer: True
11.T or F - Open graded aggregates are used in a pavement to give the
structure more strength - Correct Answer: False - Dense graded
aggregates are used in a pavement to give the structure more strength
12.T or F - Clearing and Grubbing is required in fill sections less than 5 feet in
depth, in borrow areas before excavation can begin, and in all cut sections. -
Correct Answer: True
,13.In fill sections where stumps may be left in place, they must be no more
than ___ high - Correct Answer: 6 inches
14.___ means to crown surface of embankment, roll surface of embankment
smooth, direct water to appropriate erosion and siltation controls -
Correct Answer: Grading to Drain
15.What is the first lift of embankment material placed in swampy areas
called? - Correct Answer: Work Platform
16.How should layers of embankment material be placed? - Correct
Answer: Placed with uniform thickness and parallel to finished grade
17.Material is being placed 15 feet below the proposed subgrade in a rock fill.
The maximum nominal size of the rocks is 3 feet. The maximum lift
thickness in this case is ___? - Correct Answer: 3 feet
18.T or F - In building an embankment on a hillside, benching provides a place
to test - Correct Answer: False - In building an embankment on a
hillside, benching provides a foundation for the new embankment and a
bond to the existing slope
19.Is frozen embankment material acceptable to use in embankments? -
Correct Answer: No
20.Is 108% compaction acceptable for embankment - Correct Answer: No
, 21.T or F - For subgrade and embankment, the specifications require that each
lift be compacted at optimum moisture content with a tolerance of +-40% -
Correct Answer: False +-20%
22.T or F - Embankment is a structure of soil, soil aggregate, soil-like materials,
or broken rock between the existing ground and the subgrade - Correct
Answer: True
23.What is the minimum bench width for a slope steeper than 4:1 and less
steep than 1.5:1? - Correct Answer: 6 feet
24.What is the density testing rate for fill areas less than 500 feet long? -
Correct Answer: One test per 2500 cubic yards, plus one test for every other
6 inch layer in the embankment from the bottom of the fill to the top of the
fill, starting with the second lift
25.What is the density testing rate for fill areas between 500 feet and 2000
feet? - Correct Answer: One test per 2500 cubic yards, plus two tests for
every 6 inch layer within the top 5 feet of fill
26.What is the maximum distance from the heel of an abutment gravity or
cantilever retaining wall that is to be tested by the specified rates for walls if
the structure is 12 feet high? - Correct Answer: The height of the
structure plus 10 feet (12+10=22)
