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This is Hardcore Trivia Quiz

Lots of things are termed "Hardcore" nowadays, but thiz quiz has the genuine article! And a few other things besides, all of which go into the building of our roads and highways. How much do you know about the humble pavement under your feet?

A multiple-choice quiz by Rowena8482. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
Rowena8482

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
333,754

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
438

Question 1 of 10

1. As the title of this quiz states, "This is Hardcore". In roadbuilding terms, what *is* hardcore? Hint

Milled pieces of graded stone, no larger than 25mm in diameter

Concrete or cement reinforced with small pieces of metal, often waste or trimmings from foundries

Residue from landfill or subsidence that must be cleared before roadbuilding can begin

Poorly graded stone, often waste or contaminated with other things

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. To determine the strength of the underlying layers of a road, a test known as CBR is used. What does CBR stand for? Hint

California Bearing Ratio

Clinton-Bering Reading

Condensed Building Regulations

Construction Build Rating

3. Something called 'planings' are sometimes used during the construction of a new road. They can be in with the asphalt top layer, or lower down as part of the sub-base layer. What are these planings? Hint

Wood chips and shavings

Glass pellets up to 7mm in diameter

Thermoset plastic shavings

Milled bits of the previous road surface

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. Various regulations governing road construction around the world set out size limits for different aggregate particles and materials. Often, these use microns; what is a micron? Hint

One thousandth of a metre

One hundred millionth of a metre

One hundred thousandth of a millimetre

One thousandth of a millimetre

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. Macadam is a name often associated with roadbuilding, as the inventor of Tarmacadam, often shortened to Tarmac. Do you know Mr. Macadam's forenames? Hint

John Loudon

David Keen

Stewart Temple

Graeme Hastings

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Question 6 of 10

6. Until the mid 1990s, the most widely used road surfacing material in the UK was 'hot rolled asphalt'. Using this meant that a layer of something else had to be added to the top of the road surface before it could be used. What was this addition? Hint

Sockets for catseyes

Stone chippings

Hard glaze

Red dye

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. To a roadbuilder, what does the acronym SMA stand for? Hint

Standard Mix Asphalt

Single Marble-type Aggregate

Stone Made Aggregate

Stone Mastic Asphalt

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. One of the world's premier producers of asphalt products for roadbuilding is TLA, short for T____ Lake Asphalt. Which place does the T stand for? Hint

Tashkent

Turkey

Trinidad

Timbuktu

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Question 9 of 10

9. Many people will have heard the phrase "All roads lead to Rome", but where exactly in Rome was the 'Millarium Aureum' or Golden Milestone, that was considered the beginning of every roman road? Hint

Outside the main entrance of the Colosseum

At the crest of the Palatine Hill

On the southern bank where the Aniene joins the Tiber

In the Forum, near the Temple of Saturn

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. Who was the Roman military engineer and architect whose book "De Architectura" survives to this day, and laid out the specifics for building a Roman road? Hint

Scipio

Balbus

Livy

Vitruvius

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. As the title of this quiz states, "This is Hardcore". In roadbuilding terms, what *is* hardcore?

Answer: Poorly graded stone, often waste or contaminated with other things

When building a road, the actual ground upon which it will lie is called the subgrade. If this needs some strengthening, or to fill in any remaining contours after rolling or ramming, hardcore is used for the first layer of road. It comprises lumps of brick, stone, masonry, and any other demolition or quarry waste available. It can also have wood, plastic, or other waste mixed in it, and tends to be unprocessed.

Hardcore allows the higher layers of the road to be better compacted during construction and makes the road stronger and more stable.

2. To determine the strength of the underlying layers of a road, a test known as CBR is used. What does CBR stand for?

Answer: California Bearing Ratio

The CBR is defined as "The ability of a material to resist an applied load compared to that of a standard granular material expressed as a percentage". The lower the result, the weaker the material is. The seasonal differences in the CBR of various roadbuilding materials must also be taken into account - some substances have an appreciable difference from summer to winter, or between wet and dry values.

Answer: Milled bits of the previous road surface

When a road is to be resurfaced, the current surface layer is removed by a 'milling machine' type planing vehicle. This has a large roller or wheel with toothed edges, and scrapes the old top surface off the road, chewing it into fine pieces as it goes. These pieces are the planings, or milled pavement, which can then be recycled to form part of the new road.

4. Various regulations governing road construction around the world set out size limits for different aggregate particles and materials. Often, these use microns; what is a micron?

Answer: One thousandth of a millimetre

A micron is one thousandth of a millimetre, or one millionth of a metre. The symbol used to represent a micron is the Greek letter mu and an m.(�m)
A micron can also be called a micrometer, with micron being used to distinguish between the unit and the instrument which measures it.

5. Macadam is a name often associated with roadbuilding, as the inventor of Tarmacadam, often shortened to Tarmac. Do you know Mr. Macadam's forenames?

Answer: John Loudon

John Loudon Macadam was born in Scotland, in 1756, and developed his "macadamisation" process during the early nineteenth century. This process has been said to have been the "first major change in road construction since the Romans", and is now used worldwide.

Answer: Stone chippings

The stone chippings were spread before the asphalt had completely cooled, and rolled in. This gave a better grip for tyres and reduced the chances of vehicles skidding.

7. To a roadbuilder, what does the acronym SMA stand for?

Answer: Stone Mastic Asphalt

Stone Mastic Asphalt is a fairly modern innovation in road construction. It was developed in Germany, during the 1960s, and is a more stable and durable road surface than other kinds of asphalt. It is often used for roads where traffic flow is heavy.
The mastic is made by mixing bitumen with a mix of powdered limestone and fibre, called filler. The pieces of stone are then mixed through the mastic, and the surface is laid. In appearance, a stone mastic surface looks almost like a mosaic, or even a fruit cake, with the pieces of stone aggregate surrounded by the mastic.

8. One of the world's premier producers of asphalt products for roadbuilding is TLA, short for T____ Lake Asphalt. Which place does the T stand for?

Answer: Trinidad

Trinidad Lake Asphalt are based in La Brea in Trinidad. They mine bitumen from Pitch Lake and process it in various ways, for export.
The Trinidadian La Brea should not be confused with 'the' La Brea Tar Pits of Los Angeles, where the dinosaur remains are found.
In the UK, asphalt is used to describe several different substances made up of bitumen and various other things. In the USA these are known as 'hot mix.' In America, asphalt is a term used solely for bitumen.

Answer: In the Forum, near the Temple of Saturn

All distances within the Roman Empire were calculated from the Millarium Aureum. It was placed in the Forum, close to the Temple of Saturn, by Caesar Augustus.
A standard Roman milestone on a main route was seven feet tall, with the bottom two feet buried in the ground, and weighed around two tons! Archaeologists think that the Millarium Aureum was four times this size, and either made of, or gilded with, bronze on a marble plinth.

10. Who was the Roman military engineer and architect whose book "De Architectura" survives to this day, and laid out the specifics for building a Roman road?

Answer: Vitruvius

Roman roads were built using almost the same principles in use today. Via munita, the 'regular roads' were identical other than variations in local stone, no matter where in the Empire they were laid.
The three lowest layers in the construction, laid onto the packed earth, were the statumen, audits, and nucleus. These are equivalent to the hardcore subbase, base, and the binder courses in a modern road.
There are a crater and a mountain on the Moon named for Vitruvius.

Source: Author Rowena8482

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
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