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






2. 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






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






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






5. A manhole located at the upstream end of a sewer and having no inlet pipe. Also called a DEADEND MANHOLE.






6. 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






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






8. That part of rain or other precipitation that runs off the surface of a drainage area and does not enter the soil or the sewer system as inflow.






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






10. Masonry composed of irregularly shaped stones laid without regularity of coursing - but well bonded.






11. A type of wastewater or service connection pipe made of a low grade of cast iron. _ In plumbing - a pipe that carries the discharge of toilets or similar fixtures - with or without the discharges from other fixtures.






12. Material used to fill in a trench or excavation






13. The legal grant of right-of-use to an area of designated private property.






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






15. 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.






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






17. 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






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






19. Material used for backfilling a trench or excavation which was not the original material removed during excavation. This is a common practice where tests on the original material show it to have poor compactability or load capacity. Also called BORRO






20. The science and management of land - especially rural - agricultural land.






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






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






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






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






25. 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.






26. 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.






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






28. Elements added to a natural landscape - such as paving stones - gravel - walkways - irrigation systems - roads - retaining walls - sculpture - street amenities - fountains - and other mechanical features.






29. 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.






30. 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






31. 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.






32. A flat board or plate - deflector - guide or similar device constructed or placed in flowing water or slurry systems to cause more uniform flow velocities - to absorb energy - and to divert - guide - or agitate liquids (water - chemical solutions - s






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






34. 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.






35. 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.






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






37. 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.






38. Installation of pumps to lift wastewater to a higher elevation in places where flat land would require excessively deep sewer trenches. Also used to raise wastewater from areas too low to drain into available collection lines. These stations may be e






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






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






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






42. A wastewater pumping station that lifts the wastewater to a higher elevation when continuing the sewer at reasonable slopes would involve excessive depths of trench. Also - an installation of pumps that raise wastewater from areas too low to drain in






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






44. 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.'






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






46. A strip of unspoiled - often treed - agricultural or other outlying land used to separate or ring urban areas.






47. 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.






48. 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






49. 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.






50. Any method of determining the weight a compacted material is able to support without damage or displacement. Usually stated in pounds per square foot.