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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. Masonry composed of roughly shaped stones - well bonded and brought at irregular intervals vertically to discontinuous but approximately level beds or courses.






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






3. Narrowly defined - the amount of countryside and/or city that can be taken in at a glance. Also - an area of land or water taken in the aggregate.






4. A manhole in which the rate of the water entering is greater than the capacity of the outlet under gravity flow conditions. When the water in the manhole rises above the top of the outlet pipe - the manhole is said to be 'surcharged.'






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






6. 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






7. A sewer line that receives wastewater from many tributary branches and sewer lines and serves as an outlet for a large territory or is used to feed an intercepting sewer.






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






9. 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.






10. 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






11. Installation of pumps to lift wastewater to a higher elevation in places where flat land would require excessively deep sewer trenches. Also used to raise wastewater from areas too low to drain into available collection lines. These stations may be e






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






13. 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.






14. 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.






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






16. 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






17. 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






18. 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






19. The property of a material or soil that permits considerable movement of water through it when it is saturated.






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






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






22. A railing composed of balusters capped by a handrail.






23. 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






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






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






26. 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






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






28. 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.






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






30. The taking in or soaking up of one substance into the body of another by molecular or chemical action (as tree roots absorb dissolved nutrients in the soil).






31. 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.






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






33. The formation of separate layers (of temperature - plant - or animal life) in a lake or reservoir. Each layer has similar characteristics such as all water in the layer has the same temperature. Also see THERMAL STRATIFICATION.






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






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






36. An opening in pipes or sewers designed for rodding or working a snake into the pipe in either direction. Twoway cleanouts are most often found in building lateral pipes at or near a property line.






37. The process of adding air to water. Air can be added to water by either passing air through water or passing water through air. In wastewater treatment - air is added to freshen wastewater and to keep solids in suspension. With mixtures of wastewater






38. 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.






39. 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.






40. 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.






41. 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.






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






43. A multinational organization of landscape architects whose purpose is the promotion of landscape design and planning.






44. A structure made of concrete or other durable material to protect bare soil from erosion by splashing or falling water.






45. The condition of water or soil which contains a sufficient amount of acid substances to lower the pH below 7.0.






46. 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.






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






48. 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






49. 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.'






50. A collection pipe to which building laterals are connected.