Civil Engineering - UPSC Civil Service Exam Questions MCQs Part 3

1. What is the type of soil structure having arrangement of soil particles with a 'face to face' or parallel orientation generally recognized as

A.
Honeycomb structure

B.
Single-grained structure

C.
Flocculent structure

D.
Dispersed structure

 Answer Option D

2. In the case of a three-pinned parabolic arch carrying a uniformly distributed load on the entire span, then bending moment will be

A.
equal to that of a simply supported beam loaded in the same manner

B.
maximum at quarter span

C.
zero only at the centre

D.
zero throughout the span

 Answer Option D

3. To make certain that the backfill material is more pervious than the soil to be drained, the relationship used in

A.
(D15)Filter ≤ 5 (D85)Protected soil

B.
(D15)Filter ≥ 5 (D85)Protected soil

C.
(D15)Filter ≥ 5 (D15)Protected soil

D.
(D15)Filter ≤ 5 (D15)Protected soil

 Answer Option D

4. A perfect plane frame having n number of members and j number of joints should satisfy the relation

A.
n < (2j - 3)

B.
n = (2j - 3)

C.
n > (2j - 3)

D.
n = (3 - 2j)

 Answer Option B

5. Which of the following determination are NOT necessary for raw water from a lake for use as source of supply of water for boiler-feed ?1. Turbidity2. Bacterial count3. Iron4. Hardness.Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

A.
1, 2 and 3

B.
1, 2 and 4

C.
1, 3 and 4

D.
2, 3 and 4

 Answer Option A

6. A beam of square section of side 'a' is plane in the following way :Case I: with two sides horizontalCase II: with a diagonal horizontalThe ratio of the section modulus of Case I that of Case II is

A. 2

B. 2

C.

D.

 Answer Option B

7. Consider the following statements :1. Tests on cement paste to determine initial and final setting times are done at normal consistency condition.2. Low heat cement has a high percentage to tricalcium aluminate.3. High early strength portland cement contains a larger percentage of tricalcium silicate and a lower percentage of dicalcium silicate.Which of these statements are correct ?

A. 1 and 2

B. 1 and 3

C. 2 and 3

D. 1, 2 and 3

 Answer Option B

8. What is the vertical deflection of joint C of the frame shown in figure ?

A. PL/AE

B. 2PL/AE

C. PL/2AE

D. 3PL/AE

 Answer Option B

9. Which of the following pairs is not correctly matched ?

A. B.O.D. - Strength of sewage

B. Methane - Product of anerobic decomposition

C. C.O.D. - Biodegradability ofwaste-water

D. Nitrate - Methemoglobinemia

 Answer Option A

10. In consolidation testing, curve fitting method is used to determine

A. compression index

B. swelling index

C. coefficient of consolidation

D. time factor

 Answer Option C

11. Consider the following types of soil tests :1. California bearing ratio2. Consolidation3. Unconfined compressionThe soil tests required to be done in the case of undisturbed samples include

A. 1, 2 and 3

B. 1 and 2

C. 1 and 3

D. 2 and 3

 Answer Option C

12. A cantilever beam AB, fixed at A and carrying a load W at the free end B, is found to deflect by δ at the mid-point of AB. The deflection of B due to a load W/2 at the mid-point will be

A. 2δ

B. δ

C. δ/2

D. δ/4

 Answer Option D

13. A plan of an area drawn with the original scale of 1 cm = 10 m, has shrunk such that a line, originally 15 cm long on the plan, measures now 14.5 cm. The shrunk scale is given by 1 cm equal to

A. 0.97 m

B. 9.70 m

C. 10.34 m

D. 10.97 m

 Answer Option C

14. In a tree, the cambium layer is situated between :

A. the outer bark and inner bark

B. the inner bark and sap wood

C. the sap wood and heart wood

D. the pith and heart wood

 Answer Option B

15. Two closed thin vessels, one cylindrical and the other spherical with equal internal diameter and wall thickness are subjected to equal internal fluid.pressure. The ratio of hope stresses in the cylindrical to that of spherical vessels is

A. 4.0

B. 2.0

C. 1.0

D. 0.5

 Answer Option B

16. Total elongation of a prismatic bar of length L, weight W, cross-sectional area A and modulus of elasticity E, under its own weight, while hanging vertically, is

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option C

17. For a partially saturated soil, Δu the increase in pore water pressure, when no drainage is permitted, is expressed as (where A and B are Skempton's pore pressure parameters and Δσ1 and Δσ3 are major and minor principal stress increments)

A. Δu = B[Δσ3 + A(Δσ1 - Δσ3)]

B. Δu = A[Δσ3 + B(Δσ1 - Δσ3)]

C. Δu = Δσ3 + A(Δσ1 - Δσ3)]

D. Δu = Δσ3 + B(Δσ1 - Δσ3)]

 Answer Option A

18. The shear force diagram for a simple supported beam of span 'l' is given in the figure. The maximum bending moment is

A.

B.

C. Wl1

D. W(l - 2l1)

 Answer Option C

19. A compound bar consisting of material A and B is tightly secured at the ends. The coefficients of thermal expansion of A is more than that of B. When the temperature is increased the stresses induced will be

A. tensile in both the materials

B. tensile in material A and compressive in material B

C. compressive in material A and tensile in material B

D. compressive in both the materials

 Answer Option C

20. Couple M is applied at C on a simply supported beam AB. What is the maximum shear force for the beam ?

A. Zero

B. M

C. 2 M/3

D. M/3

 Answer Option D

21. At a certain point in a structural member, there are perpendicular stresses 80 N/mm2 and 20 N/mm2, both tensile. What is the equivalent stress in simple tension, according to the maximum principal strain theory ? (Poisson's ratio = 0.25)

A. zero

B. 20 N/mm2

C. 60 N/mm2

D. 75 N/mm2

 Answer Option D

22. Duration along the critical path defines which of the following ?1. Shortest duration needed2. Shortest duration permissible3. Longest duration needed4. Longest duration permissibleSelect the correct answer using the code given below :

A. 1 and 2 only

B. 1 and 4 only

C. 2 and 3 only

D. 3 and 4 only

 Answer Option B

23. A cantilever of constant depth carries a uniformly distributed load on the whole span. To make the maximum stress at all sections the same, the breadth of the section at a distance x from the free end should be proportional to

A. x

B. x

C. x2

D. x3

 Answer Option C

24. Consider the following parameters related to a rotary intersection :1. Width of the weaving section.2. Length of the weaving section.3. Proportion of weaving traffic.4. Weaving angle.5. Width of the carriageway at entry.Capacity is generally expressed in terms of

A. 1, 2, 3 and 4

B. 1, 2, 3 and 5

C. 1, 2 and 3

D. 4 and 5

 Answer Option D

25. Consider the following statements :I. The intersection of the first and last ray in funicular diagram is on the line of action of the resultant.II. Intersection of first and last ray in polar diagram gives the magnitude of the resultant. Of these statements :

A. both I and II are true

B. I is false but II is true

C. I is true but II is false

D. both I and II are false

 Answer Option C

26. What is value of stress at the base CC for the bar shown in the given figure ?

A. 16.67 N / mm2

B. 13.33 N / mm2

C. 26.67 N / mm2

D. 30 N / mm2

 Answer Option D

27. The frame shown in the given figure has

A. one unknown reaction component

B. two unknown reaction components

C. three unknown reaction components

D. six unknown reaction components

 Answer Option D

28. Following data are given for two soil samples A and B : Sample A : Void ratio = 1, total volume = 1 m3 Sample B : Void ratio = 2, total volume = 1 m3.The two samples are mixed and compacted in a mould to a volume of 1 m3. Which one of the following figures correctly indicates the porosity of the compacted soil ?

A. 17%

B. 54%

C. 60%

D. 83%

 Answer Option A

29. The laboratory tests on a sample yielded the following results :Plasticity index : 32 %Liquidity index : - 0.15, Activity number: 1.58.Which of the following inferences can be drawn ?1. The soil is very stiff.2. The soil is medium soft.3. The soil is highly plastic.4. The soil is medium plastic.5. The soil is active.Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

A. 1, 3 ana 5

B. 1, 3 and 4

C. 2, 3 and 5

D. 1, 2 and 4

 Answer Option A

30. The compacting factor test of cement concrete determines its

A. strength

B. porosity

C. degree of compaction under loads

D. workability

 Answer Option D

31. The depreciation charges for a machine are thirty paise per working hour. The machine has a scrap value of Rs 2, 000 and a working hour average life of 24000 hours. What is the purchase price of the machine ?

A. Rs. 1, 800

B. Rs. 7, 200

C. Rs. 9, 200

D. Rs. 14, 275

 Answer Option C

32. Denehy's groyne is a special type of groyne which is :

A. Pointing upstream

B. Pointing downstream

C. Hockey type

D. T - headed

 Answer Option D

33. As a natural material, timber is which one of the following ?

A. Isotropic

B. Anisotropic

C. Homogeneous

D. Heterogeneous

 Answer Option B

34. Consider the implicit details between, before and after successive steps in/within the order while doing time computations on a CPM network. (FP => Forward Pass; BP => Backward Pass; LET => Late Event Time; EET => Early Event Time; TF => Total Float; PD => Project Duration; AD => Activity Duration)The correct sequence of computation would be

A. EET, PD, LET, TF

B. EET, PD, LET, AD

C. AD, EET, BP, PD

D. FP, EET, TF, PD

 Answer Option C

35. A retaining wall 8 m high with a smooth vertical back retains a clay back fill with C' = 15 kN/m2, φ = 15° and γ = 18 kN/ m3. (Given sin 15° ≅ 0.25). The pressure at the top will, nearly, be equal to

A. 35.2 kN/m2

B. 23.0 kN/m2

C. 27.6 kN/m2

D. 11.5 kN/m2

 Answer Option D

36. In a compression member, plate element may buckle locally before the entire member fails. To avoid this, which of the following recommendations are made ?1. Thickness of members is taken in terms of lengths of compression members2. Length of element is increased3. Length of member is increased4. Outstand is decreasedSelect the correct answer using the codes given below:

A. 1, 2 and 3

B. 1, 3 and 4

C. 2 and 3

D. 1 and 4

 Answer Option D

37. The deflection at the free end of a cantilever of rectangular cross-section due to certain loading of 0.8 cm. If the depth of the section is doubled keeping the width the same, then the deflection at the free end due to the same loading will be

A. 0.1 cm

B. 0.4 cm

C. 0.8 cm

D. 1.6 cm

 Answer Option A

38. Self-purification of running streams may be due to

A. sedimentation, oxidation land coagulation

B. dilution, sedimentation and oxidation

C. dilution, sedimentation and coagulation

D. dilution, oxidation and coagulation

 Answer Option B

39. At a point in a strained material, if two mutually perpendicular tensile stresses of 2000 kg/cm2 and 1000 kg/cm2 are acting, then the intensity of tangential stress on a plane inclined at 15° to the axis of the minor stress will be :

A. 125 kg/cm2

B. 250 kg/cm2

C. 500 kg/cm2

D. 1000 kg/cm2

 Answer Option B

40. A particle is moving on a plane curve with velocity v. 's' is the arc length of the particle from a fixed point on the curve and (r, θ) its position coordinates at time 't'. The transverse component of the acceleration of the particle is given by

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option B

41. A propped cantilever is acted upon by a moment M0 at the propped end, what is the prop reaction ?

A. 0.5 M0

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option B

42. How are concrete mixers specified ?

A. By the number of cement bags used in a batch

B. By the nominal volume of concrete that can be mixed in a batch

C. By the volume of water used

D. By the volume of aggregate used

 Answer Option B

43. In photogrammetric surveying, the image of the top of the hill is 90 mm, from the principal point of the photograph. If the elevation of the top of the hill is 500 m and the flying height is 5000 m above datum, then the relief displacement is

A. 0.9 mm

B. 9 mm

C. 90 mm

D. 900 mm

 Answer Option B

44. The phenomenon of decreased resistance of a material due to reversal of stress is called

A. resilience

B. elasticity

C. creep

D. fatigue

 Answer Option D

45. A mild steel bar is in three parts, each 20 cm long. The diameters of parts AB, BC and CD are 2 cm, 1 cm and 3 cm respectively. The bar is subjected to an axial pull of 4t as shown in the given figure. If E = 2 x 106 kg/cm2 and the elongations in the three parts of the bar are Δ1, Δ2 and Δ3 respectively, then the ratio of the greatest to the least of these elongations will be

A. 9

B. 4

C. 3

D. 2

 Answer Option C

46. At the same mean velocity, what is the ratio of head loss per unit length for a sewer pipe flowing full to that for the same pipe flowing half full ?

A. 2.0

B. 1.7

C. 1.0

D. 0.6

 Answer Option A

47. A heavy elastic ball drops from the ceiling of a room, and after rebounding once from the floor, reaches a height equal to three-fourth of that of the ceiling. The coefficient of restitution will be

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option B

48. A beam of rectangular section having simply supported span L, is subject to a concentrated load at its mid-span. What is the length of elasto-plastic zone of the plastic hinge ?

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option A

49. Consider the following statement: High early strength of cement is obtained as a result of 1. fine grinding. 2. decreasing the lime content 3. burning at higher temperatures 4. increasing the quantity of gypsum. Of these statements :

A. 1 and 2 are correct

B. 1 and 3 are correct

C. 2, 3 and 4 are correct

D. 1, 3 and 4 are correct

 Answer Option B

50. A prismatic beam is shown in the figure. Consider the following statements :1. The structure is unstable. 2. The bending moment is zero at supports and internal hinge.3. It is mechanism.4. It is statically indeterminate.Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

A. 1, 2, 3 and 4

B. 1, 2 and 3

C. 1 and 2

D. 3 and 4

 Answer Option B