Question Bank: Important Short Questions

II. Answer the following in one or two sentences:

1. What are the fundamental consideration in designing a structure?

2. What do you understand by equilibrium of a body?

3. Define the terms: (i) Stress and (ii) Strain.

4. Brief on tensile stress and tensile strain.

5. Define shear stress and shear strain with the aid an illustration.

6. Illustrate the action of shear in riveted joint.

 7. Brief on the bending stress in a cantilever beam.

8. Mention the units of the following: (i) Stress, (ii) Strain, (iii) Young's Modulus,

(iv) Modulus of Rigidity and (v) Bulk Modulus.

 9. Give the relationship between the three moduli of elasticity.

10. State Hooke's Law.

11. Define longitudinal strain and lateral strain.

12. What is Poisson's ratio? Give its limiting value.

 13. What is Poisson's ratio? What is its significance?

14. Define the following terms: (i) Yield Stress (ii) Working Stress

 15. Define the following terms: (i) Ultimate Stress (ii) Factor of Safety

16. What is factor of safety? What is its significance?

17. State any three factors on which the factor of safety depends.

18. What are the various sub-disciplines of Civil Engineering?

19. Mention two responsibilities of a civil engineer.

 20. Classify the external forces acting on a structure.

21. Why is excavation necessary?

22. Brief on arches.

23. What are civil works?

24. Distinguish between civil works and building services.

25. What is scaffolding?

26. Distinguish between the false-work and formwork in construction.

27. Mention the requirements of plumbing systems in buildings.

 28. Soils are multiphase systems. Why?

29. How are stresses at a point in a soil layer induced?

 30. Differentiate between residual soils and transported soils.

 31. How is settlement calculated prior to construction of foundation?

 32. Why should engineers understand the nature of shearing resistance of soil?

 33. What is geotechnical engineering?

34. What is the significance of effective stress in geotechnical engineering?

 35. Name four geotechnical applications where lateral earth pressure needs to be considered.

36. Differentiate between soil mechanics and soil engineering.

37. Distinguish between mechanical and chemical weathering.

 38. Outline the purpose of subsurface explosion.

39. Mention four functions that influence the lateral earth pressure.

 40. How does compression of soil take place?

41. Mention two aspects which require through understanding of environmental engineers.

 42. Mention any two responsibilities of an environmental engineer.

43. Mention any two activities where environmental chemists are involved.

 44. What does chemical risk assessment refer to?

 45. What does eco-hydrology deal with?

46. Mention any two typical failures of hydrologic cycle.

47. Mention any four attributes required for precipitation to form.

48. Mention any two issues addressed by artificial recharge techniques.

49. Mention four equipment commonly used in building construction practices.

50. List the various types of building services.

51. Distinguish between concrete structure and steel structure used in construction.

52. List any four applications of hydrology in engineering.

53. List any two methods used in water resource planning.

 54. What is the importance of transportation in real life?

55. What are the characteristics road transport?

 56. Distinguish between rigid and flexible pavements.

 57. How would you classify traffic signals?