LEED Green Associate Practice Test 1
1. What does a LEED rating reflect?
a. The cost of a building
b. How green a building is
c. The carbon footprint of a building’s occupants
d. The location of a building
2. How can the proximity of a mass transit system to a building site affect a project?
a. Construction must occur only when the system is not operational
b. Smaller parking areas will be required
c. The building's windows must be designed to shield occupants from noise and vibrations
d. The minimum occupancy rate requirement will be increased
3. Which phase of a construction schedule requires monitoring by a project team leader?
a. The pre-design phase
b. The materials selection phase
c. The construction phase
d. All phases
4. Which of the following is not considered part of a building’s footprint?
a. The restrooms
b. The foundation
c. The parking lot
d. The kitchen area
5. Which of the following building sites is most likely to qualify for LEED certification?
a. A plot of land that has been developed already and is located two miles away from a federally protected wetland
b. An undeveloped swampland that has been flooded several times in the last 100 years
c. An empty meadow which is a few yards away from a stream occupied by trout
d. An undeveloped area several feet away from a river which serves as an important industrial route for local commerce
6. How many credits are needed for a LEED Silver Rating?
a. 60-79
b. 40-49
c. 30-39
d. 50-59
7. Which of the following is considered a hard cost?
a. Design
b. Insurance
c. Fees for building permits
d. Labor
8. Who develops the LEED professional credentialing tests?
a. The GCBI
b. The DOE
c. The AIA
d. The USGBC
9. Which entity works to advance Energy Security?
a. The Department of Energy
b. The Environmental Protection Agency
c. The Green Building Certification Institute
d. The United States Green Building Council
10. How might using green building practices in home construction make a building more marketable?
a. By earning a LEED Gold Rating
b. By reducing pollution during the construction phase and avoiding fines
c. By relying on existing transportation infrastructure and reducing the commuting costs for occupants
d. By reducing the energy use and operating costs of the home
Answers and Explanations
1. B: LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and is a system for rating how green a building is. Although LEED ratings can be affected by factors such as carbon footprints and how a building relates to the site, a LEED score takes many other elements of a building into account. A LEED rating can affect a building’s value, but LEED scores do not reflect a building’s cost.
2. B: LEED encourages building near existing infrastructure, including mass transit systems, in order to provide alternatives to driving, which is a more significant source of pollution and noise than most mass transit systems. A key benefit of proximity to mass transit is that it will decrease the amount of parking needed for a project. Maximum occupancy rates, however, will generally not be affected by transit issues.
3. D: A construction schedule is a time-line that is created before the project and divides the project into stages which may include design, materials selection, construction/renovation, as well as other phases. A project team leader is responsible for overseeing a project from start to finish, thus a project team leader will monitor all phases of a project.
4. C: The development footprint of a project encompasses all buildings and all of the other created features of a site such as paths, roads, gardens, and parking lots. A building’s footprint, however, is defined as the building itself (including the foundation of the building). This would also include all rooms inside a building such as the bathrooms or kitchens. So a parking lot is part of the development footprint, but not the building’s footprint.
5. A: LEED has specific standards for the type of building sites which are eligible for certification. Land that has not been previously developed will not qualify if it lies within 50 feet of a body of water that might support industrial activity, fish, or recreation activities, or if it lies beneath the 100-year flood level. Land within 100 feet of a federally-recognized wetland will also not qualify, but 2 miles away from a wetland would qualify as a certifiable building site as long as local ordinances consider it legal.
6. D: The LEED rating system requires certain features for all projects and awards credits for certain non-mandatory features of a project. The number of these credits will determine the rating. The project team leaders determine for which credits they will apply. The minimum number of credits to certify is 40-49. A score of 60-79 points earns Gold, and 80 points or higher earn a Platinum rating. A 50-59 credit score earns Silver.
7. D: Budgets may divide project costs into hard and soft. Hard costs include expenditures on labor and materials, while soft costs include all other associated fees such as design, management, permits, and any other costs which may arise. In this case labor is a hard cost.
8. A: The LEED rating system is developed by the United States Green Building Council, but the LEED credentialing exams are developed, applied, and delivered by the Green Building Certification Institute which is a separate organization. The American Institute of Architects is a professional association that supports architects. The United States Department of Energy does not create the LEED tests.
9. A: The United States Department of Energy has many purposes, including advancing energy security (as well as economic and national security) and supporting innovation in the sciences and technical fields associated with energy. The Environmental Protection Agency exists to protect society and the environment. The United States Green Building Council creates the LEED rating system, and certification is partially administered by the Green Building Certification Institute.
10. D: Building green means that a home will use energy more efficiently than a standard home, so the operating costs (utilities of a house will be reduced which is a selling point). Although LEED standards might reduce pollution during construction and LEED encourages building in areas with existing infrastructure, these may not impact the operating costs of a home as directly as energy use.
Last Updated: 12/19/2012