Civil Engineering - UPSC Civil Service Exam Questions MCQs Part 8

1. Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched ?

A.
Sandstone....Igneous rock

B.
Limestone....Sedimentary rock

C.
Basalt....Metamorphic rock

D.
Granite....Argiliaceous rock

 Answer Option B

2. A line of true length 500 m when measured by a 20 m tape is reported to be 502 m long. The correct length of the tape is

A.
19.92 m

B.
20.08 m

C.
20.80 m

D.
21 m

 Answer Option B

3. Where should splices in the columns be provided ?

A.
At the floor levels

B.
At the mid height of columns

C.
At the beam-column joints

D.
At one-fourth height of columns

 Answer Option D

4. In a rectangular channel, the depths of flow before and after the hydraulic jump are respectively 0.2 m and 1.2 m. What is the energy loss in the jump ?

A.
1.042 m

B.
2.084 m

C.
3.126 m

D.
4.168 m

 Answer Option A

5. A three-hinged circular arch ACB is formed by two quadrants of circles AC and BC of radii 2R and R respectively with C as crown, as shown in the figure at side. Consider the following in respect of the reactive forces developed at support A and B due to concentrated load W at the Crown. 1. Line of action RA at A is inclined as 45° to the horizontal. 2. VA = VB = W/2 3. HB = 2 HA 4. HA = HB = W/2 Which of the above is/are correct ?

A.
1 and 3

B.
2 and 3

C.
1, 2 and 4

D.
4 only

 Answer Option A

6. When two moving bodies collide with each other, their velocity of separation bears a constant ratio to their velocity of approach. This ratio is termed as coefficient of

A. collidity

B. friction

C. restitution

D. permeability

 Answer Option C

7. A thin cylindrical shell of internal diameter 'D' and thickness 't' is subjected to internal pressure 'p'. The change in diameter is given by :

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option B

8. Consider the following statements in the context of aeolian soils :1. The soil has low density and low compressibility2. The soil is deposited by wind3. The soil has large permeability.Of these statements :

A. 1, 2 and 3 are correct

B. 2 and 3 are correct

C. 1 and 3 are correct

D. 1 and 2 are correct

 Answer Option B

9. Which of the following pairs are correctly matched ?1. Standard penetration test....Relative density2. Vane shear....Cohesion3. Consolidation test....Bearing capacitySelect the correct answer using the codes given below :

A. 1, 2 and 3

B. 1 alone

C. 1 and 2

D. 2 and 3

 Answer Option C

10. Neglecting self weight, which of the following beams will have points of contraflexure ?

A. A simply supported beam with uniformly distributed load over part of the structure

B. An overhanging beam with loading only over supported span and not on overhangs

C. Fixed beam subjected to concentrated load

D. Cantilever beam subjected to uniformly varying load with zero load at free end

 Answer Option C

11. Which one of the following is not essential to derive the formula used in constructing a synthetic unit hydrograph ?

A. Time to peak

B. peakflow

C. Inter flow

D. Time lease

 Answer Option C

12. In an aerial puhotogrammetric survey, if the exposure interval is 20 seconds to cover ground distance of 1000 m between exposures, what would be the ground speed of the aircraft ?

A. 90 km/hour

B. 120 km/hour

C. 150 km/hour

D. 180 km/hour

 Answer Option D

13. The head over a 90° V-notch weir increases from 0.15 m to 0.3 m. The ratio of new discharge to the original discharge is, nearly equal to

A. 5.65

B. 1.42

C. 4.0

D. 2.62

 Answer Option A

14. Consider the following statements with ragard to crack formation and its control:1. The surface width of the crack should not, in general, exceed 0.30 mm for structures not subjected to aggressive environment.2. When depth of web in a beam exceeds 750 mm, side face reinforcement @ 0.1 percent of web area should be provided on each face.3. The nominal spacing of main bars in a slab should not exceed three times the effective depth of a solid slab or 300 mm, whichever is smaller.Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

A. 1 only

B. 1 and 2

C. 1 and 3

D. 2 and 3

 Answer Option C

15. A rigid bar is supported by a spring as shown in the given figure.The deflection of the point B will be

A. 10 mm upward

B. 20 mm downward

C. 5 mm upward

D. 40 mm downward.

 Answer Option D

16. Undrained strength of a clay soil can be obtained by conducting which of the following tests ?1. UC test2. Vane sheer test3. Cyclic triaxial test4. Slow direct sheer testSelect the correct answer using the code given below :

A. 1 and 2 only

B. 2 only

C. 1 and 4

D. 1, 2 and 3

 Answer Option D

17. Which one of the following is the nominal size of standard modular brick ?

A. 25cm x 13cm x 8cm

B. 25cm x 10cm x 8cm

C. 20cm x 10cm x 10cm

D. 20cm x 15cm x 10cm

 Answer Option D

18. What is the ratio of rate of back-washing to that of filtration in a typical rapid sand filter ?

A. 2

B. 4

C. 6

D. 10

 Answer Option C

19. A point in an element is stressed as shown in the given figure. What is the value of normal stress on the oblique plane BE ?

A. 200 N / mm2

B. 175 N / mm2

C. 150 N / mm2

D. 100 N / mm2

 Answer Option A

20. What is the maximum bending moment at mid-span of the beam given below ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option C

21. A circular sewer of diameter 1 m carries storm water to a depth of 0.75 m. The hydraulic radius is approximately

A. 0.3 m

B. 0.4 m

C. 0.5 m

D. 0.6 m

 Answer Option A

22. If the staff intercept on a staff located at 100 m from the level for five division deviation of the bubble is 0.050 m and if the length of one division of the bubble is 2 mm, then the radius of curvature of the bubble is 0.050 m and if the length of one division of the bubble is 2 mm, then the radius of curvature of the bubble tube is

A. 2.02 m

B. 2.20 m

C. 20.00 m

D. 20.20 m

 Answer Option C

23. If the magnitude of the resultant of two forces F and 2F acting at a point O is 50 N, and the included angle between F and 2F is 90°, then what is the magnitude of F ?

A. F = 10 N

B. F = 502 N

C. F = 252 N

D. F = 105 N

 Answer Option D

24. Consider the following assumptions in the analysis of a plane truss 1. The individual members are straight.2. The individual members are connected by frictionless hinges.3. The loads and reactions act only at the joints.Of these assumptions :

A. 1 and 2 are valid

B. 1 and 3 are valid

C. 2 and 3 are valid

D. 1, 2 and 3 are valid

 Answer Option B

25. In a shear test on cohesionless soils, if the initial void ratio is less than the critical void ratio, the sample will :

A. increase in volume

B. initially increase in volume and then remain constant

C. decrease in volume

D. initially decrease and then increase in volume

 Answer Option B

26. Active earth pressure per metre length on the retaining wall with a smooth vertical back as shown in the given figure will be

A. 81 t

B. 27 t

C. 2 t

D. 1 t

 Answer Option B

27. Which of the following rules are used in choosing the repeating variables in dimensional analysis :1. Repeating variables should include the dependent variables2. Repeating variables should contain all primary units used in describing the variables in the problem3. Repeating variables should combine among themselves.4. Repeating variables should not contain the dependent variables.Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

A. 1 and 2

B. 2 and 3

C. 2 and 4

D. 3 and 4

 Answer Option C

28. The proportion of second moment of area about the centroidal axis to second moment of area about the base of a rectangle will be

A. 1/4

B. 1/2

C. 2

D. 3

 Answer Option A

29. Mean precipitation over an area is best obtained from gauged amounts by

A. arithmetic mean method

B. Thiessen method

C. linearly interpolated isohyetal method

D. orographically weighted isohyetal method

 Answer Option C

30. Loses deposits are formed by

A. physical disintegration of rock

B. constant blowing of wind from the same direction

C. vertical deposition of glacial till

D. chemical weathering of residual deposits.

 Answer Option B

31. If the time required for 60% consolidation of a remoulded soil sample of clay with single drainage is t, then what is the time required to consolidate the same sample of clay with the same degree of consolidation but with double drainage ?

A. 4 t

B. 2 t

C. t/2

D. t/4

 Answer Option D

32. Which one of the following is the correct expression for the versine (h) of a curve ?(Where l = length of rail on the curve portion and r = radius of curvature)

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option C

33. The principle of virtual work states that the virtual work is zero for

A. a body moving with constant linear velocity

B. a body rotating with constant angular velocity

C. a body in equilibrium

D. a body moving with constant linear acceleration

 Answer Option C

34. A uniform beam of span l carries a uniformly distributed load W per unit length as shown in the figure. The supports are at a distance of x from either end. What is the condition for the maximum bending moment in the beam to be as small as possible?

A. x = 0.107 l

B. x = 0.207 l

C. x = 0.237 l

D. x = 0.25 l

 Answer Option B

35. The distance of the centroid of a semi-circle of radius r from its base is

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option C

36. A steel frame is shown in the given figure.If joint O of the frame is rigid, the rotational stiffness of the frame at point O is given by

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option A

37. A circle of radius 7 m has a standard error of 0.02 m on the radius. The standard error of its area is

A. 0.04 m2

B. 0.14 m2

C. 0.28 m2

D. 0.88 m2

 Answer Option C

38. A circular shaft is subjected to a twisting moment T and bending moment M. The ratio of maximum bending stress to maximum shear stress is given by

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option A

39. By using sieve analysis, the particle size distribution curve has been plotted for a particular soil. The coefficient of curvature Cc is given by

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option D

40. Consider the following properties :1. The sum of the three sides is always greater than the circumference of the great circle.2. The sum of the three angles is less than six right angles and greater than two right angles.3. The sum of the sides is greawter than the third side.4. The smaller angle is opposite the smaller side and vice versa.The propoerties of spherical triangles would include

A. 1, 2 and 3

B. 2, 3 and 4

C. 1, 2 and 4

D. 1, 3 and 4

 Answer Option B

41. On which one of the following factors, does strength of concrete depend primarily ?

A. Quality of coarse aggregate

B. Quality of fine aggregate

C. Fineness of cement

D. Water-cement ratio

 Answer Option D

42. When a load crosses a through type Pratt truss in the direction left to right, the nature of force in any diagonal member in the left half of the span would :

A. change from compression to tension

B. change from tension to compression

C. always be compression

D. always be tension

 Answer Option A

43. The double-line field book is most commonly used for recording

A. precise work

B. ordinary chain survey work

C. large-scale plotting work

D. small-scale plotting work

 Answer Option B

44. The wood preservative "Creosote" is derived from

A. wood or coal

B. acidic cupric chromate

C. chromated zinc chloride

D. pentachlorophenol

 Answer Option A

45. To determine the length of a bridge proposed to be built across a wide river, the surveying method of choice would be

A. tacheometry

B. chain surveying

C. hydrographic surveying

D. triangulation

 Answer Option D

46. Which one of the following statements is correct ?Maximum service volume of a road is defined as the total number of vehicles that

A. can pass a given point in a specified period of time

B. can be accomodated on a unit length of road

C. can pass a given point in unit time

D. None of the above three

 Answer Option C

47. The pressure gradient in the direction of flow is equal to the :

A. Shear gradient parallel to the direction of flow

B. Shear gradient normal to the direction of flow

C. Velocity gradient parallel to the direction of flow

D. Velocity gradient normal to the direction of flow

 Answer Option B

48. When the strain in a material increases with time under sustained constant stress, the phenomenon is known as

A. Strain hardening

B. Hysteresis

C. Creep

D. Visco-elastici

 Answer Option C

49. An upward hydraulic gradient i of a certain magnitude will initiate the phenomenon of boiling in granular soils. The magnitude of this gradient is

A. 0 ≤ i ≤ 0.5

B. 0.5 < t < 1.0

C. i ≅ 1.0

D. l < i ≤ 2

 Answer Option C

50. Well-graded dense saturated sands have high shear strength because :

A. Such sands have a better grade (superior type) of sand grains resulting in higher strength

B. Such sands have lower water content, which increases shear strength

C. Such sands have better interlocking of grains, higher inter-particle contacts and higher inter-particle frictional resistance resulting in higher strength.

D. Presence of water in such sands induces capillary pressure generating higher inter-granular stresses, which generate apparent cohesion and hence higher shear strength.

 Answer Option C