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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.
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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 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






2. 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.'






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






4. 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.






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






6. 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.






7. A sewer designed to carry both sanitary wastewaters and storm or surface water runoff.






8. An agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture - primarily responsible for planning and overseeing the use of national forest lands by private - commercial and government users.






9. 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.






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






11. The man-made creation of or alterations to a specific area - including its natural resources. This is in contrast to the 'natural environment.'






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






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






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






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






16. 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






17. 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.






18. 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






19. 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






20. A sewer that receives wastewater from many tributary branches or sewers and serves a large territory and contributing population.






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






22. 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






23. 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.'






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






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






26. 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.






27. 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.






28. 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






29. 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






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






31. 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






32. 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.






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






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






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






36. Clarifier - Settling Tank. A tank or basin in which wastewater is held for a period of time during which the heavier solids settle to the bottom and the lighter materials float to the water surface.






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






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






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






40. American Society for Testing and Materials






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






42. 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






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






44. 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.






45. 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.






46. 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.






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






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






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






50. British thermal units; the quantity of thermal energy required to raise one pound of water at its maximum density - 1 degree F. One BTU is equivalent to .293 watt hours - or 252 calories. One kilowatt hour is equivalent to 3412 BTU Back Pressure (wat







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