Civil Engineering - UPSC Civil Service Exam Questions MCQs Part 2

1. A soil has a bulk density of 1.80 g/cm3 at water content of 5%. If the void ratio remains constant, then its bulk density for a water content of 10% will be

A.
1.88 g/cm3

B.
1.80 g/cm3

C.
1.98 g/cm3

D.
1.70 g/cm3

 Answer Option A

2. The base width of a soil gravity dam is 25 m. The material of the dam has a specific gravity of 2.56 and the dam is designed as an elementary profile ignoring uplift. What is the approximate allowable height of the dam ?

A.
64 m

B.
40 m

C.
164 m

D.
80 m

 Answer Option B

3. In a gusseted base, when the end of the column is machined smooth for complete bearing, the axial load is transferred to base slab :

A.
Fully through fastening

B.
Fully by direct bearing

C.
50 % by direct bearing and 50% through fastening

D.
60 % by direct bearing and 40% through fastening

 Answer Option B

4. Which of the following assumptions are made in the analysis of jet impinging normally on a moving plate?1. Friction between jet and plate is neglected2. Flow is steady3. Momentum of jet is unchanged4. Plate moves at a constant velocityChoose the correct answer using the codes given below :

A.
1, 2 and 4

B.
1, 2 and 3

C.
2, 3 and 4

D.
1, 3 and 4

 Answer Option C

5. A 3000 m long line lying at an elevation of 450 m measures 10 cm on a vertical photograph.The focal length of the camera is 21 cm. The scale of the photograph for the area having an elevation of 1000 m will be

A.
1 : 27381

B.
1 : 25008

C.
1 : 20606

D.
1 : 30421

 Answer Option A

6. While driving a large number of piles in loose sand :

A. It is advantageous to follow a sequence of pile driving such that the inner piles are driven first and then proceed outwards

B. It is advantageous to follow a sequence of pile driving such that the piles near the periphery are driven first and inner piles are driven later

C. It is advantageous to follow a sequence of pile driving such that alternately inner and outer piles are driven

D. Driving of piles can be done in any random order

 Answer Option A

7. Surface tension of water when in contact with air is 0.0737 N/m. The difference of pressure between the inside and outside of a droplet of rain water 1 mm in diameter is nearly equal to

A. 0.15 kN/m2

B. 0.20 kN/m2

C. 0.25 kN/m2

D. 0.30 kN/m2

 Answer Option D

8. The upstream slope of an earth dam under steady seepage condition is

A. equipotential line

B. phreaticline

C. flow-line

D. seepage line

 Answer Option A

9. What are the magnitudes of horizontal and vertical support reactions, respectively at support. A of the frame shown in figure below ?

A. 16 kN, 18 kN

B. 16 kN, 6 kN

C. 6 kN, 16 kN

D. 8 kN, 6 kN

 Answer Option B

10. Consider the following statements :Shrinkage of concrete depends upon the1. relative humidity of the atmosphere.2. passage of time.3. applied stress.Which of these statements is/are correct ?

A. 1 and 2

B. 2 and 3

C. 1 alone

D. 1, 2 and 3

 Answer Option A

11. Consider the following statements :Wind rose diagram is used for the purpose of1. runway orientation.2. estimating the runway capacity3. geometric design of holding apron.Of these statements :

A. 1 and 2 are correct

B. 2 and 3 are correct

C. 1 and 3 are correct

D. 1 alone is correct

 Answer Option D

12. The discharge per metre width at the foot of a spillway is 10 m3/s at a velocity of 20 m/s. A perfect free hydraulic jump will occur at the foot of the spillway when the tail water depth is approximately equal to

A. 4.50 m

B. 5.00 m

C. 5.50 m

D. 6.50 m

 Answer Option D

13. Which one of the following is the appropriate triaxial test to assess the immediate stability of an unloading problem, such as an excavation of a clay slope ?

A. UU test

B. CU test

C. CD test

D. Unconsolidated drained test

 Answer Option B

14. A mild steel flat subjected to a tensile force of 84 tonnes is connected to a gusset plate using rivets. If the forces required to shear a single rivet, to crush the rivet and to tear the plate per pitch length are 5000 kg, 8000 kg and 6000 kg respectively, then the number of rivets required is

A. 12

B. 14

C. 16

D. 17

 Answer Option D

15. What does the confining pressure used in triaxial compression tests on an undisturbed soil sample represent ?

A. The in-situ total normal stress

B. The in-situ total lateral stress

C. The in-situ effective average principal stress

D. The in-situ shear stress

 Answer Option B

16. The distance between two bench marks is 1000 m. If during levelling, the total error due to collimation, curvature and refraction is found to be + 0.120 m, then the magnitude of the collimation error is

A. 0.00527 m

B. 0.0527 m

C. 0.527 m

D. 0.673 m

 Answer Option B

17. Mercury (density = 13600 kg/m3, σ = 0.49N/mm internal diameter open-ended capillary tube is inserted in the middle of the beaker into the mercury. The meniscus in the tube will be below the external mercury surface by how much distance?

A. 4.2 mm

B. 5.7 mm

C. 6.8 mm

D. 7.3 mm

 Answer Option D

18. Which one of the following is considered to be an advantage of the heading and benching method of tunes construction ?

A. It is suitable for construction in unstable rocks

B. In this method, it is easy to install timber support

C. Tunnelling can be continous and the work can be expedited

D. In case of excessive water, it is easy to take corrective steps

 Answer Option C

19. In a close-coiled helical spring subjected to an axial load, other quantities remaining the same, if the wire diameter is doubled, then the stiffness of the spring when compared to the original one, will become

A. twice

B. four times

C. eight times

D. sixteen times

 Answer Option D

20. The plastic section modulus of a rectangular section of width 100 mm and depth 12 mm is

A. 1000 mm3

B. 1800 mm3

C. 2400 mm3

D. 3600 mm3

 Answer Option D

21. Consider the following factors pertaining to flow through soil:1. Hydraulic gradient2. Grain size3. Void ratio4. Cross-sectional area of the sample.Of these, the factors affecting permeability include

A. 1 and 4

B. 2 and 3

C. 1, 2 and 3

D. 2, 3 and 4

 Answer Option B

22. In drawing AOA networks and making time computations, the following processes are involved :1. Activity listing2. Work breakdown structure3. Activity time allotment4. Consideration of available resources for each activity5. Activity dependencies6. Float computations7. Backward path computation8. Project duration9. Forward path computationWhat is the correct sequence of the processes given above ?

A. 1, 2, 4, 3, 9, 7, 5, 6, 8

B. 2, 1, 4, 3, 5, 9, 8, 7, 6

C. 4, 1, 3, 2, 9, 5, 7, 8, 6

D. Any sequence can be followed but 6 and 7 will be the last two ones

 Answer Option A

23. Timber can be made more fire resistant by

A. dipping and steeping process

B. hot and cold open tank treatment

C. charring

D. Sir Abel's process

 Answer Option D

24. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the influence line for the bending moment at one-fourths of the span from left support of a prismatic beam simply supported at ends ?

A. It is composed of straight lines only

B. It is composed of curved lines only

C. It is composed of straight and curved line

D. It is parabolic

 Answer Option A

25. Consider the following statements :In a uni-dimensional stress system, the principal plane is defined as one on which the 1. shear stress is zero. 2. normal stress is zero.3. shear stress is maximum. 4. normal stress is maximum. Of these statements :

A. 1 and 2 are correct

B. 2 and 3 are correct

C. 1 and 4 are correct

D. 3 and 4 are correct

 Answer Option C

26. Which one of the following pairs relating to flumes carrying open channel flow is correctly matched ?

A. N-modular flume....Flow is unaffected by drowning

B. Venturi flume....Standing wave forms at the throat

C. Venturi flume....Flow at the throat is at less than critical velocity

D. Standing wave flume....Hump is not provided at the throat

 Answer Option C

27. A cylindrical vessel with a constant plane area of 1 m2 is rotated about its vertical axis such that the liquid inside the vessel is about to spill. If the height of the vessel is 2 m and the height of the paraboloid at 1 m, then the volume (in m3) of the liquid in the vessel will be

A. 2

B. 1.5

C. 1.0

D. 0.5

 Answer Option B

28. Critical hydraulic gradient ic is given by (where, G = specific gravity of solids e = void ratio)

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option B

29. Consider the following statements with reference to oxidation ponds :1. They require high initial investments2. They have low operational cost3. They are also called stabilization ponds.Which of the statements given above are correct ?

A. 1 and 2

B. 2 and 3

C. 1 and 3

D. 1, 2 and 3

 Answer Option B

30. The length, coefficient of thermal expansion and Young's modulus of bar 'A' are twice that of bar 'B'. If the temperature of both bars is increased by the same amount while preventing any expansion, then the ratio of stress developed in bar A to that in bar B will be

A. 2

B. 4

C. 8

D. 16

 Answer Option B

31. A constant angle arch dam when compared to a constant radius arch dam utilizes concrete quantity of about

A. 33%

B. 43%

C. 73%

D. 143%

 Answer Option B

32. A bar of elastic material is subjected to a direct compressive stress σ1 in the longitudinal direction. Suitable lateral compressive stress σ2 is applied along each of the other two lateral directions to limit the net strain in each of the lateral directions to half the magnitude of what it could be under σ1 acting alone. If μ is the Poisson's ratio of the material, then the magnitude of σ2 is

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option C

33. In a simply supported wooden beam under uniformly distributed load, a hole has to be made in the breadthwise direction at mid-span to provide a pipeline. From structural strength point of view, it would be advisable to have the hole made at

A. the bottom

B. the top

C. mid-depth

D. 1/4 depth either from the top or the bottom

 Answer Option C

34. The water supply to a house begins with the connection of the service pipe with the municipal water mains. The connections comprises :1. Stopcock 2. Goose neck3. Ferrule 4. Water meterThe correct statement of these connections is :

A. 1, 2, 3, 4

B. 3, 1, 2, 4

C. 3, 2, 1, 4

D. 1, 2, 4, 3

 Answer Option C

35. A point load applied at shear centre induces :

A. Zero shear force

B. Zero bending

C. Pure twisting

D. Pure bending

 Answer Option D

36. Cross sections of two beams A (600mm x 200mm) and B (800mm x 60mm) are shown in the given figure. Both the beams have the same material. By how many times is the beam A stronger than the beam B in resisting bending ?

A. 80

B. 60

C. 50

D. 25

 Answer Option D

37. Viewing watershed as a system, which one of the following assumptions is made in the unit graph theory ?

A. Non-linearity

B. Both linearity and time variance

C. Both time invariance and non-linearity

D. Both linearity and time invariance

 Answer Option D

38. Following statements certain to the position of Sun when it lies over the First Point of Aries :1. It's hour angle is zero. 2. It's right ascension is zero.3. It's declination is zero.Of these statements :

A. 1 and 3 are correct

B. 2 and 3 are correct

C. 1 and 2 are correct

D. 1, 2 and 3 are correct

 Answer Option A

39. The bearing capacity factors Nc, Nq and Nr are functions of:

A. width and depth of footing

B. density of soil

C. cohesion of soil

D. angle of internal friction of soil

 Answer Option D

40. Budgeting with Bar chart is a tool to find

A. total cost of project

B. total time along with cost of project

C. indirect cost of project

D. direct cost of project

 Answer Option B

41. The slenderness ratio of lacing bars should not exceed :

A. 100

B. 200

C. 145

D. 180

 Answer Option C

42. A three-hinged semicircular arch of radius R carries a uniformly distributed load W per unit run over the whole span. The horizontal thrust is

A. WR

B. WR/2

C. 4/3π WR

D.

 Answer Option B

43. The acceleration components of a fluid particle are denoted as1. local tangential acceleration.2. convective tangential acceleration.3. local normal acceleration.4. convective normal acceleration.In a curved nozzle fitted to the end of straight pipeline carrying water under variable head, the acceleration component that are present would include

A. 1 and 2

B. 3 and 4

C. 1, 2 and 4

D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

 Answer Option C

44. In the truss shown in the given figure, the forces in the members AB and BC will be respectively (plus denotes tension)

A. zero and zero

B. - W/cos 60° and + W tan 60°

C. - W/cos 60° and zero

D. zero and + W tan 60°

 Answer Option A

45. Consider the following statements :In the beam shown in the given figure, for all positions of load W (except x = 0)1. bending moment is maximum at B 2. bending moment is maximum under load 3. deflection is zero at A4. deflection is zero at B Of these statements :

A. 1 and 3 are correct

B. 2 and 4 are correct

C. 1 and 4 are correct

D. 1, 3 and 4 are correct

 Answer Option D

46. In a three-layered soil, water flows parallel to stratification. The thickness of the middle layer is twice that of top and bottom layer. The coefficient of permeability of middle layer (2K) is twice that of top and bottom layer (K). What is the average coefficient of permeability for this flow ?

A. K

B. 1.33 K

C. 1.5 K

D. 0.66 K

 Answer Option C

47. Which type of brick masonry bond is provided for heavy loads on masonry ?

A. English bond

B. Zigzang bond

C. Single Flemish bond

D. Double Flemish bond

 Answer Option A

48. In the set up shown in the above figure, assuming the specific weight of water as 10, 000 N/m3, the pressure difference between the points A and B will be

A. 10 N/m2

B. - 10 N/m2

C. 20 N/m2

D. -20 N/m2

 Answer Option B

49. The ratio of the "standard error of a single observation of unit weight" to the standard error of the arithmetic mean of 'n' observation all of unit weight, will be

A. (1/n)

B. n2

C. 3n

D. n

 Answer Option D

50. If the azimuths of the two tangents to a circular curve of radius 100 m are due north and due east, then the area bounded by the two tangents and the circular curve will be

A. 7857 sq. m

B. 5000 sq. m

C. 3143 sq. m

D. 2143 sq. m

 Answer Option D