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Civil Engineering Vocab

Subject : engineering
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
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  • 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 manhole in which the rate of the water entering is greater than the capacity of the outlet under gravity flow conditions. When the water in the manhole rises above the top of the outlet pipe - the manhole is said to be 'surcharged.'






2. Not easily penetrated. The property of a material or soil that does not allow - or allows only with great difficulty - the movement or passage of water.






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






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






5. 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.






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






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






8. 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.






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






10. 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






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






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






14. 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






15. Pertaining to groundwater - a well - or underground basin where the water is under a pressure greater than atmospheric and will rise above the level of its upper confining surface if given an opportunity to do so.






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






17. 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.






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






19. Load applied along or parallel to and concentric with the primary axis






20. 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.






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






22. 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






23. American Society for Testing and Materials






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






25. 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






26. 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






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






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






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






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






31. 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.






32. 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.






33. 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.






34. 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






35. 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.






36. 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






37. 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






38. A system of gutters - catch basins - yard drains - culverts and pipes for the purpose of conducting storm waters from an area - but intended to exclude domestic and industrial wastes.






39. 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.






40. Subsurface water in the saturation zone from which wells and springs are fed. In a strict sense the term applies only to water below the water table. Also called 'phreatic water' and 'plerotic water.'






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






42. The prepared and compacted base on which a manhole is constructed.






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






44. 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.






45. 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.






46. 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






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






48. A mixture of storm or surface runoff and other wastewater such as domestic or industrial wastewater.






49. A small tank (usually covered) or a storage facility used to store water for a home or farm. Often used to store rainwater.






50. 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