Agricultural Engineering Practice Exam

Moisture content on a dry basis refers specifically to how much moisture is present in relation to the dry matter of a sample. This means that the moisture content is expressed as a percentage of the weight of the dry matter, rather than the total weight of the sample.

When moisture content is calculated on a dry basis, the formula used is:

\[ \text{Moisture Content (Dry Basis)} = \frac{\text{Weight of Water}}{\text{Weight of Dry Matter}} \times 100 \]

This formulation allows for a clear understanding of how much moisture is present relative to just the solid component, which is crucial for various applications in agricultural engineering, such as in the storage and processing of crops, where knowing the moisture level relative to the dry matter is essential for maintaining quality and preventing spoilage.

The other options either misinterpret the concept of moisture content or do not represent moisture content on a dry basis accurately. For example, expressing moisture as a ratio of dry matter to wet matter misinterprets the calculation needed for determining moisture content on a dry basis, and stating it as an absolute measurement in grams lacks the context of a percentage, making it less useful for comparison purposes. Lastly, estimating an average across multiple samples