Engineering Hydrology Questions and Answers – Rainfall-Runoff Process

This set of Engineering Hydrology Multiple Choice Questions & Answers (MCQs) focuses on “Rainfall-Runoff Process”.

1. When rain starts falling, it strikes the buildings and different objects and gets collected there. What is it called?
a) Rainfall infiltration
b) Rainfall interception
c) Rainfall storage
d) Rainfall collection
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: When rain starts falling it gets intercepted on many buildings, trees and many other objects. A part of the rainfall gets collected there. This amount of rainfall is known as rainfall interception.

2. The rainfall interception is of much importance in the case of intense rainfall.
a) True
b) False
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: Rainfall interception is the amount of rainfall which does not reach the ground as it strikes different objects like fast buildings, trees, etc. In case of intense rainfall this amount of rainfall interception is very small so it is considered to be negligible. In case of lighter rains, the amount of rainfall interception is counted and therefore considered to be important.

3. What is ground rainfall?
a) Difference between total rainfall and infiltration
b) Difference between total rainfall and runoff
c) Difference between total rainfall and excess rainfall
d) Difference between total rainfall and intercepted rainfall
View Answer

Answer: d
Explanation: When rain starts falling, the total rainfall does not reach the ground surface. Some amount of rainfall is intercepted by buildings, trees, and many more objects. Thus, the difference between total rainfall and intercepted rainfall is called ground rainfall.
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4. The rate at which amount of rainfall that is absorbed by soil of any condition is known as ____________
a) Excess runoff
b) Interception capacity
c) Infiltration capacity
d) Absorption capacity
View Answer

Answer: c
Explanation: When rainfall reaches the ground surface after fulfilling the amount of rainfall interception then soil absorbs some amount of rainfall. The rate at which maximum amount of rainfall can be absorbed by soil in its present condition is known as infiltration capacity.

5. The amount of rainfall collected in depressions in a basin is known as ________________
a) Depression collection
b) Depression storage
c) Depression infiltration
d) Depression interception
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: When rainfall reaches the ground, it is collected in many depressions in a basin. This collected rainfall is known as depression storage. The rainfall is collected up to overflow rate in depressions.

6. Depression storage does not appear as surface runoff.
a) True
b) False
View Answer

Answer: a
Explanation: The amount of rainfall collected in depressions is either used up by vegetation or evaporated or it is absorbed by soil as infiltration. So, depression storage is not converted to surface runoff.

7. The water that reaches the stream channel from excess rainfall is known as __________
a) Infiltration
b) Surface detention
c) Depression storage
d) Surface runoff
View Answer

Answer: d
Explanation: At the time of rainfall, after rainwater fulfills the depression storage and also the infiltration then if more amount of rainwater is left behind, it is called excess rainfall. The excess rainfall flows in the basin and then reaches the stream channel. The amount of water that reaches the stream channel in this way is called surface runoff.
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8. What is the formula of excess or effective rainfall?
a) Excess rainfall = Total rainfall – Interception – Depression storage – Infiltration
b) Excess rainfall = Total rainfall – Infiltration
c) Excess rainfall = Total rainfall – Interception – Depression storage
d) Excess rainfall = Total rainfall – Interception – Infiltration
View Answer

Answer: a
Explanation: Excess rainfall is that amount of rainfall which only exists if rainwater is left after fulfilling depression storage, infiltration and interception. Therefore, the formula of excess or effective rainfall is as follows:
Excess rainfall = Total rainfall – Interception – Depression storage – Infiltration

9. What is initial basin loss?
a) Sum of infiltration and depression storage
b) Only depression storage
c) Only rainfall interception
d) Sum of rainfall interception and depression storage
View Answer

Answer: d
Explanation: The sum total of rainfall interception and depression storage is known as initial loss or initial basin loss. Therefore, excess rainfall can be measured as the amount of rainfall left after fulfilling the initial basin loss and infiltration.
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10. What is potential infiltration?
a) Infiltration capacity
b) Sum of infiltration and initial basin loss
c) Rainwater which is not infiltrated
d) Sum of surface runoff and infiltration
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: The sum total of infiltration and initial basin loss is known as potential infiltration. In the case of intense rainfall, the initial basin loss is very small so it is either ignored or included in the infiltration itself. Therefore, in the case of intense rainfall, the excess rainfall is the amount of rainwater leftover after fulfilling infiltration of rainwater.

11. The rain that falls near the end of a storm at a rate less than the infiltration capacity is known as ___________
a) Residual rain
b) Final rain
c) Residual discharge
d) Final discharge
View Answer

Answer: a
Explanation: The rainfall near the end of a storm at a rate less than the infiltration capacity is known as residual rain. The rainfall at the beginning of the storm before it fills the depression storage is called initial rain.

12. What is the net supply interval?
a) Interval between infiltration and interception
b) Interval between initial rain and residual rain
c) Interval between residual and final discharge
d) Interval between initial basin loss and infiltration
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: The intervening period between initial rain and final rain is known as net supply interval. The infiltration that occurs after the net supply interval is known as residual infiltration.

Sanfoundry Global Education & Learning Series – Engineering Hydrology.

To practice all areas of Engineering Hydrology, here is complete set of 1000+ Multiple Choice Questions and Answers.

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Manish Bhojasia, a technology veteran with 20+ years @ Cisco & Wipro, is Founder and CTO at Sanfoundry. He lives in Bangalore, and focuses on development of Linux Kernel, SAN Technologies, Advanced C, Data Structures & Alogrithms. Stay connected with him at LinkedIn.

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