Soil Summary Flashcards
What is soil composed of?
Discrete solid particles with voids filled with water and air.
What is the tri-phase nature of soil?
Soil consists of solid particles, water, and air.
What are coarse-grained soils characterized by?
Dominated by gravity forces based on particle mass.
What are fine-grained soils characterized by?
Dominated by electro-molecular forces between particles.
What is the range of particle size for gravel?
4.75 mm to 76.2 mm.
What is the range of particle size for sand?
75 µm to 4.75 mm.
What is the mineral composition of clay?
Primarily composed of silicates like kaolinite, illite, and montmorillonite.
What is the significance of specific surface area in soils?
It indicates the water adsorption capacity, important for clay soils.
What is the porosity of soil?
The ratio of void volume to total soil volume.
How is soil moisture content expressed?
As a percentage of the mass of water to the mass of dry soil.
What is relative density in coarse soils?
A measure of soil compaction based on maximum and minimum void ratios.
What is the clay mineral kaolinite?
A two-layered silicate with low plasticity and swelling.
What is soil sensitivity?
The ratio of the undisturbed to remolded shear strength of clay soils.
