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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 receptacle designed to collect and retain grease and fatty substances usually found in kitchens or from similar wastes. It is installed in the drainage system between the kitchen or other point of production of the waste and the building wastewater






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






3. 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.






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






5. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






11. 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






12. The gathering of a gas - liquid - or dissolved substance on the surface or interface zone of another material. Advanced Waste Treatment (water) n Any process of water renovation that upgrades treated wastewater to meet specific reuse requirements. Ma






13. A preliminary plan showing proposed ultimate site development. Master plans often comprise site work that must be executed in phases over a long time and are thus subject to drastic modification.






14. 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.






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






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






17. A break in a lateral pipe somewhere between the sewer main and the building connection.






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






19. 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






20. 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






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






22. The force that resists the separation of two bodies in contact.






23. The pipe system for collecting and carrying water and watercarried wastes from domestic and industrial sources to a wastewater treatment plant.






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






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






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






27. The science and management of land - especially rural - agricultural land.






28. A large - public park - often highly scenic and isolated belonging to and operated by the federal government.






29. 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.






30. 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






31. 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






32. Soil that cannot absorb any more liquid. The interstices or void spaces in the soil are filled with water to the point at which runoff occurs.






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






34. 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






35. 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.






36. 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






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






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






40. 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.






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






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






43. 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






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






45. A network of pipes - manholes - cleanouts - traps - siphons - lift stations and other structures used to collect all wastewater and wastewatercarried wastes of an area and transport them to a treatment plant or disposal system. The collection system






46. 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






47. American Society for Testing and Materials






48. 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.






49. 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.






50. Landscape architecture - (civil) engineering - urban planning and architecture. Agronomy is also often included in this group.