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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 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.'






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






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 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.






5. A reservoir for the storage of filtered water of sufficient capacity to prevent the need to vary the filtration rate with variations in demand. Also used to provide chlorine contact time for disinfection.






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






7. Narrowly defined - the amount of countryside and/or city that can be taken in at a glance. Also - an area of land or water taken in the aggregate.






8. A relatively clear or forested area left untouched in or near a city. It may be active open space - such as a baseball field - or passive open space - such as an area of natural woodland.






9. The used household water and watercarried solids that flow in sewers to a wastewater treatment plant. The preferred term is WASTEWATER.






10. 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.






11. 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.






12. 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






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






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






15. 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.






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






17. 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.






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






19. 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.






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






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






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






23. A receptacle designed to collect and retain grease and fatty substances usually found in kitchens or from similar wastes. It is installed in the drainage system between the kitchen or other point of production of the waste and the building wastewater






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






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






26. An agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior charged with the planning and administration of all parks and monuments in the federal park system. The NPS is often referred to as the largest single employer of landscape architects in the United Sta






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






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






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






30. The precipitation that cannot be absorbed by the soil and flows across the surface by gravity. The water that reaches a stream by traveling over the soil surface or falls directly into the stream channels - including not only the large permanent stre






31. American Society for Testing and Materials






32. 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.






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






34. 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






35. An unstable condition of a solution (water) in which the solution contains a substance at a concentration greater than the saturation concentration for the substance.






36. 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.






37. 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.






38. 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.






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






40. 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.






41. British thermal units; the quantity of thermal energy required to raise one pound of water at its maximum density - 1 degree F. One BTU is equivalent to .293 watt hours - or 252 calories. One kilowatt hour is equivalent to 3412 BTU Back Pressure (wat






42. A wastewater treatment process used to convert dissolved or suspended materials into a form more readily separated from the water being treated. Usually the process follows primary treatment by sedimentation. The process commonly is a type of biologi






43. 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.






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






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






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






47. 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






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






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






50. A structure made of concrete or other durable material to protect bare soil from erosion by splashing or falling water.