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






2. 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.






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






4. A professional society that represents landscape architects in the United States and Canada and seeks to better the practice and understanding of landscape architecture through education - research - state registration and other programs.






5. 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.






6. 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






7. That part of rain or other precipitation that runs off the surface of a drainage area and does not enter the soil or the sewer system as inflow.






8. Sand - silt - gravel and rocks carried or washed into a collection system by infiltration water flows.






9. 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






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






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






12. 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






13. 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.'






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






15. 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.






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






17. A natural underground layer of porous - waterbearing materials (sand - gravel) usually capable of yielding a large amount or supply of water.






18. 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.






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






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






21. 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.






22. 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.






23. 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.






24. 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.






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






26. 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.






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






28. The lowest point of the channel inside a pipe - conduit - or canal.






29. 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






30. The illustration and description of problem-statements and large-scale design solutions that affect extensive areas of land; the anticipation of problems that will be encountered as human use and development of land continues.






31. 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






32. 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.'






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






34. A professional who designs - plans - and manages outdoor spaces ranging from entire ecosystems to residential sites and whose media include natural and built elements; also referred to as a designer - planner - consultant. Not to be confused with lan






35. Water that does not contain objectionable pollution - contamination - minerals - or infective agents and is considered satisfactory for drinking.






36. 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.






37. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






45. Load applied along or parallel to and concentric with the primary axis






46. 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.






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






48. 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.






49. 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






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