In basic civil engineering and construction, mortar used in masonry work is a workable mixture of which materials?

Introduction / Context:
Mortar is a fundamental material in masonry construction, used to bind bricks, stones, or blocks together. Understanding what ingredients make up mortar is important for anyone studying civil engineering or basic building technology. This question asks which materials are combined to form standard cement mortar.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The options list cement, water, and sand as possible components.
- Mortar is meant to be a paste that hardens and holds masonry units together.
- We are considering ordinary cement mortar, not specialized modern adhesives.

Concept / Approach:
Traditional cement mortar is made by mixing cement, sand, and water in appropriate proportions. Cement reacts with water in a chemical process called hydration, forming a hardened matrix. Sand acts as a fine aggregate, providing bulk and reducing shrinkage and cracking. Without sand, pure cement paste would be expensive and prone to cracking. Without water, there would be no hydration or workability, and dry cement and sand would not bind units together. Thus all three components—cement, sand, and water—are necessary to form workable mortar.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify cement as the binding material that reacts with water to form a hard matrix. Step 2: Recognize sand as the fine aggregate that provides volume, strength, and resistance to shrinkage. Step 3: Understand that water is essential for hydration of cement and for making the mixture workable so it can be applied between bricks or stones. Step 4: Note that mortar is defined as a mixture of these components, not just one of them alone. Step 5: Conclude that cement, sand, and water together are required to form standard mortar, which corresponds to “all of the above” in this option set.

Verification / Alternative check:
Construction manuals and engineering textbooks describe cement mortar as composed of cement, sand, and water, with typical mix ratios such as 1:3 or 1:4 (cement:sand by volume) plus sufficient water to reach the desired workability. They distinguish mortar from concrete by the absence of coarse aggregate in mortar. These sources confirm that the combination of cement, sand, and water is correct.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A: Cement alone, without sand and water, is just dry powder and cannot be used as mortar.
Option B: Water alone obviously cannot act as a binder for bricks or stones.
Option C: Sand alone, without cement and water, will not harden or hold masonry units together.

Common Pitfalls:
Some learners confuse mortar with concrete. Concrete consists of cement, sand, water, and coarse aggregate (such as gravel), while mortar excludes the coarse aggregate and uses only fine aggregate. Another pitfall is to think that more cement always means a better mixture; in practice, the proportion of cement to sand must be balanced to achieve strength, workability, and cost effectiveness.

Final Answer:
The correct answer is all of the above: cement, water, and sand mixed to form mortar because standard cement mortar is made by combining these three ingredients in proper proportions to create a workable paste that hardens and bonds masonry units.