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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. An agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior charged with the planning and administration of all parks and monuments in the federal park system. The NPS is often referred to as the largest single employer of landscape architects in the United Sta






2. Branch or lateral sewers that collect wastewater from building sewers and service lines.






3. A pipe or conduit (sewer) intended to carry wastewater or waterborne wastes from homes - businesses - and industries to the POTW (Publicly Owned Treatment Works). Storm water runoff or unpolluted water should be collected and transported in a separat






4. 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






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






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






7. 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






8. 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






9. 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.






10. 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






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






12. 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.






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






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






15. 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






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






17. 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.






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






19. Vertical member supporting the railing.






20. Horizontal shoring members - usually square - rough cut timber - that are used to hold solid sheeting - braces or vertical shoring members in place. Also called STRINGERS.






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






22. A wall that resist horizontal forces applied in the plane of the wall.






23. The angle between a horizontal line andthe slope or surface of unsupported material such as gravel - sand -or loose soil. Also called the 'natural slope.'






24. Sedimentation basin overflow weir. A plate with Vnotches along the top to ensure a uniform flow rate and avoid shortcircuiting.






25. 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.






26. 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.






27. Masonry composed of irregularly shaped stones laid without regularity of coursing - but well bonded.






28. 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.






29. Acronym for 'Computer Aided (i.e. - Assisted) Design and Drafting -' a digital design process in which landscape architects use computers to help produce precise drawings and details for the construction of a project.






30. A wastewater pumping station that lifts the wastewater to a higher elevation when continuing the sewer at reasonable slopes would involve excessive depths of trench. Also - an installation of pumps that raise wastewater from areas too low to drain in






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






32. 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.






33. Opening in a sewer provided for the purpose of permitting operators or equipment to enter or leave a sewer. Sometimes called an 'access hole' or a 'maintenance hole.'






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






35. 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






36. 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.






37. Any attempt to restore to beneficial use land that has lost its fertility and stability; most often applies to mining reclamation - such as the restoration of strip mines and quarries.






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






39. The movement of water through very small spaces due to molecular forces.






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






41. 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






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






43. 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.






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






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






46. Installation of pumps to lift wastewater to a higher elevation in places where flat land would require excessively deep sewer trenches. Also used to raise wastewater from areas too low to drain into available collection lines. These stations may be e






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






48. 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.






49. 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.






50. 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.