If a fully saturated soil sample has a water content of 100%, its void ratio is________________?
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Answer: B. equal to specific gravity of soil
Explanation
For a fully saturated soil sample the degree of saturation equals one hundred percent. Mathematical phase relationships state that void ratio equals water content multiplied by specific gravity. When water content equals one hundred percent the resulting void ratio matches the specific gravity. Phase relations connect fundamental soil properties including void ratio, saturation, and specific gravity. Specific gravity represents the density of soil solids relative to the density of pure water. Saturation indicates that all available pore spaces inside the soil matrix contain liquid water.
Marine clay deposits below the water table often exhibit high saturation and large void ratio values. Geotechnical engineers use phase relationships to estimate missing soil parameters from limited laboratory data. Evaluating soil saturation helps predict consolidation behavior and potential settlement beneath heavy structures. Void ratios can certainly exceed the specific gravity values in highly porous soft organic clay deposits. Void ratios are never independent of specific gravity when soil saturation is known to be complete. Assuming void ratios are always less than specific gravity ignores soft soils with high water contents.
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- Engineering
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- Civil Engineering
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