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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 lay of the land - particularly its slope and drainage patterns; the science of drawing maps and charts or otherwise representing the surface features of a region or site - including its natural and man-made features.






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






3. The illustration and description of problem-statements and large-scale design solutions that affect extensive areas of land; the anticipation of problems that will be encountered as human use and development of land continues.






4. 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






5. 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.'






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






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






8. A plan for conserving or protecting various natural or manufactured resources. Such a plan is used as a management tool in making decisions regarding soil - water - vegetation - manufactured objects and other resources at a particular site.






9. A wall that resist horizontal forces applied in the plane of the wall.






10. 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.






11. The condition of water or soil which contains a sufficient amount of acid substances to lower the pH below 7.0.






12. A tank used to store a chemical solution of known concentration for feed to a chemical feeder. A day tank usually stores sufficient chemical solution to properly treat the water being treated for at least one day. Also called an AGE TANK.






13. 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






14. The conversion of large solid particles of sludge into very fine particles which either dissolve or remain suspended in wastewater.






15. 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.






16. A multinational organization of landscape architects whose purpose is the promotion of landscape design and planning.






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






18. Landscape architecture - (civil) engineering - urban planning and architecture. Agronomy is also often included in this group.






19. A railing composed of balusters capped by a handrail.






20. 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.






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






22. 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






23. American Society for Testing and Materials






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






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






26. A trained builder or installer of landscapes - retained to implement the plans of landscape architects.






27. In zoning - a housing or commercial development composed of individual units that are regulated as a whole.






28. The natural elements with which landscape architects work - such as plant materials and the soil itself.






29. A system of major sewers serving as transporting lines and not as local or lateral sewers.






30. The gathering of a gas - liquid - or dissolved substance on the surface or interface zone of another material. Advanced Waste Treatment (water) n Any process of water renovation that upgrades treated wastewater to meet specific reuse requirements. Ma






31. 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.






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






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






34. Solid material settled from suspension in a liquid.






35. Downstream opening or discharge end of a pipe - culvert - or canal.






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






37. A large pipe to which a series of smaller pipes are connected. Also called a HEADER.






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






39. Narrowly defined - an extended view or prospect from a site which - many times - is as important as or more important than the site itself.






40. A 19th- and 20th-century planned community traditionally featuring careful mixes of housing - open space - commercial activity and recreation. Examples include Reston - Va. - and Columbia - Md. - in the United States - and Harlow and Stevenage in Gre






41. Branch or lateral sewers that collect wastewater from building sewers and service lines.






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






43. 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.






44. This landscape architecture specialization has evolved to encompass maintenance of a site in its present condition; conservation of a site as part of a larger area of historic importance; restoration of a site to a given date or quality; renovation o






45. A sewer installed to connect two separate sewers. If one sewer becomes blocked - wastewater can back up and flow through the interconnector to the other sewer.






46. 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.






47. 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.






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






49. 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.






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