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Quiz Session - Attempts With Random Questions

USGBC LEED Green Associate Exam Questions

Page 10 of 50

181.

In what way are waterless urinals not completely waterless?

  • Water must be used to clean the parts of the urinal

  • A small amount of water is used with each flush

  • The user must pour water into the drain each time the urinal is used

  • Water is used to compost the waste

Correct answer: Water must be used to clean the parts of the urinal

Waterless urinals are designed to allow urine to flow through a trap device without the use of water. It should be noted that since waterless urinals require regular maintenance and cleaning with the use of water, they are not entirely waterless.

No water is used with each flush by a waterless urinal, and the user does not have to add water to the drain. Waterless urinals do not compost waste, they simply reduce the use of water.

182.

A project team has installed operable windows. This strategy is in pursuit of which of the following credits? 

  • EQ Credit - Thermal Comfort 

  • EQ Credit- Interior Lighting

  • EQ Credit- Daylighting

  • EQ Credit- Enhanced Indoor Air Quality

Correct answer: EQ Credit - Thermal Comfort 

Using operable windows is an energy-efficient way to give occupants control over their thermal comfort as well as provide them with the option of fresh air. 

This strategy would not support the credits Interior Lighting, Enhanced Indoor Air Quality, or Daylighting, but it would have synergies with these credits. 

183.

Potable water is best suited for which of the following uses?

  • Drinking water

  • Irrigation

  • Process water

  • Shower water

Correct answer: Drinking water

Potable water is water that is has been treated to a standard that makes it safe for human consumption. Water such as rainwater and process water should never be consumed unless it has been properly treated.

Non-potable water, such as greywater and rainwater runoff, could potentially be used for irrigation, process water and showers.

184.

One way to control rainwater runoff is to create an area to capture the water. Two approaches are dry ponds and rain gardens. Which of the following is a third option? 

  • Bioswales

  • Green infrastructure 

  • Watershed 

  • Wetland

Correct answer: Bioswales 

Bioswales are used for groundwater recharge. They consist of a human-made basin and vegetation. 

Green infrastructure is a broad term that dry ponds, rain gardens, and bioswales would all be considered examples of. The watershed is the land area where the rain drains from and into waterbodies. Wetlands are considered sensitive land, and LEED projects should be built at least 50 feet away from them. 

185.

All of the following are types of contaminants that can adversely affect indoor air quality except:

  • Stormwater runoff

  • Dirt brought in on people's shoes

  • Cleaning products

  • Radon from subgrade sources

Correct answer: Stormwater runoff

Occupants can suffer symptoms of sickness in buildings that are poorly ventilated with unfiltered air because they are breathing in toxins. Many kinds of contaminants can enter a building and adversely affect indoor air quality, such as cleaning products, mold, VOC-emitting building materials, tobacco smoke, fumes from vehicles or HVAC equipment, subsurface radon accumulation, and contaminants from the occupants themselves including substances tracked in on shoes or bioeffluents.

Stormwater runoff is an issue handled with strategies implemented in the Sustainable Sites (SS) category and rarely affects indoor air quality.

186.

Which of the following are project teams required to use according to MR Credit - Building Product Disclosure and Optimization - Material Ingredients to ensure that the chemical inventory of a product is known? 

  • Cradle-to-Cradle Certified Products Standard 

  • ANSI/BIFMA e3-2011

  • Green-e Certification Program 

  • FSC certification 

Correct answer: Cradle-to-Cradle Certified Products Standard 

This third-party standard certifies products based on five different categories. Products can earn certification in Basic, Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum. 

MR Credit - Building Product Disclosure and Optimization - Material Ingredients does not require the use of ANSI/BIFMA e3-2011, Green-e Certification Program, or FSC certification. 

187.

When calculating construction waste, which of the following items should not be included in the calculations? 

  • Debris from land clearing 

  • Masonry

  • Wood

  • Metals 

Correct answer: Debris from land clearing 

Land-clearing debris and any daily cover should not be counted in the construction team's waste calculations. Waste can be commingled and then sorted offsite or sorted onsite, but teams must be able to calculate their waste. 

Masonry, wood, and metals are all examples of materials that can be counted in a construction team's waste calculations. 

188.

Which of the following is a furniture sustainability standard?

  • ANSI/BIFMA e3 

  • ASHRAE Standard 62.1

  • ASHRAE Standard 55

  • CIBSE AM10

Correct answer: ANSI/BIFMA e3

ANSI/BIFMA e3 is a furniture sustainability standard developed by a joint committee of stakeholders using a consensus process. The consensus process is described by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

ASHRAE Standard 62.1 specifies minimum ventilation rates and other measures intended to provide indoor air quality that is acceptable to human occupants and that minimizes adverse health effects. ASHRAE Standard 55 defines the range of indoor thermal environmental conditions acceptable to a majority of occupants. CIBSE AM10 is a standard that defines the process for natural ventilation in nondomestic buildings.

189.

All of the following are true regarding the Environmental Quality Prerequisite–Environmental Tobacco Smoke Control except:

  • Smoking should only be allowed at least 10 feet from the building

  • There should be designated smoking areas for occupants who wish to smoke outside

  • LEED v4 prohibits indoor smoking

  • Project teams should prevent the exposure of ventilation air distribution systems to environmental tobacco smoke

Correct answer: Smoking should only be allowed at least 10 feet from the building

LEED v4 is the first version that prohibits smoking inside nonresidential buildings. Project teams should prevent the exposure of building occupants, indoor surfaces, and ventilation air distribution systems to environmental tobacco smoke. Smoking should only be allowed at least 25 feet, not 10 feet, from the building and only in designated smoking areas.

190.

Once the building is completed, the flush outs and bake-outs done, the thermal and lighting controls installed, and the acoustics improved, how can project teams be sure that occupants are satisfied with their building? 

  • They send out an occupant comfort survey

  • They install meters and submeters 

  • They don't because the job is finished after construction has been completed 

  • They install economizers 

Correct answer: They send out an occupant comfort survey

Once in the occupancy phase, project teams are able to send out surveys to receive feedback on the project. This includes an occupant comfort survey, which is important for both the Indoor Environmental Quality credit category and the integrative design process. 

Installing meters and submeters can help keep track of the building's efficiency, but they wouldn't be able to show occupant satisfaction. In a conventional project, the job would be done after construction was completed but not in a LEED project, which uses the integrative process. Installing economizers would help with indoor temperature control but wouldn't help the team receive feedback. 

191.

What are the focuses of a preferable life-cycle impact on products and materials?

  • Disclosure and optimization

  • Extraction

  • Label information

  • Content

  • Location

Correct answer: Disclosure and optimization

The MR category focuses on disclosure and optimization to ensure that the products and materials used have preferable life-cycle impacts. Disclosure means that all product information is available so that optimization is more feasible, and the process of preferential selection may begin. Extraction, location, content, and label information are part of the disclosure.

192.

The Sustainable Sites category has the credit SS Credit - Rainwater Management. Which of the following is not one of the purposes of this credit? 

  • To collect rainwater for nonpotable water use

  • To reduce the disruption of the area's natural hydrology 

  • To protect the local waterbodies from pollution  

  • To limit soil erosion 

Correct answer: To collect rainwater for nonpotable water use

While using rainwater can be an excellent way to reduce the amount of potable water used for non-drinking purposes, it is not a goal of the credit, but a strategy. Collecting rainwater can prevent runoff, which will reduce the effects it has on the environment.  

The purpose of SS Credit - Rainwater Management is to prevent the effects of rainwater runoff. These effects include disrupting the area's natural hydrology, contaminating water bodies, and soil erosion. 

193.

A building project has calculated their baseline indoor water use. What will they use this number to calculate? 

  • The 20% indoor water use reduction

  • The 30% indoor water use reduction

  • The 20% outdoor water use reduction

  • The 20% reduction from using WaterSense

Correct answer: The 20% indoor water use reduction

To achieve WE Prerequisite - Indoor Water Use Reduction, projects must show a 20% reduction in indoor water use compared to the baseline. 

30% is not necessary for indoor water use reduction. An indoor water use baseline wouldn't help the team find the outdoor water use reduction they need. The team does not need to calculate a percent reduction from their WaterSense products alone. 

194.

What does an integrative process ESTABLISH?

  • Multi-disciplinary team approach

  • Deconstruction of the linear nature of the conventional process

  • Project savings

  • Creation of more communication between all involved parties

Correct answer: Multi-disciplinary team approach

The integrative process does deconstruct the linear nature of the conventional process, create savings, and create clear communication; but it doesn't answer the question of what establishes that action. In the LEED exam, you have to beware of what the question is specifically in reference to. Many of the exam answers are applicable. Look for keywords.

195.

Which of the following programs guides teams to the best green building decisions? 

  • LEED 

  • Greenbuild

  • Cradle-to-Cradle

  • REACH 

Correct answer: LEED 

Project teams using LEED will choose the rating system that best suits them. This rating system and its prerequisites and credits will help the project team make decisions that will lead to a green building, which will make a difference to the environment and the occupants. 

Greenbuild, Cradle-to-Cradle, and REACH are not green building guides. 

196.

A project that is designed to be regenerative is striving toward which of the following goals? 

  • Becoming net zero 

  • Becoming a negative feedback loop 

  • Becoming iterative 

  • Becoming an open system 

Correct answer: Becoming net zero 

A net-zero building creates all the energy it needs onsite. They do not use what they cannot provide themselves onsite and sell any excess they make to the local energy company. 

A negative feedback loop is part of a system that corrects itself. Iterative means repetitive. A regenerative, net-zero project would want to be the opposite of an open system, which brings in materials from the outside and sends out excess as waste. 

197.

Your project team wants to achieve SS Credit - Light Pollution Reduction but doesn't know what to do and wants a simple solution. Which of the options should you recommend? 

  • Select luminaries with low BUG ratings

  • Don't put out any outdoor lights

  • Only use internally illuminated lights outdoors 

  • Use lights with high SRI ratings 

Correct answer: Select luminaries with low BUG ratings

Option 1 of SS Credit - Light Pollution Reduction is to use lights with low BUG ratings. This option is a simple strategy that does not get in the way of safety at night. 

For safety purposes, projects should use outdoor lights at night. Internally illuminated lights can still cause light pollution. SRI ratings have nothing to do with lights. 

198.

What is the main reason many people do not prefer to carpool?

  • Carpooling can restrict aspects of people's lifestyles

  • It is more expensive than other modes of transportation

  • It makes it more difficult to get to work

  • Most people do not want to socialize with coworkers unless they have to

Correct answer: Carpooling can restrict aspects of people's lifestyles

For most people, carpooling is not the first choice to get to and from work. It can impose restrictions that affect one's lifestyle, such as the freedom to work late or pick up children. Therefore, programs such as preferred parking for carpoolers can encourage a lifestyle change and reduce vehicle distance traveled to the building site.

Carpooling is not more expensive than other modes of transportation, and it cuts the cost of driving alone to and from the building in half or more. Although carpooling does require some coordination of logistics, and some people do not want to socialize with coworkers, neither of these is the best answer.

199.

Which of the following is not a benefit of the integrative process? 

  • Guarantee LEED certification 

  • Achieve a more efficient building

  • Discover synergies between building systems and LEED credits 

  • Save on costs 

Correct answer: Guarantee LEED certification 

Using the integrative process does not guarantee LEED certification, but it makes it easier to achieve it. Through this process, professionals of different disciplines work together to build an efficient, sustainable, cost-effective building. 

Some of the benefits of using the integrative process include achieving a more efficient building, discovering synergies between building systems and LEED credits, and saving on costs.  

200.

Which of the following is true about a waste management plan? 

  • Recyclable waste management as well as landfill waste management must be included

  • Landfill waste management alone should be included

  • Only hazardous waste needs to be included in the plan

  • Waste must be sorted onsite and documented in the plan

Correct answer: Recyclable waste management as well as landfill waste management must be included 

Recyclable materials should be included in the waste management, not just materials that would usually go to a landfill. LEED encourages projects to keep track of the waste created during construction. 

Landfill waste or hazardous waste should not be the only waste managed. Waste does not need to be sorted onsite although it is easier to keep track of waste streams that way. 

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