NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

551 MF Jhocson Street, Sampaloc, Manila

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING 1 LABORATORY

NAME: Wilmer R. Fernandez DATE: April 26, 2021

GROUP # 3 SECTION: ESE181

EXPERIMENT # 3
DETERMINATION OF SPECIFIC GRAVITY

I. INTRODUCTION

Several structures undergo assessment and evaluation which require

engineering intervention done by professionals in the field. One of which is related to
their foundation that correlates with the type and quality of soil where a particular
structure is to be built. Hence, the design of these components requires an in-depth
understanding of soil mechanics and it involves the study and concepts of specific
gravity. This is delineated as the ratio of the weight of a given volume of the material to
the weight of an equal volume of distilled water at a specified temperature. Since it is a
ratio, the value of Gs does not vary on the system of units used and is a numerical
value having no units. In the laboratory, it can be ascertained by either density bottle,
specific gravity flask or pycnometer. The density bottle is appropriate for all types of soil,
and it is the accurate approach. Whereas the specific gravity flask or pycnometer
methods are only suitable for coarse grained soils.

Moreover, in soil mechanics, the specific gravity of soil solids is an essential

parameter and is a component in numerous equations involving weight-volume
relationships. Think of that the specific gravity of soil solids implies only to the solid
phase of the three-phase soil system, it does not include the water and air phases
present in the void space Thus, specific gravity (Gs) is defined as:

𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚

𝑮𝒔 =
𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓

𝑾𝒔 /𝑽𝒔 𝑾𝒔
𝑮𝒔 = 𝒐𝒓
𝝆𝒘 𝑽𝒔 𝝆𝒘
 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
551 MF Jhocson Street, Sampaloc, Manila
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING 1 LABORATORY

Where:

𝑊𝑠 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠

𝜌𝑤 = 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑔/𝑐𝑚3

𝑉𝑠 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑚3

The general values of Gs is given below:

Soil Type Range of Gs

Sand 2.63-2.67
Silt 2.65-2.7
Clay and Silty clay 2.67-2.9
Organic soil Less than 2

Table 1: General values of Gs for Different Soil Type

II. OBJECTIVES

✓ To determine the specific gravity of a soil sample using No. 4 US Sieve

(particles smaller than 4.75mm) using measuring flask method.

✓ To identify the relationship of specific gravity to the type of soil.

III. APPARATUS/EQUIPMENT

APPARATUS/EQUIPMENT FUNCTION
500 ml Volumetric Flask It is a glassware utilized in laboratories for
measuring volume in the preparation of solutions
and holds a precise amount of liquid material
when at room temperature.
(Writer, 2021)
 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
551 MF Jhocson Street, Sampaloc, Manila
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING 1 LABORATORY

Thermometer graduated It is utilized for measuring temperatures other than

in 0.5 degrees Celsius the human body temperature. It ranges from -10˚C
division scale to 110˚C. Laboratory thermometers are designed
for lab purposes such as checking boiling point,
freezing point, or temperature of other
substances.
("GDPR", 2021)

Balance sensitive up to It is designed for great precision in quantitative

0.01 g chemical analysis and yields readability to four
decimal places to the right of the decimal point up
to .0001 g. It is extremely sensitive and, since air
currents can affect their measurement, must be
covered by a draft shield.
("Analytical Balances", 2021)

Distilled water The kind of water that does not contain any
inorganic waste. Therefore, it is used as drinking
water, ensuring that our body need not work hard
 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
551 MF Jhocson Street, Sampaloc, Manila
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING 1 LABORATORY
to throw out unwanted waste material. This results
in better assimilation of valuable nutrients in the
body.
("Uses of Distilled Water", 2021)

Bunsen burner with stand It is a small gas burner that uses an adjustable
and/or vacuum pump or flame in a laboratory to heat substances during an
aspirator experiment.
(Writer, 2021)

Evaporating dishes It is a piece of laboratory glassware used for the

evaporation of solutions and supernatant liquids,
and sometimes to their melting point, as well as to
evaporate excess solvents – most commonly
water – to produce a concentrated solution or a
solid precipitate of the dissolved substance.
(Writer, 2021)

Spatula It is used for transporting and distributing dry

chemical compounds during chemical analyses.
They're used when weighing chemicals on a
balance because they allow users to collect
extremely small quantities.
(Writer, 2021)
 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
551 MF Jhocson Street, Sampaloc, Manila
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING 1 LABORATORY
Plastic squeeze bottle It is a convenient applicator, allowing you to easily
dispense just what you need, whether for
straightforward painting or for pouring to create
beautiful, marbleized effects. If their lids are
secure, they can also be used as mixing vessels.
("Best Plastic Squeeze Bottles for Liquid Tempera
Paint – [Link]", 2021)

Drying oven It is used to eradicate moisture from granules, wet

powder or herbs. Ideally, drying ovens have a
variable and controlled temperature option. This
facilitates evaporation and helps in the rapid
drying of materials by forced convention.
("8 Important Things You Should Know about
Pharmaceutical Oven - SaintyTec", 2021)

Table 1: Apparatus/Equipment used in Determination of Specific Weight

IV. PROCEDURE

1. Cleanse the volumetric flask well and dry it.

2. Thoroughly fill the flask with de-aired, distilled water up to the 500 ml mark
(bottom of the meniscus should be at the 500 ml mark).
3. Determine the mass of the flask and the water filled to the 500 ml mark (W1)
4. Insert the thermometer into the flask with the water and determine the
temperature of the water T=T1°C.
5. Place 100 grams of air-dry soil into an evaporating dish.
 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
551 MF Jhocson Street, Sampaloc, Manila
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING 1 LABORATORY
6. If the soil is cohesive, add water (de-aired and distilled) to the soil and mix it to
the form of a smooth paste. Keep it soaked for about one-half to one hour in the
evaporating dish. (Note: This step is not necessary for granular, i.e., non-
cohesive soils.)
7. Transfer the soil (if granular) or the soil paste (if cohesive) into the volumetric
flask.
8. Add distilled water to the volumetric flask containing the soil (or the soil paste) to
make it about two-thirds full.
9. Remove the air from the soil-water mixture. This can be done by:
a. Gradually boiling the flask containing the soil-water mixture for about 15 to
20 minutes. Accompany the boiling with continuous agitation of the flask.
(If too much heat is applied, the soil may boil over.) Or
b. Apply vacuum by a vacuum pump or aspirator until all the entrapped air is
out. This is an extremely crucial step. Most of the errors in the results of
this test are due to entrapped air which is not removed.
10. Bring the temperature of the soil-water mixture in the volumetric flask down to
room temperature, i.e., T1 °C see Step 4. (This temperature of water is at room
temperature).
11. Add de-aired, distilled water to the volumetric flask until the bottom of the
meniscus touches the 500 ml mark. Also dry the outside of the flask and the
inside of the neck above the meniscus.
12. Determine the combined mass of the bottle plus soil plus water (W2).
13. As a deterrent, verify the temperature of the soil and water in the flask to see if it
is T1° ± 1°C or not.
14. Pour the soil and water into an evaporating dish. Use a plastic squeeze bottle
and wash the inside of the flask. Ensure that no soil is left inside.
15. Put the evaporating dish in an oven to dry to a constant weight.
 NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
551 MF Jhocson Street, Sampaloc, Manila
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING 1 LABORATORY
16. Determine the mass of the dry soil in the evaporating dish (Ws)
17. Calculate the specific gravity using the formula given.

𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍,𝑾𝐬
Gs= 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍

Ww = (W1 + Ws) − W2

Where :

Ww = mass of equal volume of water

𝑾𝒔
Gs(at T1 °𝐂) = 𝑾𝒘

𝜌𝑤 (𝑎𝑡 𝑇1°𝐶)
A=[ 𝜌𝑤(𝑎𝑡 20 °𝐶) ]

𝜌𝑤 (𝑎𝑡 𝑇1°C)
Gs(at 20 °C) = Gs(at T1 °C) [ ]
𝜌𝑤(at 20 °C)

=Gs(at T1 °𝐂) × A