The void ratio of a soil sample is given by 0.58. What is the porosity of soil sample?

📝 Detailed Explanation

Given: e = 0.58. Using n = e/(1+e) = 0.58/1.58 = 0.3671, which matches option (b) 0.367.

💡 Key Concepts for Students

• n = e/(1+e): converting void ratio to porosity.
• Porosity is always numerically smaller than the void ratio from which it was derived (for e > 0), since the denominator (1+e) is always larger than the denominator used for e (which is 1, implicitly, relative to solids).
• This formula pair (n = e/(1+e) and e = n/(1−n)) should be memorized together, since one is simply the algebraic rearrangement of the other.
• A sanity check: as e → 0 (almost no voids), n also approaches 0, which matches physical intuition for a nearly solid, void-free material.