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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. The angle between a horizontal line andthe slope or surface of unsupported material such as gravel - sand -or loose soil. Also called the 'natural slope.'






2. An arrangement of pipes - equipment - devices - tanks and structures for treating wastewater and industrial wastes. A water pollution control plant.






3. A system of gutters - catch basins - yard drains - culverts and pipes for the purpose of conducting storm waters from an area - but intended to exclude domestic and industrial wastes.






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






5. A community's used water and water carried solids (including used water from industrial processes) that flow to a treatment plant. Storm water - surface water - and groundwater infiltration also may be included in the wastewater that enters a wastewa






6. A road laid through a garden or park-like landscape - usually with median and roadside plantings.






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






8. 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.






9. 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.






10. A site that might appear to be natural but has elements and features that were planned and specified by a landscape architect. Designed landscapes include Central Park in New York to the siting of buildings.






11. A capped opening in a building lateral -usually located on the property line - through which the pipelines can be cleaned.






12. A water treatment process in which solid particles settle out of the water being treated in a large clarifier or sedimentation basin.






13. A manhole which fills and allows raw wastewater to flow out onto the street or ground.






14. A coordinating agency formed in 1961 for state boards that administer licensing exams and maintain records for landscape architects to practice.






15. 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






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






17. 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.






18. 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






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






20. A large - public park - often highly scenic and isolated belonging to and operated by the federal government.






21. The change to an area's natural resources - including animal and plant life - resulting from use by man. Some projects may require conducting of an 'environmental impact study' before development can proceed.






22. The pipeline extending from the water main to the building served or to the consumer's system.






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






24. The upper surface of the zone of saturation of groundwater in an unconfined aquifer.






25. Horizontal shoring members - usually square - rough cut timber - that are used to hold solid sheeting - braces or vertical shoring members in place. Also called STRINGERS.






26. A wall that supports any vertical load in addition to its own weight.






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






28. A flat board or plate - deflector - guide or similar device constructed or placed in flowing water or slurry systems to cause more uniform flow velocities - to absorb energy - and to divert - guide - or agitate liquids (water - chemical solutions - s






29. Elements added to a natural landscape - such as paving stones - gravel - walkways - irrigation systems - roads - retaining walls - sculpture - street amenities - fountains - and other mechanical features.






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






31. Sand - silt - gravel and rocks carried or washed into a collection system by infiltration water flows.






32. Masonry composed of irregularly shaped stones laid without regularity of coursing - but well bonded.






33. A sewer line that receives wastewater from many tributary branches and sewer lines and serves as an outlet for a large territory or is used to feed an intercepting sewer.






34. A manhole in which the rate of the water entering is greater than the capacity of the outlet under gravity flow conditions. When the water in the manhole rises above the top of the outlet pipe - the manhole is said to be 'surcharged.'






35. Material used for backfilling a trench or excavation which was not the original material removed during excavation. This is a common practice where tests on the original material show it to have poor compactability or load capacity. Also called BORRO






36. Installation of pumps to lift wastewater to a higher elevation in places where flat land would require excessively deep sewer trenches. Also used to raise wastewater from areas too low to drain into available collection lines. These stations may be e






37. The elements of supply inherent to an area that can be used to satisfy human needs - including air - soil - water - native vegetation - minerals and wildlife.






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






39. 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.






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






41. A mixture of storm or surface runoff and other wastewater such as domestic or industrial wastewater.






42. A manhole located at the upstream end of a sewer and having no inlet pipe. Also called a DEADEND MANHOLE.






43. The force that resists the separation of two bodies in contact.






44. 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.






45. 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.






46. Water that does not contain objectionable pollution - contamination - minerals - or infective agents and is considered satisfactory for drinking.






47. That part of the precipitation falling on a drainage area which does not escape as surface stream flow during a given period. It is the difference between total precipitation and total runoff during the period - and represents evaporation - transpira






48. Rain and snow water accumulated in the earth's porous rock.






49. 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.






50. Load applied along or parallel to and concentric with the primary axis