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






2. 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.






3. 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.






4. 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






5. The pipes - conduits - structures - equipment - and processes required to collect - convey - and treat domestic and industrial wastes - and dispose of the effluent and sludge.






6. A branch of biology dealing with the relationship between living things and their environment.






7. 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.






8. Harmonious use of the land for more than one purpose; not necessarily the combination of uses that will yield the highest economic return - e.g. - a mix of residential and commercial developments in the same area.






9. The upper surface of the zone of saturation of groundwater in an unconfined aquifer.






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






11. 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.






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






13. A plan for conserving or protecting various natural or manufactured resources. Such a plan is used as a management tool in making decisions regarding soil - water - vegetation - manufactured objects and other resources at a particular site.






14. The elements of supply inherent to an area that can be used to satisfy human needs - including air - soil - water - native vegetation - minerals and wildlife.






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






16. 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.






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






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






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






20. Sewers are surcharged when the supply of water to be carried is greater than the capacity of the pipes to carry the flow. The surface of the wastewater in manholes rises above the top of the sewer pipe - and the sewer is under pressure or a head - ra






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






22. 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.






23. 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.






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






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






26. 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.






27. Solid material settled from suspension in a liquid.






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






29. 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






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






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






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






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






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






35. The dropping or lowering of the ground surface as a result of removing excess water (overdraft or overpumping) from an aquifer. After excess water has been removed - the soil will settle - become compacted and the ground surface will drop and can cau






36. 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






37. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






43. The amount of runoff that reaches the point of measurement within a relatively short period of time after the occurrence of a storm or other form of precipitation. Also called 'direct runoff.'






44. 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.






45. 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.






46. A network of pipes - manholes - cleanouts - traps - siphons - lift stations and other structures used to collect all wastewater and wastewatercarried wastes of an area and transport them to a treatment plant or disposal system. The collection system






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






48. The protection - improvement and use of natural resources according to principles that will assure the highest economic or social benefits for people and the environment now and in the future.






49. 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.






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