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Civil Engineering Vocab

Subject : engineering
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Any attempt to restore to beneficial use land that has lost its fertility and stability; most often applies to mining reclamation - such as the restoration of strip mines and quarries.






2. A structure or chamber which is usually sunk or lowered by digging from the inside. Used to gain access to the bottom of a stream or other body of water.






3. The property of a material or soil that permits considerable movement of water through it when it is saturated.






4. Not easily penetrated. The property of a material or soil that does not allow - or allows only with great difficulty - the movement or passage of water.






5. OE The pressure at a specific elevation exerted by a body of water at rest - or _ In the case of groundwater - the pressure at a specific elevation due to the weight of water at higher levels in the same zone of saturation.






6. A sewer designed to carry both sanitary wastewaters and storm or surface water runoff.






7. The creative illustration - planning and specification of space for the greatest possible amount of harmony - utility - value and beauty.






8. Most plumbing codes require a vent pipe connection of adequate size and located downstream of a trap in a building wastewater system. This vent prevents the accumulation of gases or odors and is usually piped through the roof and out of doors.






9. Pertaining to groundwater - a well - or underground basin where the water is under a pressure greater than atmospheric and will rise above the level of its upper confining surface if given an opportunity to do so.






10. The form of the land. Contour lines are map lines connecting points of the same ground elevation and are used to depict and measure slope and drainage. Spot elevations are points of a specific elevation.






11. Sewers are surcharged when the supply of water to be carried is greater than the capacity of the pipes to carry the flow. The surface of the wastewater in manholes rises above the top of the sewer pipe - and the sewer is under pressure or a head - ra






12. In landscape architecture - a study of the potential cost of site purchase - demolition and improvement in comparison to the income or other benefit to be derived from site development.






13. A record of each person involved in the handling and possession of a sample from the person who collected the sample to the person who analyzed the sample in the laboratory and to the person who witnessed disposal of the sample.






14. Downward movement of the soil or of a structure which it supports






15. A water service shutoff valve located in a water service pipe near the curb and between the water main and the building. This valve is usually operated by a wrench or valve key and is used to start or stop flows in the water service line to a buildin






16. The prepared and compacted base on which a manhole is constructed.






17. The science and management of land - especially rural - agricultural land.






18. Record of an area's natural and man-made resources - including vegetation - animal life - geological characteristics and mankind's presence in such forms as housing - highways and even hazardous wastes.






19. The linear or a real dimension over which a higher component transmits load to a lower component






20. The legal grant of right-of-use to an area of designated private property.






21. One or a series of oneinch diameter holes through a manhole lid for purposes of venting dangerous gases found in sewers.






22. A legal means of protecting beautiful views and associated aesthetic quality along a site by restricting change in existing features without government approval.






23. A U.S. government agency charged with administering vast areas of public land.






24. The lowest point of the channel inside a pipe - conduit - or canal.






25. That part of rain or other precipitation that runs off the surface of a drainage area and does not enter the soil or the sewer system as inflow.






26. The man-made creation of or alterations to a specific area - including its natural resources. This is in contrast to the 'natural environment.'






27. Any method of determining the weight a compacted material is able to support without damage or displacement. Usually stated in pounds per square foot.






28. A sewer that discharges into a branch or other sewer and has no other common sewer tributary to it. Sometimes called a 'street sewer' because it collects wastewater from individual homes.






29. Material used to provide a bedding or foundation for pipes or other underground structures. This material is of specified quality for desirable bedding or other characteristics and is often imported from a different location.






30. A sewer that receives wastewater from many tributary branches or sewers and serves a large territory and contributing population.






31. Shoring members placed across a trench to hold other horizontal and vertical shoring members in place.






32. In landscape architecture - the organization of areas of land for specific aesthetic or functional purposes. This can range from creating small backyard patios to huge urban plazas.






33. The elevation of the invert (or bottom) of a pipeline - canal - culvert - or similar conduit. _ The inclination or slope of a pipeline - conduit - stream channel - or natural ground surface; usually expressed in terms of the ratio or percentage of nu






34. A small box-like structure that contains valves used to regulate flows.






35. Precipitation which has been rendered (made) acidic by airborne pollutants.






36. Legal right to use the property of others for a specific purpose. For example - a utility company may have a fivefoot easement along the property line of a home. This gives the utility the legal right to install and maintain a sewer line within the e






37. A conservation group that maintains a revolving fund for quickly buying land that is in danger of being developed inappropriately or without regard to proper environmental considerations.






38. Tamping or rolling of a material to achieve a surface or density that is able to support predicted loads.






39. An opening in pipes or sewers designed for rodding or working a snake into the pipe in either direction. Twoway cleanouts are most often found in building lateral pipes at or near a property line.






40. The height to which something is elevated - such as the height above sea level.






41. The science and art of design - planning - management and stewardship of the land. Landscape architecture involves natural and built elements - cultural and scientific knowledge - and concern for resource conservation to the end that the resulting en






42. The formation of separate layers (of temperature - plant - or animal life) in a lake or reservoir. Each layer has similar characteristics such as all water in the layer has the same temperature. Also see THERMAL STRATIFICATION.






43. A groundwater table that has seasonal changes in depth or elevation.






44. A downspout or pipe installed to drain a roof gutter to a storm drain or other means of disposal.






45. The movement or dislocation of underground soil or structure. Earth shift is usually caused by external forces such as surface loads - slides - stresses or nearby construction - water movements or seismic forces.






46. The running off of water from a land surface or subsurface - such as through sewers or natural means.






47. A pipe or conduit that carries wastewater or drainage water. The term 'collection line' is often used also.






48. A professional society that represents landscape architects in the United States and Canada and seeks to better the practice and understanding of landscape architecture through education - research - state registration and other programs.






49. A layer - usually of concrete or mortar - for providing continuous support to such items as bricks - slabs - pipes.






50. Acronym for 'Computer Aided (i.e. - Assisted) Design and Drafting -' a digital design process in which landscape architects use computers to help produce precise drawings and details for the construction of a project.