Civil Engineering - UPSC Civil Service Exam Questions MCQs Part 7

1. Which one of the following statements is correct ? The function of an air vessel in a reciprocating pump is to obtain :

A.
reduction of suction head

B.
rise in delivery head

C.
continuous supply of water at uniform rate

D.
increase in supply of water

 Answer Option C

2. Dolphin is a type of which one of the following ?

A.
Pile foundation

B.
Isolated footing

C.
Raft foundation

D.
Caisson

 Answer Option A

3. A steel rod, 100 mm long is held between two rigid supports. It is heated by 20°C. If the coefficient of thermal expansion of the material of the rod is 15 x 10-6 /° C and modulus of elasticity is 200 x 103 MN/m2, what is the stress in the rod ?

A.
20 MN/m2

B.
40 MN/m2

C.
60 MN/m2

D.
80 MN/m2

 Answer Option C

4. Consider for following statements :In an under-reinforced concrete beam, 1. actual depth of neutral axis is less than the critical depth of neutral axis.2. concrete reaches ultimate stress prior to steel reaching the ultimate stress.3. moment of resistance is less than that of balanced sections.4. lever arm of resisting couple is less than that of balanced sections.Which of the statements given above are correct ?

A.
1 and 2

B.
1 and 3

C.
2, 3 and 4

D.
1 and 4

 Answer Option B

5. What is the appropriate field test to determine the in-situ undrained shear strength of a soft clay ?

A.
static cone penetration test

B.
standard penetration test

C.
Plate load test

D.
Vane shear test

 Answer Option D

6. A continuous beam ABC of two equal spans AB and BC carries a load P at Z, the centre of BC. Then the magnitude of collapse load P is equal to

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option C

7. What is the maximum number of passenger cars that can pass a given point on a lane or roadway during one hour under ideal roadway and traffic conditions, known as ?

A. Practical capacity

B. Possible capacity

C. Basic capacity

D. Road capacity

 Answer Option C

8. In PERT, the actual time duration along the critical path for the project completion time is probabilistic. It is usually presumed to follow which one of the following ?

A. Beta distribution

B. Poisson distribution

C. Normal distribution

D. Log-normal distribution.

 Answer Option A

9. Why are moorings provided ?

A. For anchoring of ships

B. For towing the ships to the sea

C. For repair of ships

D. For washing of ships and ship boards

 Answer Option A

10. Allowable disposable rate of application of sludge on land is determined by

A. carbon content of sludge

B. nitrogen content of sludge

C. phosphorus content of sludge

D. potassium content of sludge

 Answer Option B

11. Which of the following treatments reduce salinity of water1. Flash mixing and sedimentation2. Electrodialysis3. Reverse osmosis4. Freezing5. FiltrationSelect the correct answer using the codes given below:

A. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

B. 2, 3 and 4

C. 1, 3 and 5

D. 1, 2 and 4

 Answer Option B

12. Why is lime added to cement slurry for the topcoat of plastering ?

A. To improve the strength of plaster

B. To stiffen the plaster

C. To smoothen the plaster for ease of spread

D. To make the plaster non-shrinkable

 Answer Option A

13. A concentrated load W moves on the span of a three-hinged arch. The horizontal thrust at the supports is maximum when the load is at which one of the following ?

A. The springing

B. One-sixth of the span from one end

C. Quarter span

D. The crown

 Answer Option D

14. A 30 m steel tape was standardised at 20°C measurements of distances were taken as 15°C. If the coefficient of linear expansion of the material of the tape were 0.00, 00112 degree centigrade, then the error, due to temperature, per tape length would be

A. - 0.00, 00560 m

B. + 0.00, 00560 m

C. + 0.00, 16800 m

D. - 0.00, 16800 m

 Answer Option D

15. The slenderness ratio of a compression member in the context of Rankine's formula is defined as

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option B

16. Which one of the following is not related to theories of creep of rails ?

A. Wave theory

B. Percussion theory

C. Drag theory

D. Reversal theory

 Answer Option D

17. Preliminary project report for a road project must contain

A. the detailed estimated cost based on detailed design

B. the several alternatives of the project that have been considered

C. the soil survey, traffic survey, concept design and approximate cost

D. these contract documents for inviting tenders

 Answer Option C

18. The final deflection due to all loads including the effects of temperature, creep and shrinkage and measured from as-cast level of supports of floors, roofs and all other horizontal members should NOT exceed

A. span/350

B. span/300

C. span/250

D. span/200

 Answer Option C

19. Why are bricks soaked in water before using in brick masonry ?

A. For removing dust

B. For reducing air voids

C. For preventing depletion of moisture from mortar

D. For reducing efflorescence

 Answer Option C

20. A bed of sand consists of three horizontal layers of equal thickness. The value of Darcy's k for the upper and lower layers is 1 x 10-2 cm/sec and that for the middle layer is 1 x 10-1 cm/sec. The ratio of the permeability of the bed in the horizontal direction to that in the vertical direction is

A. 10.0 to 1

B. 2.8 to 1

C. 2.0 to 1

D. 1 to 10

 Answer Option B

21. Consider the following statements relating to hydraulic gradient line and energy gradient line1. In the case of a fluid flowing in a pipeline, hydraulic gradient line and energy gradient line may coincide.2. The line joining the points representing piezometric heads is known as hydraulic gradient line.3. In the case of ideal fluid, energy gradient line is always horizontal.4. Hydraulic gradient line has a downward slope in the case of flow through pipes.Of these statements :

A. 1, 2 and 3 are correct

B. 1, 3 and 4 are correct

C. 2, 3 and 4 are correct

D. 1, 2 and 4 are correct

 Answer Option C

22. An open cylindrical vessel with axis vertical and filled with a liquid is falling freely with an acceleration What will be the absolute pressure at the base of the vessel ?

A. Equal to liquid column

B. Below atmospheric pressure

C. Above atmosphere pressure

D. Equal to atmosphere pressure

 Answer Option A

23. Dechlorination of water is achieved by adding

A. sodium thiosulphate

B. sodium sulphate

C. sodium hexametaphosphate

D. sodium bisulphate

 Answer Option A

24. On which of the following is the working principle of concrete hammer for non-destructive test based ?

A. Rebound deflections

B. Radioactive waves

C. Ultrasonic pulse

D. Creep-recovery

 Answer Option A

25. Given for a soil sample :Degree of saturation = 90%Specific gravity of soil grains = 2.70Void ratio = 0.30The water content of the sample is

A. 10%

B. 13.5%

C. 22.5%

D. 35%

 Answer Option A

26. An equilateral triangular plate is immersed in water as shown in the above figure. The centre of pressure below the water surface is at a depth of

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option D

27. Consider the following factors :1. Air traffic control measures2. Aircraft traffic composition3. VFR/IFR operation4. Runway configurationWhich of these factors affect the capacity of a runway ?

A. 1, 2 and 3

B. 2 and 3

C. 1 and 4

D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

 Answer Option C

28. A city supply of 15000 cubic metres of water per day is treated with a chlorine dosage of 0.5 ppm. For this purpose, the requirement of 25% bleaching powder per day would be

A. 300 kg

B. 75 kg

C. 30 kg

D. 7.5 kg

 Answer Option C

29. The ratio between the stress produced in a bar by a sudden application of load (impact loading) as compared to the stress produced by the gradual application of same load is

A. 1.5

B. 2.0

C. 2.5

D. 3.0

 Answer Option B

30. The shear stress distribution over a rectangular cross-section of a beam follows

A. a straight line path

B. a circular path

C. a parabolic path

D. an elliptical path

 Answer Option C

31. Which among the following brings about the Hazardous Waste Management and Handling Rules in India?

A. Central Pollution Control Board

B. Ministry of Environment and Forests

C. Ministry of Urban Development

D. Ministry of Rural Development

 Answer Option B

32. Consider the following statements :A : Single scaffolding consists of a single framework of standards, ledgers and potlogs constructed parallel to the wall.R : Potlogs are placed at both ends on frames when it is difficult to provide holes in the wall. Of these statments :

A. both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A

B. both A and R are true but R is not a correct explanation of A

C. A is true but R is false

D. A is false but R is true

 Answer Option C

33. A beam of circular cross-section of diameter d is subjected to a direct compressive axial load and an eccentric compressive load with eccentricity 'e'. In order that the tensile stress induced is zero the limiting region of application of the load should be shaded concentric circle of diameter

A.

B.

C.

D.

 Answer Option B

34. The issue rate of an item stocked in stores is

A. Permanently fixed

B. fixed at the beginning of each year

C. a rate less than the market rate

D. the rate revised during the year when there is an appreciable variation in the rates of the items

 Answer Option A

35. For the truss shown in the figure, which one of the following members has zero force induced in it ?

A. BC

B. AD

C. DE

D. BD

 Answer Option A

36. A VOR radio transmitter which emits beam in a vertical plane and gives an indication to the pilot whether he is to the left or right of the correct alignment for approach to the runway is known as

A. Outer marker

B. Localiser antenna

C. Glide slope antenna

D. Marker beacon

 Answer Option D

37. Gantt charts indicate

A. comparison of actual progress with the scheduled progress

B. balance of work to be done

C. Progressive costs of project

D. inventory costs

 Answer Option A

38. A cantilever has rectangular cross-section and supports concentrated load at its free end initially. If depth and width of the beam sections are doubled, the deflection, at free end of the cantilever will reduce to what percentage of the initial deflection ?

A. 20%

B. 15.72%

C. 9.37%

D. 6.25%

 Answer Option C

39. The optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates of time for an activity are 4 days, 11 days and 12 days respectively. The expected completion time of this activity is

A. 8 days

B. 9 days

C. 10 days

D. 11 days

 Answer Option C

40. When a single point load W travels over a simply supported beam, what is shape of the graph for maximum positive or negative shear force ?

A. A triangle with maximum ordinate W at centre and zero at two simple supports

B. A triangle with maximum ordinate W at a support

C. A rectangle with ordinate W

D. A parabola with maximum ordinate W at centre of span and zero at supports

 Answer Option A

41. A beam of uniform strength refers which one of the following ?

A. A beam in which extreme fibre stresses are same at all cross-sections along the length of the beam.

B. A beam in which the moment of inertia about the axis of bending is constant at all cross-sections of the beam.

C. A beam in which the distribution of bending stress across the depth of cross-section is uniform of all cross-sections of the beam.

D. A beam in which the bending stress is uniform at the maximum bending moment cross-section.

 Answer Option A

42. A sample of ground water at a pH of 7.0 contains 122 mg/l of bicarbonates. What is the alkalinity of this water (in terms of CaC0 ) ?

A. 120 mg/1

B. 60 mg/1

C. 100 mg/1

D. 200 mg/l

 Answer Option C

43. The effective depth of a singly reinforced rectangular beam is 30 cm. The section is over-rein-forced and the neutral axis is 12 cm below the top. If the maximum stress attained by concrete is 50 kg/cm2 and the modular ratio is 18, then the stress developed in steel would be

A. 1800 kg/cm2

B. 1600 kg/cm2

C. 1350 kg/cm2

D. 1300 kg/cm2

 Answer Option D

44. Soil at a site consists of two layers. The top layer has permeability k units and bottom layer has permeability 5k units. If the thickness of both the layers is equal, then what is the average permeability in the vertical direction ?

A. 3k units

B. (5/3)k units

C. (6/5)k units

D. (5/6)k units

 Answer Option B

45. A part of the Newmark's influence chart with four concentric circles is shown in the above figure. If the hatched areas 1 and 2 are loaded separately with the same intensity of loading, then the intensity of pressure yielded

A. By 1 will be more than that yielded by 2

B. By 2 w ill be more than that yielded by 1

C. By 1 and 2 will be equal

D. at the centre will be in inverse proportion to the radii of the two, circles

 Answer Option C

46. The loss of prestress due to shrinkage of concrete is the product of

A. modular ratio and percentage of steel

B. modulus of elasticity of concrete and shrinkage of concrete

C. modulus of elasticity of steel and shrinkage of concrete

D. modular ratio and modulus of elasticity of steel

 Answer Option C

47. Which one of the following pressure units represents the LEAST pressure ?

A. Millibar

B. mm of mercury

C. N/mm2

D. kgf/cm2

 Answer Option A

48. A cantilever is loaded as shown in the given figure. The bending moment along the length is

A. uniform

B. uniformly varying

C. zero

D. concentrated at the free end

 Answer Option A

49. Consider the following statements in regard to aerobic and anaerobic treatment processes :1. Biomass production in the aerobic treatment process is more as compared to the anaerobic treatment process.2. Start-up period is more in the aerobic treatment process as compared to the anaerobic treatment process.3. Energy consumption and production is more in the aerobic treatment process as compared to the anaerobic treatment process.Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

A. 1 and 2

B. 2 and 3

C. only 2

D. only 1

 Answer Option D

50. Earth pressure and resultant possibilities of wall movement are shown in the given diagram. The point marked 'x' in the diagram denotes

A. earth pressure.at rest

B. active earth pressure

C. arching active pressure

D. passive earth pressure

 Answer Option D