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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 collection pipe to which building laterals are connected.






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






3. 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.






4. 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.






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






6. 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.






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






8. 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






9. 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






10. A reactor or basin in which baffles or other devices create a series of compartments. The environment and the resulting microbial population within each compartment can be controlled to some extent by the operator. The environmental conditions (food






11. Soil that cannot absorb any more liquid. The interstices or void spaces in the soil are filled with water to the point at which runoff occurs.






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






13. A material - other than aggregate - cementitious material or water - added in small quantities to the mix in order to produce some (desired) modifications - either to the properties of the mix or of the hardened product.






14. That part of the precipitation falling on a drainage area which does not escape as surface stream flow during a given period. It is the difference between total precipitation and total runoff during the period - and represents evaporation - transpira






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






16. A sewer pipe to which building laterals are connected. Also called a COLLECTION MAIN.






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






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






19. 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.






20. Downward movement of the soil or of a structure which it supports






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






22. 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






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






24. Material used to fill in a trench or excavation






25. 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.






26. 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






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






28. 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






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






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






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






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. A professional who designs - plans - and manages outdoor spaces ranging from entire ecosystems to residential sites and whose media include natural and built elements; also referred to as a designer - planner - consultant. Not to be confused with lan






34. In the United States - a certification of individuals entitled to use the term 'landscape architect' or to practice landscape architecture or both - by means of examination and required degree and experience criteria.






35. 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.






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






37. 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.






38. A separate pipe - conduit or open channel (sewer) that carries runoff from storms - surface drainage - and street wash - but does not include domestic and industrial wastes. Storm sewers are often the recipients of hazardous or toxic substances due t






39. 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






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






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






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






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






44. The taking in or soaking up of one substance into the body of another by molecular or chemical action (as tree roots absorb dissolved nutrients in the soil).






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






46. Solid material settled from suspension in a liquid.






47. 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.






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






49. Water that does not contain objectionable pollution - contamination - minerals - or infective agents and is considered satisfactory for drinking.






50. 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.