CE 534 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2026
How is pavement layered? - Answers surface, base, subbase, and subgrade
What is the swell test? - Answers Soil + Water + time and monitor expansion
Plastic Clay means - Answers very high water suction
Soil Density is f(... - Answers particle arrangement : packing
Sensitivity can cause.... - Answers strength to change 2 to 64 times
Why start compaction at 1-3% above the optimum moisture? - Answers It allows the soil to start
drying before compaction which means you can get closer to the optimum moisture
Road Mix Process for Cement - Answers -place cement with spreader
-mix with single or multi pass mixers
Central Plant Process for Cement - Answers -blend granular material, water and cement uniformly at
the plant or offsite
-spread to proper depth and width
What is the last step for cement? - Answers grade, compact, and cure
Where is lime stabilization commonly used? - Answers Over dirt at a job site to prevent dust and mud
What should the PH be for a PH lime stabilization test? - Answers PH>12.4
ESAL is - Answers designed based on relative damage "Equivalent Single Axle Load"
If the air voids are too high... - Answers excessive damage due to exporsue to the environment
If the air voids are too low... - Answers not enough room for asphalt binder to expand during hot
summer days
Types of Portland Cement - Answers 1. Normal
2. Moderate Sulfate Resistance
3. High Early Strength
4. Low Heat of Hydration
5. High Sulfate Resistance
How fast is a concrete production plant and how much can it do in a day? - Answers 10 times faster
than a dry batch method
It can pave almost 1 mile in a day
Types of Concrete Forms - Answers -Heavy Duty Steel
-Light Duty Steel
-Wood
-Adjacent Concrete Slab
If there is more confinement there is... - Answers more strength and stiffness
Temperature and moisture affect - Answers Temperature affects modulus of HMA
Moisture affects moduli of base, subbase, and subgrade
Heat transfer model - Answers developed for evaluating frost action and temperature profile
Moisture Equilibrium Model - Answers can determinde moisture content in soil by determining its
suction
damage ratio - Answers ratio between predicted and allowable number of load repetitions
During curling stress what happens in the day vs the night - Answers day curls down and expands on
top
nights curls up and shrinks on top
In pavement engineering terminology, the term "course" means:
direction
Layer
all of the above - Answers b.) Layer
Identify key soil properties that may be included in various soil classification systems.
Particle size
Water affinity
Expansion and shrinkage
All of the above - Answers All of the above
How does the permeability of a gap-graded soil compares to that of a dense-graded one?
Gap-graded soil is more permeable than the dense-graded
,Gap-graded soil is less permeable than the dense-graded.
Gap-graded soil has the same permeability as the dense-graded - Answers Gap-graded soil is more
permeable than the dense-graded
Identify typical soil strength tests that are commonly used in civil engineering and pavement
engineering.
California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
Unconfined/Confined Compressive Strength
Shear Test (Direct and Triaxial)
All of the above - Answers All of the above
Soil may be viewed as a composite material. That is, soil is a mix of solids, water, and air.
True
False - Answers True
Some clay soils can hold a large amount of water
True
False - Answers True
The process of absorbing and losing lots of water in high plasticity clays would cause the following
Expansion
Shrinkage
All of the above
None of the above - Answers All of the above
Clay particles are
Spherical
Granular
sheet-like/plate-like - Answers sheet-like/plate-like
Montmorillonite clay (aka: Smectite) is highly expansive because of
very fine particle size (high surface area) to attract lots of water
charge imbalance to attract water
All of the above
None of the above - Answers All of the above
What is another name for mechanical soil stabilization?
Excavation
Compaction
Resurfacing
All of the above - Answers Compaction
Soil density has a direct relationship with
a- Strength
b- Stability
c- All of the above
d- None of the above - Answers c-All of the above
Water is added to the soil during the compaction primarily for
a- Filling the voids
b- Serving as in internal lubricant
c-All of the above
d- None of the above - Answers b- Serving as in internal lubricant
For soil compaction, optimum moisture content is determined from a graph with the following
characteristics:
a- X= moisture content, Y= wet density
, b- X= moisture content, Y= dry density
c-Y= moisture content, X= wet density
d- Y= moisture content, X= dry density - Answers b- X= moisture content, Y= dry density
Different types of soils would exhibit different moisture-density relationships.
True
False - Answers True
Select the type of compaction method with the highest compactive effort.
a- Proctor
b- Modified Proctor - Answers b- Modified Proctor
Select all of the "kneading" compactors shown below:
a- Sheep foot
b- Pad foot
c-Rubber tire
d- All of the above
e- None of the above - Answers d- All of the above
Lab compaction is different from field compaction; however, it is used as a good approximation of
filed.
True
False - Answers True
Whether the client uses "methods specifications" or "end-result specifications", the amount of
lab/field testing would be the same.
True
False - Answers False
"End-result" or "performance-based" specifications are becoming more popular because these
specifications focus on the finished product.
True
False - Answers True
The engineering properties of soils are independent of their disturbed/undisturbed states.
True
False - Answers False
Select the main function(s) of the base/subbase in pavements.
a- to protect the subgrade
b- to retard upward migration of fines
c-to distribute/dissipate stress
d- all of the above - Answers d- all of the above
2. A pavement designer may select a variety of base/subbase options and combinations.
True
False - Answers True
Identify the main purpose(s) of the "filter design" in pavements?
a- To provide an opportunity for drainage
b- To stop the migration of fines
c- All of the above - Answers c- All of the above
Geotextiles in base/subbase construction should allow water flow through it.
True
False - Answers True
List the main condition(s) that must be present for frost-heave to happen:
How is pavement layered? - Answers surface, base, subbase, and subgrade
What is the swell test? - Answers Soil + Water + time and monitor expansion
Plastic Clay means - Answers very high water suction
Soil Density is f(... - Answers particle arrangement : packing
Sensitivity can cause.... - Answers strength to change 2 to 64 times
Why start compaction at 1-3% above the optimum moisture? - Answers It allows the soil to start
drying before compaction which means you can get closer to the optimum moisture
Road Mix Process for Cement - Answers -place cement with spreader
-mix with single or multi pass mixers
Central Plant Process for Cement - Answers -blend granular material, water and cement uniformly at
the plant or offsite
-spread to proper depth and width
What is the last step for cement? - Answers grade, compact, and cure
Where is lime stabilization commonly used? - Answers Over dirt at a job site to prevent dust and mud
What should the PH be for a PH lime stabilization test? - Answers PH>12.4
ESAL is - Answers designed based on relative damage "Equivalent Single Axle Load"
If the air voids are too high... - Answers excessive damage due to exporsue to the environment
If the air voids are too low... - Answers not enough room for asphalt binder to expand during hot
summer days
Types of Portland Cement - Answers 1. Normal
2. Moderate Sulfate Resistance
3. High Early Strength
4. Low Heat of Hydration
5. High Sulfate Resistance
How fast is a concrete production plant and how much can it do in a day? - Answers 10 times faster
than a dry batch method
It can pave almost 1 mile in a day
Types of Concrete Forms - Answers -Heavy Duty Steel
-Light Duty Steel
-Wood
-Adjacent Concrete Slab
If there is more confinement there is... - Answers more strength and stiffness
Temperature and moisture affect - Answers Temperature affects modulus of HMA
Moisture affects moduli of base, subbase, and subgrade
Heat transfer model - Answers developed for evaluating frost action and temperature profile
Moisture Equilibrium Model - Answers can determinde moisture content in soil by determining its
suction
damage ratio - Answers ratio between predicted and allowable number of load repetitions
During curling stress what happens in the day vs the night - Answers day curls down and expands on
top
nights curls up and shrinks on top
In pavement engineering terminology, the term "course" means:
direction
Layer
all of the above - Answers b.) Layer
Identify key soil properties that may be included in various soil classification systems.
Particle size
Water affinity
Expansion and shrinkage
All of the above - Answers All of the above
How does the permeability of a gap-graded soil compares to that of a dense-graded one?
Gap-graded soil is more permeable than the dense-graded
,Gap-graded soil is less permeable than the dense-graded.
Gap-graded soil has the same permeability as the dense-graded - Answers Gap-graded soil is more
permeable than the dense-graded
Identify typical soil strength tests that are commonly used in civil engineering and pavement
engineering.
California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
Unconfined/Confined Compressive Strength
Shear Test (Direct and Triaxial)
All of the above - Answers All of the above
Soil may be viewed as a composite material. That is, soil is a mix of solids, water, and air.
True
False - Answers True
Some clay soils can hold a large amount of water
True
False - Answers True
The process of absorbing and losing lots of water in high plasticity clays would cause the following
Expansion
Shrinkage
All of the above
None of the above - Answers All of the above
Clay particles are
Spherical
Granular
sheet-like/plate-like - Answers sheet-like/plate-like
Montmorillonite clay (aka: Smectite) is highly expansive because of
very fine particle size (high surface area) to attract lots of water
charge imbalance to attract water
All of the above
None of the above - Answers All of the above
What is another name for mechanical soil stabilization?
Excavation
Compaction
Resurfacing
All of the above - Answers Compaction
Soil density has a direct relationship with
a- Strength
b- Stability
c- All of the above
d- None of the above - Answers c-All of the above
Water is added to the soil during the compaction primarily for
a- Filling the voids
b- Serving as in internal lubricant
c-All of the above
d- None of the above - Answers b- Serving as in internal lubricant
For soil compaction, optimum moisture content is determined from a graph with the following
characteristics:
a- X= moisture content, Y= wet density
, b- X= moisture content, Y= dry density
c-Y= moisture content, X= wet density
d- Y= moisture content, X= dry density - Answers b- X= moisture content, Y= dry density
Different types of soils would exhibit different moisture-density relationships.
True
False - Answers True
Select the type of compaction method with the highest compactive effort.
a- Proctor
b- Modified Proctor - Answers b- Modified Proctor
Select all of the "kneading" compactors shown below:
a- Sheep foot
b- Pad foot
c-Rubber tire
d- All of the above
e- None of the above - Answers d- All of the above
Lab compaction is different from field compaction; however, it is used as a good approximation of
filed.
True
False - Answers True
Whether the client uses "methods specifications" or "end-result specifications", the amount of
lab/field testing would be the same.
True
False - Answers False
"End-result" or "performance-based" specifications are becoming more popular because these
specifications focus on the finished product.
True
False - Answers True
The engineering properties of soils are independent of their disturbed/undisturbed states.
True
False - Answers False
Select the main function(s) of the base/subbase in pavements.
a- to protect the subgrade
b- to retard upward migration of fines
c-to distribute/dissipate stress
d- all of the above - Answers d- all of the above
2. A pavement designer may select a variety of base/subbase options and combinations.
True
False - Answers True
Identify the main purpose(s) of the "filter design" in pavements?
a- To provide an opportunity for drainage
b- To stop the migration of fines
c- All of the above - Answers c- All of the above
Geotextiles in base/subbase construction should allow water flow through it.
True
False - Answers True
List the main condition(s) that must be present for frost-heave to happen:
