Fe Civil Exam- Construction &
Surveying Questions and Answers
100% Pass
What formulas are used when solving for the total cut or fill volumes when given an
earthwork quantity table? - ✔✔Average end area formula L*(A1 +A2)/2
Pyramid formula (when there is a transition from one station to another where it goes
from cut to NO cut, or NO cut to cut etc. ***(ONLY WHEN IT IS SPECIFIED IN THE
PROBLEM THAT THE CROSS SECTIONS ARE TRIANGULAR IN SHAPE!)***
h*(area of base)/3
How to convert ft^3 to yards? - ✔✔1 ft^3 = 27yd
When calculating the volume given excavation depths/undercut depths. What do you
need to do in order to find the total volume? - ✔✔You must find the individual volumes
of the shapes, and then take the sum of those volumes to find the total. The volume is
found by multiplying the area by the depth.
What is a borrow pit? - ✔✔A borrow pit is a term used in construction for a hole, pit or
excavation that has been dug for the purposes of removing gravel, clay and sand used
in a construction project such as when building an overpass or embankment.
What is waste versus borrow in cut/fill calulations? - ✔✔Waste in when you have
MORE cut than fill.
© EMILY CHARLENE YEAR 2025-2026, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1
, Borrow is when you have LESS cut than fill.
What is the Superpave mix design method: - ✔✔Aggregate selection.
Asphalt binder selection.
Sample preparation (including compaction).
Performance Tests.
Density and voids calculations.
Optimum asphalt binder content selection.
Moisture susceptibility evaluation.
What is Ninitial in Superpavement design? - ✔✔The number of gyrations used as a
measure of mixture compactability during construction. Mixes that compact too quickly
(air voids at Ninitial are too low) may be tender during construction and unstable when
subjected to traffic. Often, this is a good indication of aggregate quality - HMA with
excess natural sand will frequently fail the Ninitial requirement. A mixture designed for
greater than or equal to 3 million ESALs with 4 percent air voids at Ndesign should
have at least 11 percent air voids at Ninitial.
What is Nmax in Superpave design? - ✔✔The number of gyrations required to produce
a laboratory density that should never be exceeded in the field. If the air voids at Nmax
are too low, then the field mixture may compact too much under traffic resulting in
excessively low air voids and potential rutting. The air void content at Nmax should
never be below 2 percent air voids
What is the M/M/1 queue? - ✔✔M/M/1 queue represents the queue length in a
system having a single server, where arrivals are determined by a Poisson process and
job service times have an exponential distribution
© EMILY CHARLENE YEAR 2025-2026, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2
Surveying Questions and Answers
100% Pass
What formulas are used when solving for the total cut or fill volumes when given an
earthwork quantity table? - ✔✔Average end area formula L*(A1 +A2)/2
Pyramid formula (when there is a transition from one station to another where it goes
from cut to NO cut, or NO cut to cut etc. ***(ONLY WHEN IT IS SPECIFIED IN THE
PROBLEM THAT THE CROSS SECTIONS ARE TRIANGULAR IN SHAPE!)***
h*(area of base)/3
How to convert ft^3 to yards? - ✔✔1 ft^3 = 27yd
When calculating the volume given excavation depths/undercut depths. What do you
need to do in order to find the total volume? - ✔✔You must find the individual volumes
of the shapes, and then take the sum of those volumes to find the total. The volume is
found by multiplying the area by the depth.
What is a borrow pit? - ✔✔A borrow pit is a term used in construction for a hole, pit or
excavation that has been dug for the purposes of removing gravel, clay and sand used
in a construction project such as when building an overpass or embankment.
What is waste versus borrow in cut/fill calulations? - ✔✔Waste in when you have
MORE cut than fill.
© EMILY CHARLENE YEAR 2025-2026, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1
, Borrow is when you have LESS cut than fill.
What is the Superpave mix design method: - ✔✔Aggregate selection.
Asphalt binder selection.
Sample preparation (including compaction).
Performance Tests.
Density and voids calculations.
Optimum asphalt binder content selection.
Moisture susceptibility evaluation.
What is Ninitial in Superpavement design? - ✔✔The number of gyrations used as a
measure of mixture compactability during construction. Mixes that compact too quickly
(air voids at Ninitial are too low) may be tender during construction and unstable when
subjected to traffic. Often, this is a good indication of aggregate quality - HMA with
excess natural sand will frequently fail the Ninitial requirement. A mixture designed for
greater than or equal to 3 million ESALs with 4 percent air voids at Ndesign should
have at least 11 percent air voids at Ninitial.
What is Nmax in Superpave design? - ✔✔The number of gyrations required to produce
a laboratory density that should never be exceeded in the field. If the air voids at Nmax
are too low, then the field mixture may compact too much under traffic resulting in
excessively low air voids and potential rutting. The air void content at Nmax should
never be below 2 percent air voids
What is the M/M/1 queue? - ✔✔M/M/1 queue represents the queue length in a
system having a single server, where arrivals are determined by a Poisson process and
job service times have an exponential distribution
© EMILY CHARLENE YEAR 2025-2026, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2
