For shallow footing bearing on cohesionless soils obeying Hansen/Meyerhof style bearing factors, widening the footing footprint often raises allowable bearing pressure principally because?

Choices

• (A) Pressure stays uniform irrespective of footing width factor
• (B) Sliding resistance ignores passive wedge growth entirely
• (C) Wider B enlarges footing shear keys mobilizing passive soil wedges along presumed failure mechanisms
• (D) Contractor pricing dictates bearing capacity without geotech rationale