INDIAN INSTITUE OF ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, SHIBPUR

EXPERIMENT NO.-04

NAME OF THE EXPERIMENT:-

SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF SOIL

(IS-2720-PART-3-1980)

OBJECTIVE:- The objective of the test is to determine the specific gravity of a given soil sample
passing through 0.425 micron IS sieve by Density bottle method.
APPARATUS REQUIRED:-

1. Density bottle of 100 ml capacity

2. IS sieve 0.425 micron
3. Balance- 0.01 gm sensitivity
4. Distilled water

THEORY:-

Specific gravity of soil is the ratio of the weight of a given volume of soil particles in air to the weight
of an equal volume of distilled water at a temperature of 4℃. The specific gravity of a soil is often used in
relating a weight of soil to its volume. Although specific gravity is employed in the identification of
minerals, it is of limit value for identification or classification of soils because the specific gravity values of
most soils fall within a narrow range. It is an important factor required for computing the most of the soil
properties such as void ratio of soil, unit weight, particle size determination by hydrometer method, degree
of saturation of soil etc.
Mathematically, it is expressed as –
𝑊𝑆 ∗ 𝐺𝑊
G=
𝑊𝑆 +𝑊2 −𝑊1

Where,

𝐺𝑊 = Specific gravity of water

𝑊𝑆 = Weight of oven dried soil
𝑊1 = Weight of the flask, boiled soil and water up to the mark
𝑊2 = Weight of the flask and water up to the mark

NEED AND SCOPE:-

The knowledge of specific gravity is needed in calculation of soil properties like void ratio,
degree of saturation etc.

PROCEDURE:-

1. First of all we take the weight of empty and dried flask.

2. We take about 20 to 30 gm of soil sample which is passing through 0.425 micron IS sieve and then
poured it into the flask.
3. Then filled the flask with distilled water up to the mark in the flask.
4. We have boiled the water and soil sample so that all the air voids will remove from voids of soil.
5. Then we kept the bottle in air for cool and settle the soil sample for 24 hours.
6. We take the weight of flask, boiled soil and water up to the mark.
7. After the washing of flask again we take the weight of flask and water up to that mark.

OBSERVATION & RECORDING:-

Sample number 1 2
Flask Number 12 20
Weight of flask and oven dried
soil (gm ) 145.7 132.78
Weight of empty and dried flask
(gm) 91.34 90.52
Weight of oven dried soil taken
(𝑊𝑆 ) (gm) 54.36 42.26
Weight of the flask and water up
to the mark (𝑊2 ) (gm) 339.76 339.63
Weight of the flask,boiled soil and
water up to the mark (𝑊1 ) (gm) 373.91 365.37
Specific Gravity, G 2.69 2.56

CALCULATION:-

Specific gravity of given soil sample,

𝑊𝑆 ∗ 𝐺𝑊 54.36
For sample-1, G = = = 2.69
𝑊𝑆 +𝑊2 −𝑊1 54.36+339.76−373.91
𝑊𝑆 ∗ 𝐺𝑊 42.26
For sample-1, G = = = 2.56
𝑊𝑆 +𝑊2 −𝑊1 42.26+339.63−365.37
 2.69+2.56
So specific gravity for the given soil sample is = = 2.625
2

PRECAUTION:-
1. The soil for the test should be perfectly dry.
2. Flask should be clean in a proper way.
3. Before pouring the water in a flask, we should check whether flask is perfectly dry or not.
4. We should take all the necessary reading very carefully.

RESULT AND CONCLUSION:-

A soil’s specific gravity largely depends on the density of the minerals making up the individual soil particles.
However, as a general guide, some typical values for specific soil types are as follows:

1. The specific gravity of the solid substance of most inorganic soils varies between 2.60 and 2.80.
2. Tropical iron-rich laterite, as well as some lateritic soils, usually have a specific gravity of between 2.75 and
3.0 but could be higher.
3. Sand particles composed of quartz have a specific gravity ranging from 2.65 to 2.67.
4. Inorganic clays generally range from 2.70 to 2.80.
5. Soils with large amounts of organic matter or porous particles (such as diatomaceous earth) have specific
gravities below 2.60. Some range as low as 2.00

So the soil sample having a specific gravity of 2.625 is Inorganic soil.