CIVE 401 SDSU FIRST PAPER 2026
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS GRADED A+
⩥ Challenges of the 21st Century. Answer: 1. Population growth
2. Energy
3. Water
4. Climate change
⩥ Population Growth. Answer: - exponential
⩥ How much of the population lives in urban environments. Answer:
50%
- huge expansion of urban infrastructure
- concentration of population increases exposure to natural hazards
⩥ Sources of Energy in US. Answer: 1. Coal
2. Natural Gas
3. Nuclear
4. Hydro
⩥ What water do we consume. Answer: fresh water
,⩥ Sources of fresh water. Answer: surface and ground water
⩥ Where is most of the water on Earth. Answer: freshwater lakes
⩥ Most useable Source of water. Answer: shallow groundwater
⩥ Effects of Climate Change. Answer: Rising temperatures, and
atmospheric CO2
⩥ What kind of material is subsurface. Answer: heterogeneous material
⩥ Upside to studying rocks. Answer: Drilling and sampling is expensive
- A strong understanding of geologic history is enough to interpret drill
cores and logs
⩥ Geohazards that impact engineering structure. Answer: flooding,
landslides, rock falls, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, wind storm...
⩥ Recurrence Interval Graph. Answer: x-axis
- probability
y-axis
- discharge
,⩥ An engineer must design with these in mind. Answer: 1. The known
knowns
2. The known unknowns
3. The unknown unknowns
⩥ What contributes to the unknowns?. Answer: Subsurface issues
⩥ What are all rocks and soils are composed of. Answer: heterogeneous
assortment of minerals
⩥ What is responsible for the chemical properties of rocks and soils.
Answer: The minerals they are composed of
⩥ 5 Rules of Minerals. Answer: 1. Naturally occurring
2. Inorganic
3. Solid
4. Ordered with internal molecular structure
5. Characteristic chemical composition
⩥ Internal structure of Minerals. Answer: follows atomic structure
1. nucleus
2. electrons
, ⩥ Anion. Answer: atom that gains electrons
⩥ Cation. Answer: atom that looses electron
⩥ ionic compound/bond. Answer: orderly array of oppositely charged
ions
- providing electrical neutrality
⩥ covalent bond. Answer: sharing of two electrons between atoms
⩥ Basic building block of majority of rocks and soils. Answer: Silica
(SiO4)
⩥ law of constancy of interfacial angles. Answer: crystals of the same
mineral, have the same angle between corresponding crystal faces
⩥ crystals: polymorph. Answer: elements can join together in different
geometric arrangements
- chemical composition is the same
- physical properties are different
- ie diamond & graphite
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS GRADED A+
⩥ Challenges of the 21st Century. Answer: 1. Population growth
2. Energy
3. Water
4. Climate change
⩥ Population Growth. Answer: - exponential
⩥ How much of the population lives in urban environments. Answer:
50%
- huge expansion of urban infrastructure
- concentration of population increases exposure to natural hazards
⩥ Sources of Energy in US. Answer: 1. Coal
2. Natural Gas
3. Nuclear
4. Hydro
⩥ What water do we consume. Answer: fresh water
,⩥ Sources of fresh water. Answer: surface and ground water
⩥ Where is most of the water on Earth. Answer: freshwater lakes
⩥ Most useable Source of water. Answer: shallow groundwater
⩥ Effects of Climate Change. Answer: Rising temperatures, and
atmospheric CO2
⩥ What kind of material is subsurface. Answer: heterogeneous material
⩥ Upside to studying rocks. Answer: Drilling and sampling is expensive
- A strong understanding of geologic history is enough to interpret drill
cores and logs
⩥ Geohazards that impact engineering structure. Answer: flooding,
landslides, rock falls, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, wind storm...
⩥ Recurrence Interval Graph. Answer: x-axis
- probability
y-axis
- discharge
,⩥ An engineer must design with these in mind. Answer: 1. The known
knowns
2. The known unknowns
3. The unknown unknowns
⩥ What contributes to the unknowns?. Answer: Subsurface issues
⩥ What are all rocks and soils are composed of. Answer: heterogeneous
assortment of minerals
⩥ What is responsible for the chemical properties of rocks and soils.
Answer: The minerals they are composed of
⩥ 5 Rules of Minerals. Answer: 1. Naturally occurring
2. Inorganic
3. Solid
4. Ordered with internal molecular structure
5. Characteristic chemical composition
⩥ Internal structure of Minerals. Answer: follows atomic structure
1. nucleus
2. electrons
, ⩥ Anion. Answer: atom that gains electrons
⩥ Cation. Answer: atom that looses electron
⩥ ionic compound/bond. Answer: orderly array of oppositely charged
ions
- providing electrical neutrality
⩥ covalent bond. Answer: sharing of two electrons between atoms
⩥ Basic building block of majority of rocks and soils. Answer: Silica
(SiO4)
⩥ law of constancy of interfacial angles. Answer: crystals of the same
mineral, have the same angle between corresponding crystal faces
⩥ crystals: polymorph. Answer: elements can join together in different
geometric arrangements
- chemical composition is the same
- physical properties are different
- ie diamond & graphite
