National Taiwan University
Department of Civil Engineering
Year 111-2 CIE 3026 (01) Soil Mechanics
Prof. O.L.A. Kwok
Homework #2 (Due 1:20 pm, March 16, 2023)
Instruction: Please follow the order of the questions when you prepare your solution (i.e. answer Questions 1,
2, 3, 4…. But not Questions 1, 4, 2, 5 ….). Write down your assumptions and calculations clearly. Please
use A4-sized paper and staple your answer sheets together.
1. (Das P4.3, P4.4, P4.6) Results from liquid and plastic limit tests conducted on a soil are given here.
Liquid Limit Test
Number of Blows, N Moisture Content (%)
15 42.0
20 40.8
28 39.1
Plastic Limit Test
PL = 18.7%
(i) Draw the flow curve. Remember that the x-axis (number of blows) is in log-scale, so please
purchase a semi-log paper or graph the curve using Microsoft Excel. Also, label your axes and
tick marks clearly.
(ii) Determine the liquid limit of the soil.
(iii) What is the plasticity index of the soil?
(iv) Determine the liquidity index of the soil when the in situ moisture content is 26%.
(v) Estimate the shrinkage limit of the soil by using the plasticity chart.
2. (Das P5.3) The sieve analysis of ten soils and the liquid and plastic limits of the fraction passing
through the No. 40 sieve are given here. Classify the soils using the AASHTO soil classification
system. Specify the group symbol and group index. (Show your steps)
Sieve Analysis
Soil Percent Finer Liquid Limit Plastic Limit
No. 10 No. 40 No. 200
1 98 80 50 38 29
2 100 92 80 56 23
3 100 88 65 37 22
4 85 55 45 28 20
5 92 75 62 43 28
6 48 28 6 -- NP
7 87 62 30 32 24
8 90 76 34 37 25
9 100 78 8 -- NP
10 92 74 32 44 35
Soil Mechanics Homework 2 (Page 1 of 2)
3. (Das P5.5) Classify the following soils using the Unified Soil Classification System (Remember to
give both the group symbols and group names). Show your steps.
Soil Sieve Analysis Liquid Limit Plastic Limit Comments
Percent Finer
No. 4 No. 200
1 94 3 -- NP Cu = 4.88 and Cc = 1.22
2 100 77 63 25
3 100 86 55 28
4 100 45 36 22
5 93 48 30 8
6 60 40 26 4
7 99 76 60 32
4. Laboratory testing was performed on soil sample A and the data are summarized in the following table.
Sieve No. (Opening Size) Sample A Percent Passing
3-in (75 mm) 100
1.5-in (38 mm) 98
0.75-in (19 mm) 96
4 (4.75 mm) 77
10 (2.0 mm) Not used
20 (0.85 mm) 55
40 (0.425 mm) Not used
100 (0.150 mm) 30
200 (0.075 mm) 18
Liquid Limit 32
Plastic Limit 25
(i) Plot the particle-size distribution curves for soil sample A.
(ii) Classify soil sample A according to the Unified Soil Classification System and the AASHTO soil
classification system. Show your steps.
Soil Mechanics Homework 2 (Page 2 of 2)
