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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. 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






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






3. A U.S. government agency responsible for developing and enforcing regulations that guide the use of land and natural resources.






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






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






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






7. A type of easement granting permission to a constructor or developer to build over a street or structure.






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






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






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






11. 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.






12. 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.






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






14. Broken stones - boulders - or other materials placed compactly or irregularly on levees or dikes for the protection of earth surfaces against the erosive action of waves.






15. Solid material settled from suspension in a liquid.






16. Regulations specifying the type of construction methods and materials that are allowable on a project.






17. 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.






18. 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.






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






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






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






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. 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.






24. 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.






25. 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.






26. 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.






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






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






29. 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.






30. 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.






31. Material used to fill in a trench or excavation






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






33. 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.






34. The science and art of design - planning - management and stewardship of the land. Landscape architecture involves natural and built elements - cultural and scientific knowledge - and concern for resource conservation to the end that the resulting en






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






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






37. 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.






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






39. A popular social concern of the late nineteenth and early 20th centuries aimed at improving the appearance of urban areas through better planning and the addition of formal - romanticized public spaces and gardens.






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






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






42. The amount of liquid which a solid material can absorb. Sand - as an example - can hold approximately onethird of its volume in water - or three cubic feet of dry sand can contain one cubic foot of water. A denser soil - such as clay - can hold much






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






44. A device that admits surface waters to the storm water drainage system. Also see CURB INLET and CATCH BASIN.






45. A wall or plate placed in an open channel and used to measure the flow of water. The depth of the flow over the weir can be used to calculate the flow rate - or a chart or conversion table may be used to convert depth to flow. A wall or obstruction u






46. 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.






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






48. 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






49. 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






50. A special valve with a hinged disc or flap that opens in the direction of normal flow and is forced shut when flows attempt to go in the reverse or opposite direction of normal flows.