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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 large pipe to which a series of smaller pipes are connected. Also called a HEADER.






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






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






4. 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.






5. 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.






6. A biological wastewater treatment process which speeds up the decomposition of wastes in the wastewater being treated. Activated sludge is added to wastewater and the mixture (mixed liquor) is aerated and agitated. After some time in the aeration tan






7. 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.'






8. 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.






9. 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






10. Sand - silt - gravel and rocks carried or washed into a collection system by infiltration water flows.






11. The lowest point of the channel inside a pipe - conduit - or canal.






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






13. Any designated use or activity on a piece of land.






14. The pipeline extending from the water main to the building served or to the consumer's system.






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






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






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






18. 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.






19. 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.






20. 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.






21. A rough guess of the amount of flow in a collection system. When greater accuracy is needed - flow could be computed using average or typical flow quantities. Even greater accuracy would result from metering or otherwise measuring the actual flow.






22. 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






23. 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).






24. OE The pressure at a specific elevation exerted by a body of water at rest - or _ In the case of groundwater - the pressure at a specific elevation due to the weight of water at higher levels in the same zone of saturation.






25. 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.






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






27. The linear or a real dimension over which a higher component transmits load to a lower component






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






29. 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.






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






31. 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.






32. The oxidation ditch is a modified form of the activated sludge process. The ditch consists of two channels placed side by side and connected at the ends to produce one continuous loop of wastewater flow and a brush rotator assembly placed across the






33. 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.






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






35. 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.






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






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






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






39. 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






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






41. 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






42. A sewer installed to connect two separate sewers. If one sewer becomes blocked - wastewater can back up and flow through the interconnector to the other sewer.






43. An arrangement of pipes - equipment - devices - tanks and structures for treating wastewater and industrial wastes. A water pollution control plant.






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






45. The excess water running off from the surface of a drainage area during and immediately after a period of rain. See STORM RUNOFF.






46. Solid material settled from suspension in a liquid.






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






48. 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.






49. 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






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