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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 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.






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






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






4. 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






5. 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.






6. 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






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






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






9. Vertical member supporting the railing.






10. The running off of water from a land surface or subsurface - such as through sewers or natural means.






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






12. 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.






13. 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






14. 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.






15. A reservoir for the storage of filtered water of sufficient capacity to prevent the need to vary the filtration rate with variations in demand. Also used to provide chlorine contact time for disinfection.






16. 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






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






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






19. 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






20. 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.






21. 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.






22. 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.






23. 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.






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






25. 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.






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






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






28. 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.






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






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






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






32. 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






33. 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.






34. Clarifier - Settling Tank. A tank or basin in which wastewater is held for a period of time during which the heavier solids settle to the bottom and the lighter materials float to the water surface.






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






36. Rain and snow water accumulated in the earth's porous rock.






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






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






39. Any attempt to restore to beneficial use land that has lost its fertility and stability; most often applies to mining reclamation - such as the restoration of strip mines and quarries.






40. 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






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






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






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






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






45. The slope of a plot of land. Grading is the mechanical process of moving earth changing the degree of rise or descent of the land in order to establish good drainage and otherwise suit the intent of a landscape design.






46. 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.






47. 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.'






48. A line from which heights and depths are calculated or measured. Also called a datum plane or a datum level.






49. 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






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