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Worksheets2022 10 LEED Green Associate PS/PO
Total questions: 73
Worksheet time: 55mins
The triple bottom line can be described as:
People, planet, profit
Socially responsible enterprise and investment
Integration of a building with its natural surroundings
The cost of green building
Economic prosperity, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility define a project's:
Minimum Program Requirements
Federal, state, and/or local regulations
Triple bottom line
Innovation
Which of the following is an example of the triple bottom line in practice?
An energy efficient building built on a site with endangered species
A building material purchased and shipped from overseas
A building with good indoor air quality and minimal insulation
A residential project that contributes to neighborhood revitalization
What does the built environment refer to?
Any environment that is human-made and provides a structure for human activity
A process of continually improving buildings
Structures that provide stronger connections to nature
The green building movement
What must be considered in the project budget for a green building project that would not be part of a conventional project?
Added building equipment to make the building more energy efficient
Contingencies for research of unconventional techniques or materials
Additional time in the schedule for construction
Selecting only ENERGY STAR appliances
What statement is true regarding green building?
LEED buildings were increasingly common until construction costs rose 30% in the last two years
Green design is a cost neutral add-on
The construction of green buildings have no major significant cost difference to non-green buildings
LEED teams are achieving certification through widely diverse methods
A building's total emissions footprint does which of the following over time?
Incrementally increases
Incrementally decreases
Remains the same
Fluctuates
Which of the following is most important to the design and construction of a building for emissions reduction?
Choosing sustainable materials
Building location
Using on-site renewables
Purchasing carbon offsets
In the United States buildings account for ____ carbon dioxide emissions.
42%
26%
34%
38%
In the United States buildings account for ____ electricity consumption.
72%
56%
66%
74%
Globally, transportation is responsible for what percent of greenhouse gas emissions?
20%
25%
30%
35%
The built environment, including buildings and transportation systems, account for what percent of all greenhouse gas emissions?
1/4
1/2
1/3
2/3
The green design approach taken by LEED:
Reduces the environmental harms of buildings and restores the balance of natural systems
Is useful only in urban areas where there is existing infrastructure
Can only be used on projects with large budgets to offset the higher expenses of green building
Emphasizes occupant health over saving energy
The linear use of resources where outputs are treated as waste contributes to the toxins accumulating in the atmosphere, water and on the ground. This has accelerated the pace of the planet's biggest problem which is:
Poor water quality
Products containing hazardous chemicals
Climate change
Indoor air quality
Extracting and sourcing raw materials in a responsible manner is intended to avoid all of the following EXCEPT:
Deforestation
Degradation of water sources
Infringement of indigenous people's rights
Threats to rare and endangered species
Depletion of the ozone layer
A business owner that purchases a fleet of green delivery vehicles reduces what externality?
Pollution added to the environment
Sales tax revenue to the community
The comfort of the drivers
Additional parking spaces for green vehicles
What environmental externalities occur when buildings use significant quantities of potable water indoors?
Decreased energy efficiency
Increased water rates
Increased environmental burdens on the water supply
Increased stormwater runoff
What is a negative environmental externality of locating a project in an area that does not have diverse uses or public transportation access, and is not densely developed?
Availability of high-paying jobs
Increased air pollution
Increased development costs
Increased tax base
What is an economic benefit for the triple bottom line that LEED-certified buildings may have?
More healthful and productive environments for occupants
Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions
Reduced waste sent to landfills
Qualification for tax rebates
What is the value of documenting and tracking a building's resource use?
Contributes to knowledge that will advance research in the future
Reduces first costs
Reduces end-of-life costs
Reduces a building's embodied energy
What is the most impactful way that a project can help to reverse contribution to climate change?
Reducing fossil-fuel based energy consumption
Using salvaged materials
Choosing healthy building materials
Locating the project near diverse uses
Green buildings have on average energy use intensities that are ____ lower than in typical buildings.
12%
16%
24%
28%
Which building project supports the triple bottom line?
Energy efficient building that has poor acoustics
Flooring material with a small carbon footprint extracted from an area that displaced local people
Eco-resort built in an area with threatened species
Building renovation in a federal empowerment zone
What is considered a positive externality of LEED-certified buildings on building occupants?
Decreased absenteeism
Energy efficiency improvements
Reduced water consumption
Improved daylighting
The operation of buildings, including landscaping, accounts for ____ of total water use in the United States.
6%
14%
18%
20%
How can the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the built environment be reduced?
Installing single pane glazing in buildings
Implementing a waste-to-energy program
Improving the energy efficiency of buildings
Building on a greenfield site
What metric is useful for determining the energy, water, solid waste, materials, and transportation impacts of buildings and communities?
Ozone depletion potential
CFC leakage rate
H2O emissions
Carbon emissions
Which is NOT a long term effects of climate change?
Higher sea levels
Higher temperatures
Longer droughts
Reduced CO2 emissions
Which percentage of the Earth's water is fresh water?
3%
5%
7%
10%
What are local ordinances?
Building codes based on national model codes
Local government regulations imposed to promote orderly development of private lands and prevent land-use conflicts
A law usually found in a municipal code
Recommendations for good building practices
From where are most local codes adopted?
USGBC
International Code Council
California laws
Federal regulations
What specifies the set of rules for the minimum acceptable level of safety for buildings?
Local zoning
Building codes
American Institute of Architects
Local ordinances
What organization develops building safety and fire prevention codes for the construction of residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools?
Department of Energy (DoE)
ASHRAE
International Code Council
Underwriters Laboratory (UL)
What green building codes can be enforced by law?
ISO 14001
LEED
ENERGYSTAR
International Green Construction Code
For which of the following are the ICC International Codes used?
Guiding code officials about hazardous chemicals contained in building materials
Establishing energy-efficiency guidelines for public buildings
Defining minimum indoor air quality standards
Providing minimum safeguards for people at home, at school, and in the workplace
If a developer is planning on building a multi-family residential project what is the most important element for the project team to research for opportunities and limitations.
Proximity to mass transit
Local zoning
Nearby LEED BD+C projects
Availability of Recycling Haulers
If a state has a green building code and a project team wants to pursue LEED certification:
The state building code requirements can be used instead of the LEED requirements
The state building code requirements have precedent over the LEED requirements
LEED requirements can be used instead of the state building code requirements
The project team can follow either the state building code requirements or the LEED requirements
A project team wants to install a rainwater harvesting system to provide water to flush toilets but local code does not permit this. What should the project team do?
Find alternative solutions for indoor water use reduction
Submit a CIR to the LEED project reviewer
Request an exception from the LEED project reviewer to allow the reduction anyway
Have the plumbers install the system anyway
Before using graywater to irrigate a project's landscape the landscape architect should review:
EPA Rainwater Management Model
EPA WaterSense Water Budget Tool
Local codes
ENERGY STAR WaterSense
What review practice identifies design alternatives that reduce costs while yielding higher performance?
Life cycle assessment
Life cycle costing
Value engineering
Environmentally responsive design
What accounting methodology is used to evaluate the economic performance of a product or system over its useful life?
Triple bottom line accounting
Cradle-to-cradle
Life cycle assessment
Life cycle costing
What is the term for the analysis of the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service?
Triple bottom line accounting
ASHRAE Level I audit
Life-cycle assessment
Life-cycle costing
What term refers to the investigation and valuation of the environmental impacts of a given product or service caused or necessitated by its existence?
Life cycle assessment
Soft cost
Hard cost
Life cycle costing
A building with a vegetated roof is going to require additional costs for more materials to support the structure and for waterproofing, as well as plant materials. What are the life-cycle costing benefits of a vegetated roof?
Lower maintenance costs and Reduction in rainwater runoff
Longer product life and Reduced heat islands
Lower maintenance costs and Longer product life
Reduction in rainwater runoff and Reduced heat islands
What is an example of an economic benefits for an owner of a green building?
Increasing the tax base to the community
Increasing the value of the ecosystem services
Reduced disturbance of greenfield sites
Reduced liabilities due to poor indoor air quality causing health issues
Compared to a conventional building, a green building project and construction budget will also include:
Life cycle costing
Fees to review local laws and standards
Costs to implement erosion control plans
Soft costs
An additional cost that a green building project may have compared to a conventional project is:
Consultant fees for green building experts
Permit fees for plumbing
Added utility costs
Increased prices for selecting a sustainable site
Which of the following does green building help with creating?
Increased externalities on ecosystem services
Communities with open resource loops with linear impacts on the built environment
Communities that are more vital to a healthy society
High Priority Sites
What is an example of a construction hard cost?
Permit fees
On-site renewable energy system
Reporting on a building's energy consumption over time
Payments received from recycled materials
Which of the following would be classified as a soft construction cost?
Civil engineer consulting fee
Construction worker labor costs
Purchase of some steel
Rental of a dumpster
Which of the following has the lowest soft cost?
Renewable Energy Credits (RECs)
Legal fees for building contracts
Self-guided education program on the green features of a project
Construction waste hauling fees
What is an example of an ongoing operating cost?
Carpet installation
Attorney fees for building contracts
Salaries for janitorial services in a building
Design of a sedimentation control plan
What is an example of construction hard costs for an office condominium project?
Fees to develop tenant agreements
Financing Fees
Irrigation fees for water use
Masonry costs paid to a sub-contractor
What process identifies the high-performance building systems that will save money over the life of a project?
Life-cycle costing
Value engineering
Life-cycle assessment
First costs
What is an example of value engineering?
Increasing the diversion rate of recycled materials
Replacing an asphalt parking lot with less costly crushed gravel that has higher SRI
Selecting insulation with higher upfront costs but lower life cycle costs
Choosing a flooring material that has higher costs and a lower environmental impact over a flooring material that has lower costs and a greater environmental impact
What is different about green building design compared to conventional design?
Green building costs more
Green building has longer schedules
Green building uses an integrative process
Green building does not have a bidding phase
A project building in a colder climate is located in a basin that replenishes the water supply each spring from the snow on nearby mountains. If the design team thinks ahead to the future, how would this influence the design of the project?
Commissioning will be important
Adaptive reuse should be considered
Adaptive reuse should be considered
Natural gas for heating should be used
A study by the New Buildings Institute found that in green buildings, average energy use intensities (energy consumed per unit of floor space) are _____ than in typical buildings
24% lower
16% lower
32% lower
5% higher
What is true if a building code official finds an issue between a proposed energy efficiency strategy and the city's building electrical code?
The electrical contractor can proceed with the design
The project team must alter the design
A LEED reviewer must approve the existing strategy
The project administrator should re-run the energy model
Relative to the LEED project design what has a low soft cost?
Building commissioning
Cost of the LEED charrette
Facility management costs
Carpet installation
If a project team increases the ventilation in a building and adds quality views to occupant spaces what will be the result?
Improved productivity of the occupants
Decreased air quality for the occupants
Increased resource use for the project
Decreased first costs
What is an example of regenerative design?
A net-zero energy building
A building that uses rainwater onsite
A project with a community recycling program
A building that generates electricity and sends the excess to the grid
Sustainable plans for built environments that improve existing conditions is called:
Adaptive reuse
Net-zero energy project
Regenerative design
Passive design
What is an example of a structural incentive that may be available to a developer to encourage green building?
Tax credits
Density bonuses
Grants
Fee waivers
What low / no cost structural incentive can a municipality make to a developer to encourage green building?
Allowing increases in the floor area ratio
Green building grants
Tax credits
Fee waivers
What financial incentive can a municipality offer to a developer that proposes a green building?
Percentage increase in the floor area ratio
Increases in the allowable density
Allowing a building to be have an increased height
Tax credits
What non-financial incentives can a municipality offer to encourage developers to build residential projects to green standards?
Low interest loans
Performance contracts for solar power
Permit Expediting
Appointments to the city council
A developer for an office building will lease out spaces to tenants. What is the value to the developer for certifying the building?
Certified green office buildings rent for 2% more than comparable buildings
Certified green office buildings have guaranteed grants from local governments
Certified green office buildings do not have to go through the permitting process
Certified green office buildings receive 0% interest loans
A team for a school project is reviewing potential site locations and building designs. What would have the greatest impact on improving test scores for the students?
Installing low-emitting furniture and desks
Orienting the building to maximize daylighting
Locating the building in a walkable neighborhood
Including an indoor swimming pool
What options within LEED credits address different geographic and climactic regions while providing solutions to challenges faced by projects at a regional level?
Alternative Compliance Paths
Regional priority credits
Innovation credits
Minimum program requirements (MPRs)
What helps a project take advantage of the environmental assets of the area they live in?
Regional Priority credits
Minimum Program Requirements
Prerequisites
Local building code
Regional priority credits are specific to:
LEED credit category
LEED rating system family (BD+C, ID+C, etc.)
LEED project type (schools, healthcare, data centers, etc.)
The state the project is located in
How does LEED encourage focusing on regional issues?
Regional priority credits
Adhering to all local building codes
Using reasonable LEED boundaries
Awarding more points to those projects that have ENERGY STAR ratings
