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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 protection - improvement and use of natural resources according to principles that will assure the highest economic or social benefits for people and the environment now and in the future.






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






3. 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.






4. A chamber or well built at the curbline of a street to admit gutter flow to the storm water drainage system. Also see STORM WATER INLET and CATCH BASIN.






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






6. 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.'






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






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






9. A device made of pipe fittings used to prevent sewer gases escaping from the branch or lateral sewer from entering a building sewer.






10. 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






11. 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.






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






13. 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.






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






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






16. Solid material settled from suspension in a liquid.






17. Masonry composed of roughly shaped stones fitting approximately on level beds - well bonded and brought at vertical intervals to continuous level beds of courses.






18. 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.






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






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






21. An opening or point of access in a building wastewater pipe system for rodding or snake operation.






22. 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.






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






24. 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.






25. A break in a lateral pipe somewhere between the sewer main and the building connection.






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






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






28. Railing support at landings or other breaks in the stairs. If an angle post projects beyond the bottom of the strings - the ornamental detail formed at the bottom of the post is called the drop.






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






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






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






32. 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






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






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






35. Movement of soil from one place to another. Generally accompanies SILTING of a sewer system. Where infiltration is taking place and silt is carried into a sewer system - such silt or soil is removed from the ground around the sewer pipe and the resul






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






37. The pipes - conduits - structures - equipment - and processes required to collect - convey - and treat domestic and industrial wastes - and dispose of the effluent and sludge.






38. 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.'






39. 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.






40. 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.






41. 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.






42. A groundwater table that is changed by artificial means. Examples of activities that artificially raise the level of a groundwater table include agricultural irrigation - dams and excessive sewer line exfiltration. A groundwater table can be artifici






43. 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.






44. A system used where wastewater collection systems and treatment plants are not available. The system is a settling tank in which settled sludge is in intimate contact with the wastewater flowing through the tank and the organic solids are decomposed






45. In landscape architecture - an essential sheet showing site boundaries and significant site features - used as a basis for subsequent plan development.






46. 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






47. 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.






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






49. Any designated use or activity on a piece of land.






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