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






2. A legal form of land-use control and building regulations usually exercised by a municipal authority; usually involves setting aside of distinct land areas for specific purposes - such as commercial - educational or residential development.






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






4. A professional who designs - plans - and manages outdoor spaces ranging from entire ecosystems to residential sites and whose media include natural and built elements; also referred to as a designer - planner - consultant. Not to be confused with lan






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






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






7. 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






8. The movement of water through very small spaces due to molecular forces.






9. Masonry composed of roughly shaped stones - well bonded and brought at irregular intervals vertically to discontinuous but approximately level beds or courses.






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. The process of adding air to water. Air can be added to water by either passing air through water or passing water through air. In wastewater treatment - air is added to freshen wastewater and to keep solids in suspension. With mixtures of wastewater






12. Vertical member supporting the railing.






13. 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.






14. Clarifier - Settling Tank. A tank or basin in which wastewater is held for a period of time during which the heavier solids settle to the bottom and the lighter materials float to the water surface.






15. Sedimentation basin overflow weir. A plate with Vnotches along the top to ensure a uniform flow rate and avoid shortcircuiting.






16. 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






17. Opening in a sewer provided for the purpose of permitting operators or equipment to enter or leave a sewer. Sometimes called an 'access hole' or a 'maintenance hole.'






18. Subsurface water in the saturation zone from which wells and springs are fed. In a strict sense the term applies only to water below the water table. Also called 'phreatic water' and 'plerotic water.'






19. A holding basin in which variations in flow and composition of a liquid are averaged. Such basins are used to provide a flow of reasonably uniform volume and composition to a treatment unit. Also called a balancing reservoir.






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






21. The oxidation ditch is a modified form of the activated sludge process. The ditch consists of two channels placed side by side and connected at the ends to produce one continuous loop of wastewater flow and a brush rotator assembly placed across the






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






23. 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.






24. Federal agency responsible for producing and managing many federally-funded public service programs - especially those affecting housing and public spaces.






25. An authorization issued by a government agency allowing construction of a project according to approved plans and specifications.






26. Harmonious use of the land for more than one purpose; not necessarily the combination of uses that will yield the highest economic return - e.g. - a mix of residential and commercial developments in the same area.






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






28. A collection pipe to which building laterals are connected.






29. 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.






30. The amount of runoff that reaches the point of measurement within a relatively short period of time after the occurrence of a storm or other form of precipitation. Also called 'direct runoff.'






31. A natural underground layer of porous - waterbearing materials (sand - gravel) usually capable of yielding a large amount or supply of water.






32. 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.






33. Water or wastewater flowing from a higher elevation to a lower elevation due to the force of gravity. The water does not flow due to energy provided by a pump. Wherever possible - wastewater collection systems are designed to use the force of gravity






34. Material used in backfilling of an excavation - selected for desirable compaction or other characteristics.






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






36. A chamber or well used with storm or combined sewers as a means of removing grit which might otherwise enter and be deposited in sewers. Also see STORM WATER INLET and CURB INLET.






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






38. The slope of a plot of land. Grading is the mechanical process of moving earth changing the degree of rise or descent of the land in order to establish good drainage and otherwise suit the intent of a landscape design.






39. 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.






40. Post at which the railing terminates at each floor level.






41. A preliminary plan showing proposed ultimate site development. Master plans often comprise site work that must be executed in phases over a long time and are thus subject to drastic modification.






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






43. In the United States - a certification of individuals entitled to use the term 'landscape architect' or to practice landscape architecture or both - by means of examination and required degree and experience criteria.






44. 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.






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






46. A septic tank or other holding tank which serves as a temporary wastewater storage reservoir for a Septic Tank Effluent Pump (STEP) system. See SEPTIC TANK.






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






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






49. Water that may contain objectionable pollution - contamination - minerals - or infective agents and is considered unsafe and/or unpalatable for drinking.






50. A pipe or conduit (sewer) intended to carry wastewater or waterborne wastes from homes - businesses - and industries to the POTW (Publicly Owned Treatment Works). Storm water runoff or unpolluted water should be collected and transported in a separat