Test your basic knowledge |

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. The elevation of the invert (or bottom) of a pipeline - canal - culvert - or similar conduit. _ The inclination or slope of a pipeline - conduit - stream channel - or natural ground surface; usually expressed in terms of the ratio or percentage of nu






2. The lay of the land - particularly its slope and drainage patterns; the science of drawing maps and charts or otherwise representing the surface features of a region or site - including its natural and man-made features.






3. Material used to fill in a trench or excavation






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






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






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






7. 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






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






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






10. 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.






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






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






13. A structure or chamber which is usually sunk or lowered by digging from the inside. Used to gain access to the bottom of a stream or other body of water.






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






15. 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.






16. 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.






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






18. American Society for Testing and Materials






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






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






21. 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.






22. 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.






23. Water or wastewater flowing from a higher elevation to a lower elevation due to the force of gravity. The water does not flow due to energy provided by a pump. Wherever possible - wastewater collection systems are designed to use the force of gravity






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






25. A water service shutoff valve located in a water service pipe near the curb and between the water main and the building. This valve is usually operated by a wrench or valve key and is used to start or stop flows in the water service line to a buildin






26. 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.






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






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






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






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






31. Vertical member supporting the railing.






32. A line from which heights and depths are calculated or measured. Also called a datum plane or a datum level.






33. One or a series of oneinch diameter holes through a manhole lid for purposes of venting dangerous gases found in sewers.






34. The form of the land. Contour lines are map lines connecting points of the same ground elevation and are used to depict and measure slope and drainage. Spot elevations are points of a specific elevation.






35. 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.






36. The condition of water or soil which contains a sufficient amount of acid substances to lower the pH below 7.0.






37. 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






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






39. The process of adding air to water. Air can be added to water by either passing air through water or passing water through air. In wastewater treatment - air is added to freshen wastewater and to keep solids in suspension. With mixtures of wastewater






40. 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






41. A record of each person involved in the handling and possession of a sample from the person who collected the sample to the person who analyzed the sample in the laboratory and to the person who witnessed disposal of the sample.






42. Solid material settled from suspension in a liquid.






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






44. 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.






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






46. 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.






47. 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.






48. 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.






49. 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.






50. Movement of soil from one place to another. Generally accompanies SILTING of a sewer system. Where infiltration is taking place and silt is carried into a sewer system - such silt or soil is removed from the ground around the sewer pipe and the resul