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






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






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






4. A septic tank or other holding tank which serves as a temporary wastewater storage reservoir for a Septic Tank Effluent Pump (STEP) system. See SEPTIC TANK.






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






6. 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






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






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






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






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






11. 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.






12. Legal right to use the property of others for a specific purpose. For example - a utility company may have a fivefoot easement along the property line of a home. This gives the utility the legal right to install and maintain a sewer line within the e






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






14. 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.






15. 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






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






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






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






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






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






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






22. 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.






23. Horizontal shoring members - usually square - rough cut timber - that are used to hold solid sheeting - braces or vertical shoring members in place. Also called STRINGERS.






24. In the United States - a certification of individuals entitled to use the term 'landscape architect' or to practice landscape architecture or both - by means of examination and required degree and experience criteria.






25. 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






26. 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






27. 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.






28. 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






29. An authorization issued by a government agency allowing construction of a project according to approved plans and specifications.






30. A chamber or well used with storm or combined sewers as a means of removing grit which might otherwise enter and be deposited in sewers. Also see STORM WATER INLET and CURB INLET.






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






32. 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.






33. 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.






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






35. 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.






36. The conversion of large solid particles of sludge into very fine particles which either dissolve or remain suspended in wastewater.






37. A layer - usually of concrete or mortar - for providing continuous support to such items as bricks - slabs - pipes.






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






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






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






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






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






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






44. 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






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






46. 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






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






48. 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.






49. 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






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