--- title: "Engineering significance of marble, granite, sandstone" subject: "Engineering Geology I" chapter: 4 key: "semester_3/engineering_geology_i:engineering-significance-of-marble-granite" source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_3/engineering_geology_i/engineering-significance-of-marble-granite site: BCT Engineering --- # Engineering significance of marble, granite, sandstone Engineering Geology I · Chapter 4: Petrology - Asked in: 2076 Asoj, 3 marks - Video: [1.1 Materials of Construction: Stones](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCZCnNS9S8A) — Civil Engineering Notes - Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14 - Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_3/engineering_geology_i/engineering-significance-of-marble-granite - Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_3/engineering_geology_i/chapter-4 ## Question Describe the civil engineering significance of marble, granite and sandstone. ## Short answer Marble is a decorative stone that takes a high polish, used for flooring, cladding, and monuments, but is soluble in acids, making it unsuitable for polluted outdoor areas. Granite is very strong and durable, used for foundations, bridge piers, dam facing, aggregate, and polished slabs. Sandstone serves as a building and paving stone; its strength and permeability depend on the cementing material. ## Answer #### Marble - Used as a decorative stone for flooring, cladding, steps, columns and monuments because it takes a fine polish. - Soft and easy to cut and carve, so it is cheap to dress; crushed marble is used in terrazzo and as aggregate. - Reacts with acid and acid rain, so it is unsuitable outside in polluted areas; a calcite-rich marble body also dissolves, giving cavities. #### Granite - Very strong, hard and durable, so it is used for foundations, bridge piers, retaining walls, dam facing and kerb stones. - Crushed granite gives excellent road metal, railway ballast and concrete aggregate. - Resists weathering and fire up to a limit; polished slabs are used for floors and counters. Jointed granite can leak and deeply weathered granite must be removed from foundations. #### Sandstone - Used as building and paving stone, and as aggregate; strength depends on the cement (siliceous is best). - Well-cemented sandstone is a good foundation rock; porous types are permeable and may leak in reservoirs. - Weakly cemented sandstone weathers, loses strength and is unsuitable for exposed work. ## Check yourself The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why. 1. Why is marble widely used as decorative stone? A. It takes a fine polish and is soft, so easy to cut and carve B. It is extremely hard and acid resistant C. It is the strongest rock for foundations D. It is fibrous and light Answer: A. Fine polish plus easy dressing make marble suited to flooring, cladding and monuments. (Key point: Marble use) 2. Why is marble unsuitable for outdoor use in polluted areas? A. It absorbs too much heat B. It is calcite-rich and reacts with acid rain C. It is too weak in compression to carry load D. It cracks along bedding Answer: B. Calcite is attacked by acids, so exposed marble is eroded. (Key point: Marble limitation) 3. Which property of granite makes it suited to bridge piers and dam facing? A. High porosity B. Easy cleavage C. High strength, hardness and durability D. Softness Answer: C. Granite is strong and durable, so it is used for foundations, piers and as aggregate. (Key point: Granite use) 4. Which sandstone is a good foundation rock? A. Weakly cemented type B. Porous argillaceous type C. Any type regardless of cement D. Well-cemented, siliceous type Answer: D. Cement type controls strength; weakly cemented sandstone weathers and softens. 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