Free Construction Materials Testing, Soils, Level I Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Construction Materials Testing, Soils, Level I practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A soils technician screens dry material on a construction site where particles can fly toward the eyes from the side. Which feature must the technician's eye protection provide under OSHA's construction standard?

   1. A. Side protection
   2. B. Filter lenses
   3. C. Magnifying lenses
   4. D. Antifog coating

   Answer: A

   Explanation: OSHA requires "eye protection that provides side protection when there is a hazard from flying objects." Side protection addresses the stated particle hazard; filtering, magnification, and antifogging do not substitute for it.

   Reference: 29 CFR 1926.102 — Eye and face protection — 1926.102(a)(2)

2. 2To relate a planned soil-test elevation to the field, a technician sets up a level. The benchmark elevation is 100.00 feet, the backsight is 4.00 feet, and the foresight to the test point is 6.00 feet. What is the test-point elevation?

   1. A. 98.00 feet
   2. B. 102.00 feet
   3. C. 110.00 feet
   4. D. 90.00 feet

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The manual explains: "By subtracting the FS reading from the height of instrument, the elevation of the new point is established." Height of instrument is benchmark plus backsight: 100 + 4 = 104 feet; subtracting 6 gives 98 feet. The other results reverse the readings, add both, or subtract both.

   Reference: Control and Topographic Surveying — EM 1110-1-1005 — Paragraph 3-13(a), printed page 3-28

3. 3A technician recovers a disturbed soil sample with a split-barrel sampler. Which planned laboratory use is appropriate for that sample?

   1. A. Consolidation response of intact soil
   2. B. Index-property testing of the soil
   3. C. Intact undrained shear strength
   4. D. Intact stress-strain behavior

   Answer: B

   Explanation: FHWA states: "Samples obtained via disturbed sampling methods are generally used for index property testing in the laboratory." Disturbance makes the intact-soil consolidation and strength uses in the other choices inappropriate.

   Reference: Soils and Foundations Reference Manual — Volume I — Section 3.6.1, printed page 3-28

4. 4A technician selects a mechanical splitter for coarse soil-aggregate material whose maximum particle size is 20 mm. Using NICET's specified 50-percent extra chute width, what minimum chute width is needed?

   1. A. 10 mm
   2. B. 20 mm
   3. C. 30 mm
   4. D. 40 mm

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The checklist specifies: "For coarse aggregate and mixed aggregate, chutes 50% wider than max size particle". Thus 20 × 1.50 = 30 mm. The distractors halve the size, add no clearance, or double the size instead of adding 50 percent.

   Reference: Standard Practice for Reducing Samples of Aggregate to Testing Size — NICET Performance Checklist — Apparatus, Mechanical Splitter (Method A)

5. 5A trainee is assigned random field-density test locations rather than allowed to choose convenient spots. What is the principal sampling purpose of that random selection?

   1. A. To favor the locations expected to have lower density
   2. B. To reduce unintentional bias in choosing test locations
   3. C. To favor the locations expected to have higher density
   4. D. To restrict the selection to central locations in the lot

   Answer: B

   Explanation: ASTM describes the purpose as to "minimize any unintentional bias". Favoring weak, strong, or central locations is a judgmental selection pattern rather than the stated random-selection purpose.

   Reference: ASTM D3665-12 — Random Sampling of Construction Materials — Significance and Use, first paragraph

6. 6A technician constructs a liquid-limit flow curve from groove-closure trials. At how many blows is the liquid-limit water content read from that curve?

   1. A. 15 blows
   2. B. 20 blows
   3. C. 35 blows
   4. D. 25 blows

   Answer: D

   Explanation: FHWA specifies that the liquid-limit moisture content is obtained "from the flow curve at 25 blows." Fifteen, twenty, and thirty-five blows are trial-count values, not the reference count defining the liquid limit.

   Reference: Soils and Foundations Reference Manual — Volume I — Section 5.3.5, printed page 5-16

7. 7A soils technician arrives to provide testing services for a project owner who is the laboratory's client. Which recipient should receive the technician's notice of presence to fulfill the client-notification responsibility?

   1. A. The project's aggregate supplier dispatcher
   2. B. The testing agency's equipment dispatcher
   3. C. The project owner's designated representative
   4. D. The project's grading subcontractor foreman

   Answer: C

   Explanation: NICET specifies "Inform client of presence." The stated client is the project owner, represented by its designated contact. The supplier, the laboratory's equipment dispatcher, and the grading subcontractor are real project participants but are not that client's designated representative.

   Reference: NICET Soils Level 1 Content Outline — Task 1.7.1, printed page 2

8. 8Before using a soil-testing balance, a technician reviews its traceability evidence. Which record establishes the required connection to a measurement reference?

   1. A. A documented calibration chain to a mass reference, with uncertainty at each link
   2. B. A manufacturer statement of rated capacity and display resolution for the balance
   3. C. A repetition check using a second weight labeled with the same nominal mass
   4. D. A general quality-system certificate and the balance's instrument serial record

   Answer: A

   Explanation: NIST requires a "documented unbroken chain of calibrations, each contributing to the measurement uncertainty." Rated specifications, a nominal-mass repeat check, and general quality certification are useful records, but do not by themselves establish that calibration chain for the result.

   Reference: Metrological Traceability: Frequently Asked Questions and NIST Policy — Section 3.2, Policy, adopted metrological-traceability definition

9. 9While collecting soil beneath overhead construction activity, a technician faces possible injury from falling objects. Which type of head protection does OSHA 1926.100(a) specify for that hazard?

   1. A. Welding helmet
   2. B. Protective helmet
   3. C. Protective hood
   4. D. Bump cap

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The rule states that employees exposed to possible head injury from falling objects "shall be protected by protective helmets." Welding helmets and protective hoods address other exposures, and a bump cap does not provide the specified falling-object protection.

   Reference: 29 CFR 1926.100 — Head protection — 1926.100(a)

10. 10A soils technician uses an unchanged plan printed at 1:240 to estimate the horizontal separation of two test points. Their separation on the sheet is 2.5 inches. What ground distance does that represent?

    1. A. 600 feet
    2. B. 20 feet
    3. C. 50 feet
    4. D. 6,000 feet

    Answer: C

    Explanation: The manual equates "1:240 (1 inch = 20 ft)". Therefore 2.5 inches represents 2.5 × 20 = 50 feet. Reporting 600 feet misses the inches-to-feet conversion; 20 feet ignores the measured length; 6,000 feet misplaces the decimal after scaling.

    Reference: Control and Topographic Surveying — EM 1110-1-1005 — Paragraph 4-4, printed page 4-5, engineering map-scale discussion