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






2. 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






3. 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.






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






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






6. Vertical member supporting the railing.






7. Shoring members placed across a trench to hold other horizontal and vertical shoring members in place.






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






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






10. The legal grant of right-of-use to an area of designated private property.






11. 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






12. Tamping or rolling of a material to achieve a surface or density that is able to support predicted loads.






13. A tank used to store a chemical solution of known concentration for feed to a chemical feeder. A day tank usually stores sufficient chemical solution to properly treat the water being treated for at least one day. Also called an AGE TANK.






14. 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






15. A reservoir for the storage of filtered water of sufficient capacity to prevent the need to vary the filtration rate with variations in demand. Also used to provide chlorine contact time for disinfection.






16. Material used to fill in a trench or excavation






17. 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.






18. Rain and snow water accumulated in the earth's porous rock.






19. 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.






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






22. A trained builder or installer of landscapes - retained to implement the plans of landscape architects.






23. 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.






24. 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






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. A wall or plate placed in an open channel and used to measure the flow of water. The depth of the flow over the weir can be used to calculate the flow rate - or a chart or conversion table may be used to convert depth to flow. A wall or obstruction u






27. 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






28. A manhole which fills and allows raw wastewater to flow out onto the street or ground.






29. 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.






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






31. 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.






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. 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.






34. A popular social concern of the late nineteenth and early 20th centuries aimed at improving the appearance of urban areas through better planning and the addition of formal - romanticized public spaces and gardens.






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






36. A U.S. government agency charged with administering vast areas of public land.






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






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






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






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






41. 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






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






43. 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.






44. 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.






45. 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.






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






47. A 19th- and 20th-century planned community traditionally featuring careful mixes of housing - open space - commercial activity and recreation. Examples include Reston - Va. - and Columbia - Md. - in the United States - and Harlow and Stevenage in Gre






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






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






50. A small tank (usually covered) or a storage facility used to store water for a home or farm. Often used to store rainwater.