Lab Report #1:

Determination of Specific Gravity and Moisture Content of Soil

This experiment determined the specific gravity and moisture content of a certain sample of
soil. Specific gravity of soil is an important value in soil mechanics, which can be used in
various calculations, such as void ratio and degree of saturation. Moisture content of soil
refers to the percentage of the mass of the soil that is water. These properties can help in
classifying the soil, and are necessary in order to calculate the mechanical properties of the
soil. The results of the experiment suggests that the soil is classified under CL, or clay of low
plasticity, also known as lean clay.

Submitted by: Benson James Chan

Group Mates:
Christian Chua
Jose Eleazar Concepcion
Jezel Dyn Cruz
Lodette Cunanan
Dominique Pocholo de Lara
Date Performed: September 1, 2014
Date Submitted: September 8, 2014

I.

Objectives
To calculate experimentally the specific gravity of a certain sample of soil.
To determine the moisture content of the same sample of soil.
To be able to classify the soil based on the specific gravity.

II.

Materials
Soil sample
Pycnometer
Balance
Graduated cylinder
Drying Oven
Thermometer
Hot plate
Funnel
Wash Bottle
Sieve No. 4 (4.75 mm)
Moisture can
Tape

III.

Methodology
A) Calibration of Pycnometer

START
The pycnometer was

Mass of the pycnometer

was measured. (Mp)

Water temperature (Tc)

Mass of pycnometer with

water (Mpw,c) was
recorded.

Pycnometer was filled up

with water to the neck.
Water level was marked at
END

B) Determining Specific Gravity

START

Soil sample was sieved using

Sieve No. 4.

The pycnometer was filled up

to the calibration level.

The mass of the pycnometer

(Mpws) was taken.

50g of soil was placed into

the pycnometer.

The mass of an empty

moisture can (Mm) was also
The pycnometer was filled
with water to about a third of

The water temperature (Tw)

was measured.

The
can was
oven
The moisture
pycnometer's
contents
dried,
then
its mass was
were
fully
transferred
to the

The mixture was boiled for

15 minutes, under constant
agitation.

END

The mixture was allowed to

cool until its temperature
dropped back to Tw.
C) Determining Moisture Content
START
The mass of an empty
moisture can was recorded.

Place an arbitrary amount of soil

into the moisture can and
measure their combined mass.

The moisture can was oven

dried, then its mass was

END
3

The
The moisture
pycnometer's
can was
contents
oven
were
dried,
fully
then
transferred
its mass was
to the

IV.

Data and Results

A) Specific Gravity
From the experiment, the following raw data was measured:

Mp
Mpw,c
Tc
Tw
Mpws
Mm
Mms
Ms

Value
52
182.5
27.1
28
208.5
152
193.5
41.5

Units
g
g
deg C
deg C
g
g
g
g

Table 1. Raw Data from Specific Gravity Determination

In order to arrive at the value for specific gravity, the calibrated volume of the
pycnometer as well as the mass of the pycnometer and water at test temperature needs to be
calculated beforehand using the following formulas given in ASTM D854:
V p=

Where

w , c

( M pw ,c M p )
M pw, t=M p +(V p w ,t )
w, c

refers to the density of water at calibration temperature and

w ,t

refers to the density of water at test temperature.

w , c

Using Table 2 of ASTM D854, the

w ,t

is determined to be 0.99649, while

is 0.99624. Solving for Vp and Mpw,t:

V p=

(182.552)
=130.9597
0.99649

M pw, t=52+ ( 130.95970.99624 )=182.4673

The specific gravity of the soil solids is then calculated using the formula:
Gt =

41.5
=2.6831
(182.4673( 208.541.5 ) )

To calculate the specific gravity at 20 degrees Celsius, the value is multiplied by the
temperature coefficient, which is also found in Table 2 of ASTM D854.
G20=2. 68310.99803=2.6778
B) Moisture Content

Mmm
Mmd
Mm

Value
108.13
33
96.806
67
9.8233
33

Units
g
g
g

Table 2. Raw Data from Moisture Content Determination

To calculate for moisture content, the following formula is needed:

w=

M mm M md
100 =13.02
M md M m

V. Analysis and Discussion

From Table 3 of ASTM D854 Summary of Test Results from Triplicate Test
Laboratories (Specific Gravity), the closest classification that fits the computed values of
specific gravity in this experiment is the CL soil type, which has an average specific gravity
value of 2.670.
Soil Type
CH
CL
ML
SP

Average Value
2.717
2.670
2.725
2.658

Table 3. Soil Types and Average Values of Specific Gravity from Table 3 of ASTM D854.

This suggests that the soil sample is made up of lean clay. However, there might be
errors during the experimentation process that might have affected the values that were
measured experimentally. One such error is the error in reading the meniscus of the
pycnometer, causing the amount of water at the calibration point to be unequal during the
measurements. Another possible error is the lack of accuracy of the measurement of
temperature values as the thermometer used is not accurate up to 0.1 degrees.

VI. Conclusions and Recommendations

After conducting the experiment, the specific gravity of the soil sample was determined to
be 2.6831 at the test temperature of 28 degrees Celsius and 2.6778 at 20 degrees Celsius. The
moisture content of the sample was estimated to be around 13%.

VII. References
ASTM D854, 2014, Standard Test Methods for Specific Gravity of Soil Solids by Water
Pycnometer, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2014, DOI: 10.1520/D085414, www.astm.org.
ASTM D2216, 2010, Standard Test Methods for Laboratory Determination of Water
(Moisture) Content of Soil and Rock by Mass, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA,
2010, DOI: 10.1520/D2216-10, www.astm.org.
Das, Braja M., Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, 7th edition, Cengage Learning,
Stamford, CT 06902, USA, 2010