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






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






4. 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.






5. 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






6. 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






7. 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.






8. In zoning - a housing or commercial development composed of individual units that are regulated as a whole.






9. A chamber or well built at the curbline of a street to admit gutter flow to the storm water drainage system. Also see STORM WATER INLET and CATCH BASIN.






10. A large pipe to which a series of smaller pipes are connected. Also called a HEADER.






11. A type of wastewater or service connection pipe made of a low grade of cast iron. _ In plumbing - a pipe that carries the discharge of toilets or similar fixtures - with or without the discharges from other fixtures.






12. 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






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






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






15. An opening or point of access in a building wastewater pipe system for rodding or snake operation.






16. Vertical member supporting the railing.






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






18. A type of easement granting permission to a constructor or developer to build over a street or structure.






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






20. 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






21. 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.






22. Downward movement of the soil or of a structure which it supports






23. 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






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






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






26. 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.






27. 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.






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






29. 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.






30. A downspout or pipe installed to drain a roof gutter to a storm drain or other means of disposal.






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






32. 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.






33. 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






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






35. The pipes - conduits - structures - equipment - and processes required to collect - convey - and treat domestic and industrial wastes - and dispose of the effluent and sludge.






36. Material used to fill in a trench or excavation






37. British thermal units; the quantity of thermal energy required to raise one pound of water at its maximum density - 1 degree F. One BTU is equivalent to .293 watt hours - or 252 calories. One kilowatt hour is equivalent to 3412 BTU Back Pressure (wat






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






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. 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






41. American Society for Testing and Materials






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






43. An arrangement of pipes - equipment - devices - tanks and structures for treating wastewater and industrial wastes. A water pollution control plant.






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






45. 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.






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






47. 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.






48. A coordinating agency formed in 1961 for state boards that administer licensing exams and maintain records for landscape architects to practice.






49. 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






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