LEED Green Associate Practice Test 4

1. What is true of a LEED Accredited Professional?
a. He or she has earned a score of at least 170 on the LEED Accreditation Test
b. He or she has had experience working on a LEED certified project
c. He or she has agreed to follow the disciplinary policies of the GCBI
d. All of the above

2. What is the purpose of Sustainable Sites Credit 2?
a. Reducing energy use in residences
b. Rehabilitation of Superfund sites
c. Encouraging development in areas which already have some infrastructure, thus protecting natural resources
d. Ensuring that the project has a reasonable amount of parking spaces

3. Why does LEED encourage reducing the use of automobiles?
a. Fuel-cell automobiles create as much pollution as conventional automobiles
b. Paved parking lots create toxic run-off which contains oil and anti-freeze
c. Automobile commuting increases the energy use of a home
d. All of the above

4. Which type of transportation emits the least pollution over its life cycle?
a. Bicycles
b. Bio-diesel vehicles
c. Buses
d. Gas-electric hybrids

5. What contributes to heat islands?
a. Non-native plants
b. Air conditioners
c. Paved parking lots
d. White-painted roofs

6. What is a green roof?
a. A roof which has plants growing on it
b. A roof with a high albedo
c. A roof which complies with LEED standards for green building
d. A roof which is painted green

7. What is the name given to areas that have been previously used in a way that has polluted the soil?
a. Green-fields
b. Heat islands
c. Brown-fields
d. Dumps

8. What is the required number of bicycle spaces for a commercial building with 20 full-time employees?
a. 20
b. 10
c. 2
d. 1

9. Which term refers to a plant that grows quickly and can overtake an ecosystem?
a. Non-native
b. Adapted
c. Invasive
d. Native

10. Why is the orientation of the sun important to building placement?
a. Open space must be protected whenever possible
b. A building’s placement relative to the sun can affect energy costs
c. The sun’s heat can affect parked cars
d. The sun is a fire hazard

Answers and Explanations

1. D: LEED Accredited professionals not only must score at least 170 on the LEED accreditation test, have experience working on a LEED project in the last three years, and agree to abide by the GCBI disciplinary process, but also undertake all of the requirements for maintaining their credential and allow their application to be audited.

2. C: Sustainable Sites Credit 2 is intended to encourage urban development in areas where infrastructure already exists, which in turn helps protect natural resources. This is usually defined as using a building site that has been previously developed, is within at least 5 miles of both a residential area and at least ten basic services, and offers pedestrian access.

3. B: There are several ways that automobiles create pollution, of which toxic storm-water runoff from parking lots is one. While it is true that hybrid and fuel cell cars may use fossil fuel, they have lower emissions than conventional automobiles. Transportation choices can, but do not always, affect the energy use of a home.

4. A: While alternative fuel cars such as bio-diesel and gas-electric hybrids offer improvements upon traditional automobiles and buses move many more people for each measure of fuel that they use, bicycles rely solely upon human power (food and exertion) to fuel them and are the cleanest form of transportation on the list. Bicycles are clearly not suitable for all transportation choices, so sustainable designs will integrate amenities for cyclists into their designs while simultaneously accommodating the most efficient public transit and automobile options.

5. C: A heat island is an effect that emerges in an urban area which is heavily developed so that the sun heats impermeable surfaces like roads and parking lots. This makes the area hotter than a less-developed area nearby. The effect is undesirable because it increases air conditioning costs. Plants and surfaces that have a high reflectivity (such as surfaces colored white) mitigate the heat island effect.

6. A: Green roofs are roofs that have plants growing on them which can serve as habitat for local animals, provide green space in urban areas, and reduce the heating and cooling costs of a building.

7. C: A brown-field is a site that has been used for industrial or commercial purposes which have left the area contaminated. A green-field is an open and uncontaminated space; a heat island is a highly-developed urban area with a lot of impermeable, low-reflectivity surfaces; a dump is a municipal area designed for trash disposal. LEED encourages rehabilitation of brown-fields because they often have infrastructure already in existence.

8. D: The numbers of secure bicycle spaces are determined using FTE (full-time equivalency) of full-time, part-time, and transient occupants and then multiplying the sum by .05 for a commercial building and by .15 for a residential building. FTE is how many hours people use a building full-time divided by 8, so one person who uses a building for 8 hours equals one full-time equivalent, and a person who uses a building for 4 hours equals .5 FTE. In the case of a commercial building with 20 full-time employees (occupants present for at least 8 hours each per day), each person is 1 FTE (8 hours present/8., giving 20 FTE) 20 FTE * .05 = 1 bicycle space.

9. C: Plants which can overtake an ecosystem are referred to as invasive plants. Plants which grow naturally in an area are native plants, and plants which are well-suited to that area and serve a useful function are called adapted plants.

10. B: Placing a building on an east-west axis gives that building the best potential for day-lighting. The building can also capture heat in winter and stay cooler in the summer. This is an important factor in green building design.