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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 groundwater table that is changed by artificial means. Examples of activities that artificially raise the level of a groundwater table include agricultural irrigation - dams and excessive sewer line exfiltration. A groundwater table can be artifici






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






3. 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.






4. 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






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






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






7. 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






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






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






10. 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.






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






12. 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.






13. 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.






14. 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.






15. 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.'






16. 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






17. Water that may contain objectionable pollution - contamination - minerals - or infective agents and is considered unsafe and/or unpalatable for drinking.






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






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






20. A road laid through a garden or park-like landscape - usually with median and roadside plantings.






21. In landscape architecture - an essential sheet showing site boundaries and significant site features - used as a basis for subsequent plan development.






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. In the United States - a certification of individuals entitled to use the term 'landscape architect' or to practice landscape architecture or both - by means of examination and required degree and experience criteria.






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






25. A community's used water and water carried solids (including used water from industrial processes) that flow to a treatment plant. Storm water - surface water - and groundwater infiltration also may be included in the wastewater that enters a wastewa






26. 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






27. 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.






28. 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.






29. A device made of pipe fittings used to prevent sewer gases escaping from the branch or lateral sewer from entering a building sewer.






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






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






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. 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.






34. 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.






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






36. 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






37. Vertical member supporting the railing.






38. 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






39. 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.






40. 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.






41. 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






42. A small box-like structure that contains valves used to regulate flows.






43. 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






44. 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.'






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






46. A layer - usually of concrete or mortar - for providing continuous support to such items as bricks - slabs - pipes.






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






48. 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.






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






50. Precipitation which has been rendered (made) acidic by airborne pollutants.