Consider the given statements with respect to strength of compacted soil and identify the correct answer.

Statement A: Shear strength of compacted clay does not depend on method of compaction.

Statement B: Strength of cohesive soils compacted dry of optimum is lower than those compacted wet of optimum.

Explanation:

Shear strength of soil:

• Shear strength is the capacity to resist shear stress.
• If the value of shear stress on any plane or a surface at any point equals or exceeds the shear strength value, failure will occur in the soil mass because of the movement of a portion of soil mass along that particular plane or surface, and soil is said to have failed in shear.
• Thus shear strength is a very important property of soil which keeps it in a stable equilibrium, under the type of loading that produces shear stress.
• The shear strength of soil governs the bearing capacity of the soil, stability of slopes, and Earth pressure retaining structure.
• The shear strength of soil compacted to dry of optimum is more than those compacted to wet of optimum at lower strains. 
• At higher strain, soil compacted to wet of optimum will have more shear strength

Factor affecting shear strength of soil:

Following are the factors that affect the shear strength of soil;

• Type of soil,
• Water content in soil,
• Drainage conditions,
• Method of compaction,
• In general, at a given water content, the shear strength of the soil increases with an increase in the compactive effort till a critical degree of saturation is reached. With a further increase in the compactive effort, the shear strength decreases.

​Hence both statements are incorrect.