When measuring a cored specimen, be sure to include any previous layers or underlying foreign material in the measurement.

• A. True
• B. Not specified
• C. False
• D. Unknown

Answer: (C)

When measuring a cored asphalt specimen, you measure only the layer of interest and exclude any previous layers or underlying material. This is because the purpose of the thickness measurement is to verify the specification for that specific layer, and calculations for density, air voids, and binder content rely on that layer’s true thickness. Including material from older layers would overstate the thickness and distort the test results, leading to incorrect conclusions about the layer’s quality and performance. If a core contains multiple layers, identify the boundary between layers and either trim the core to isolate the layer being evaluated or measure each layer separately, documenting the thickness of each layer.