A soil material with a porosity of 50% would be classified as which USCS symbol?

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Multiple Choice

A soil material with a porosity of 50% would be classified as which USCS symbol?

Explanation:
USCS symbols are determined from grain size distribution and Atterberg limits, not porosity alone. A porosity around 0.50 points to a fine‑grained soil (clay or silt) rather than a coarse sand. Among the given options, a lean clay represents a cohesive, clayey soil with relatively low plasticity, which is compatible with a moderate porosity like 50%. The other symbols describe different behaviors: high plasticity clay would be CH, low-plasticity silt would be ML, and silty sand would be SM. Without Atterberg-limit data, porosity alone isn’t definitive, but the best match here is lean clay, hence CL.

USCS symbols are determined from grain size distribution and Atterberg limits, not porosity alone. A porosity around 0.50 points to a fine‑grained soil (clay or silt) rather than a coarse sand. Among the given options, a lean clay represents a cohesive, clayey soil with relatively low plasticity, which is compatible with a moderate porosity like 50%. The other symbols describe different behaviors: high plasticity clay would be CH, low-plasticity silt would be ML, and silty sand would be SM. Without Atterberg-limit data, porosity alone isn’t definitive, but the best match here is lean clay, hence CL.

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