LARE Section 2 flashcards
LARE Section 2 · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- DBH
- Diameter at breast height, measured 4.5 feet above grade on the uphill side of the trunk; the standard metric in tree inventories and the basis for critical root zone calculations.
- Contour interval
- The vertical distance between adjacent contour lines. Use 1 to 2 feet on flat sites, 5 feet on rolling terrain, and 10 feet on steep terrain for legible topographic mapping.
- Slope percentage formula
- Slope percent equals rise divided by run, multiplied by 100. A 10-foot rise over 100 feet of horizontal distance is a 10 percent slope.
- NAVD88
- North American Vertical Datum of 1988, the current reference for elevations in the United States. Surveys based on the older NGVD29 must be converted before use.
- Hydric soil indicator
- Soil formed under saturated, anaerobic conditions, shown by low chroma, redoximorphic features, or organic accumulation. Its presence indicates wetlands and constrains development.
- Web Soil Survey
- NRCS online mapping tool that reports SSURGO soil units, drainage class, depth to seasonal water table, and shrink-swell potential for preliminary site assessment.
- Critical root zone
- The soil area around a tree that contains enough roots for survival, commonly estimated as a radius of 1 foot per inch of trunk diameter.
- Base map scale selection
- Choose 1 inch equals 20 feet for detailed site design, 1 inch equals 40 to 100 feet for site planning, and 1:24,000 USGS quadrangles for regional context.
- Slope suitability classes
- 0 to 3 percent is flat and often poorly drained; 3 to 10 percent suits most development; 10 to 15 percent is steep; above 15 percent is limited and above 25 percent generally unbuildable.
- Weighted overlay
- A suitability method that assigns weights to mapped factors such as slope, soils, and views, then sums weighted scores to rank land for a proposed use.
- Aspect
- The compass direction a slope faces. In the northern hemisphere, south- and west-facing slopes are warmer and drier, while north-facing slopes are cooler and moister.
- Frost pocket
- Cold air drains downhill and collects in valleys and low spots, creating a microclimate with later frost and higher risk for tender plants.
- Viewshed analysis
- A GIS or line-of-sight method that determines which areas are visible from a chosen viewpoint, used to protect views and position screening.
- Rational method
- Peak runoff formula Q = CiA, where C is the runoff coefficient, i is rainfall intensity, and A is drainage area; used for small watersheds.
- Opportunities and constraints
- A synthesis map separating land favorable for development from land to protect, such as steep slopes, wetlands, floodplains, and mature tree stands.
- Prevailing wind
- The direction from which wind most often blows at a site, guiding windbreak placement, outdoor comfort zones, and building orientation.
- ADA accessible route slope
- Accessible routes may not exceed 5 percent running slope. Ramps between 5 and 8.33 percent require handrails, landings, and edge protection.
- Standard parking stall
- A parking space typically 9 feet wide by 18 feet deep; an adjacent accessible stall is 8 feet wide with a 5-foot access aisle.
- Van accessible stall
- An 11-foot-wide stall with a 5-foot access aisle, or an 8-foot stall with an 8-foot aisle, serving side-lift and rear-lift vans.
- Fire apparatus access
- Access roads typically 20 feet wide with 13 feet 6 inches of vertical clearance and adequate turning radius so fire apparatus can reach buildings.
- Floor area ratio
- Total building floor area divided by lot area. A zoning measure that controls building bulk and density independent of building height.
- Minimum grading slope
- Paved surfaces need at least 1 to 2 percent slope and turf at least 2 percent to drain; vegetated swales commonly use 1 percent minimum.
- Adjacency matrix
- A grid scoring relationships between program spaces as strong, medium, weak, or undesirable, converting user needs into a bubble diagram.
- Impervious coverage
- The percentage of a site covered by buildings, pavement, and other non-infiltrating surfaces; a common zoning limit and stormwater design driver.
- Graphic scale
- A bar scale printed on a drawing that stays accurate when the sheet is enlarged or reduced, unlike a written ratio such as 1:100.
- Line weight hierarchy
- Heavier lines for cut or nearest elements, medium lines for visible edges, light lines for background and annotations, conveying depth and legibility.
- Grading plan
- A construction drawing showing existing and proposed contours, spot elevations, drainage flow arrows, and finished floor elevations.
- Planting plan symbols
- Symbols locating plants by size and quantity, paired with a legend listing botanical name, common name, size, spacing, and root type.
- Section-elevation
- A drawing cut vertically through the site that shows grade, structures, and plants in elevation while revealing subsurface or interior conditions.
- North arrow
- An orientation symbol required on site plans, kept consistent across all sheets and referenced to true or magnetic north.
- Bubble diagram
- A loose diagram of circles or blobs representing program spaces, with connecting lines showing desired adjacencies, used before scale drawings.
- Title block
- Sheet border information including project name, client, drawing title, scale, date, revision, and designer; required on every construction document.