Chapter 7-Material & Resources Questions
1. A product with a Health Product Declaration (HPD) will assist the project team in
selected products that meet which of the following criteria:
A Can be recycled
B Have less negative health effects
C Are verified to have been responsibly sourced
D Are more durable
2. A material that has met which of the following standards would contribute to material
ingredient optimization? (Choose 2)
A Health Product Declaration
B GreenScreen
C Global Reporting Initiative
D Cradle-to-Cradle Certified
3. Which greenhouse gas is produced in landfills as a result of solid waste disposal?
A NH3
B Radon
C Methane
D CO2
4. What is true regarding carpet made from recycled milk jugs? (Choose 2)
A The carpet is more durable than conventional carpets
B The carpet has lower life cycle costs than conventional carpets
C The carpet contains post-consumer recycled content
D The material would reduce the need for virgin materials
5. The project owner of an office park wants to make sure that once a tenant leaves, the
tenant space can be quickly and easily renovated. How would the project team meet this
goal?
A By select materials that are sized appropriately
B By finding contractors who are willing to work on weekends
C By designing for flexibility
D By selecting a waste hauler that has enough hauling capacity
6. A project team for a school project is designing classrooms that will improve the learning
experience. Which of the following building components meet this goal while
maintaining preferable life-cycle impacts?
A New polyester carpet tiles
B Reused acoustic tiles
C Single-pane glazing
D Refurbished desks that contain recycled content
7. A project team is reviewing furniture choices for a tenant space. Which documentation
would they need in order to compare the global warming potential between different
furniture models and manufacturers?
A Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
B BIFMA level
C VOC levels
D Corporate Sustainability Report
8. A project has construction debris that is nonrecyclable waste. Which of the following
actions can the project team take with the waste that will help the project with
construction waste management?
A Waste-to-energy
B Send it to a landfill
C Exclude it from the credit calculations
D Bury it on site
9. A laboratory project requires a lot of special-use equipment and systems to keep the areas
inside sterile. What would a sub-contractor need to safely handle a product during
installation?
A The quantity of recycled content in a product
B A Material safety data sheet (MSDS)
C A Health product disclosure (HPD)
D MERV 13 filters
10. For what purpose would a project team do a life-cycle assessment?
A To measure the VOC content between different paints
B To compare the raw materials of different products
C To understand the trade-offs of material selection and energy performance
D To calculate a project's indoor baseline water use
11. Which of the following actions are aided by completing a life-cycle assessment (LCA) of
a building during the design process? (Choose 2)
A Reducing change orders
B Determining the materials that best fit the project over the building's life
C Reducing the amount of materials used
D Shortening the construction schedule
E Decreasing the project costs
12. An environmentally conscience tenant wants to select flooring that is environmentally
preferable in an effort to plan ahead for when the tenant will eventually move to a larger
office space. Which of the following flooring products meet the criteria? (Choose 2)
A Wood flooring that a manufacturer takes back after its end of life and refinishes
B Ceramic tile that a manufacturer takes back after its end of life and recycles
C Carpet that a manufacturer takes back after its end of life and burns
D Linoleum tile that a manufacturer takes back after its end of life and sends to the landfill
13. A manufacturer has a carpet tile that includes an environmental product declaration
(EPD) and health product declaration (HPD). The manufacturer has also published a
corporate sustainability report (CSR). Which of the following do these documents aid?
A Material design optimization
B Transparency
C Reducing product costs
D Improving the community
14. For new construction projects, which of the following tools enable the project team to
understand the environmental impact of a building over its entire life?
A Cradle-to grave life cycle analysis (LCA)
B ENERGY STAR rating
C LEED Online
D EPA ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager
15. Which of the following would help with sustainable purchasing during building
operations?
A Purchasing recycled printer paper
B Ordering toner cartridges online
C Purchasing cafeteria food from a nearby distribution center
D Removing any ENERGY STAR qualified vending machines
16. What is greenwashing?
A Building green buildings in an industrial area
B The implementation of a green cleaning custodial policy
C Advertising a product or policy to be more environmentally friendly than it really is
D Changing local zoning codes to be greener
17. A project owner runs several different offices in different states. Each office is
responsible for purchasing its own office supplies. Why is it important to have an
environmental purchasing plan for the ongoing operations of all the buildings?
A To provide purchasing guidelines and responsibilities
B To locate locally sourced materials
C To list the least expensive products available
D To get bulk discounts on purchases
18. Which of the following identifies the difference between a Health Product Declaration
(HPD) and an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)?
A An HPD is a format for reporting product contents and health information about
products and materials
B An HPD certifies a manufacturer and its subcontractors treat all workers fairly and
pay them adequate wages
C An HDP provides workers with procedures to safely handle a product during
fabrication and installation
D An HDP quantifies the environmental impact of a product or system
19. How can a project team learn about the environmental impacts of a manufacturer's
extraction operations and the product's supply chain?
A By check if the company is a USGBC member
B By reviewing the manufacturer's corporate sustainability report (CSR)
C By analyzing the product's health product declaration (HPD)
D By conducting a life-cycle assessment of the product
20. Which of the following reduce the energy use and waste associated with the demolition
and construction of buildings? (Choose 3)
A Rehabilitating blighted buildings
B Restoring existing buildings
C Designing buildings with single-pane glazing for daylighting
D Incinerating construction waste from a demolition
E Preserving historic structures
21. A project team is reviewing potential building materials for a school project. What impact
would reusing brick and stone found off-site have on the triple bottom line? (Choose 2)
A The reuse would reduce peak energy demands.
B The reuse would be cost-effective.
C The reuse would decrease energy performance.
D The reuse would take away local jobs.
E The reuse would be sustainable.
22. For solid waste management, which of the following ranks the highest by the EPA to
reduce waste?
A Source reduction
B Recycling
C Waste to energy
D Reuse
23. A wood product is environmentally preferable if it has which of the following attributes?
A Wood harvested from an unmanaged forest
B Wood that does not rot from the treatment of carcinogenic chemicals
C Wood that is sustainably grown and harvested
D Wood harvested from the land of an indigenous tribe
24. What is FSC Certified wood?
B Wood that has been procured from well managed forests
C Composite wood that does not contain any urea formaldehyde
D Composite wood that contains post-consumer recycled wood, usually from
construction and demolition debris
25. What should be included in a construction waste management plan?
A Which existing building materials - if any - will be reused
B The distance products were purchased from the construction site
C New technologies and materials that will help reduce waste
D If any construction waste materials to be recycled will be commingled or separated
26. How can an architect make sure that the general contractor understands what products to
include in a project?
A Tell the contractor during the LEED charrette
B Include the specifications in the purchasing policy
C Send the contractor an email
D Select the materials to use in LEED online
27. What do the credits in the Materials and Resources (MR) category focus on?
A Helping project teams select materials that have the most environmental benefits at the
least cost
B Reducing the quantity of materials used on a project
C Minimizing the embodied impacts associated with the entire life-cycle of building
materials
D Selecting materials that are more energy efficient than traditional building materials
28. Which of the following exemplify strategies of reducing harm to the environment over a
building's entire life? (Choose 3)
A Restoring a historic building
B Tearing down a building and putting up a more energy-efficient one in its place
C Conducting a life-cycle assessment to help reduce a building's environmental
footprint
D Developing a new building on prime farmland
E Using salvaged flooring in a new building
29. Which of the following materials can be certified under the Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC)? (Choose 3)
A Hardwood cabinets
B Bamboo floors
C Softwood moulding
D Wheatboard desks
E Leather furniture
F Linoleum floor tiles
30. Which of the following are strategies that help a project team design for flexibility?
(Choose 3)
A Modular casework
B Occupancy sensors
C Moveable furniture
D Demountable partitions
E Underground parking
F Operable windows
31. In which of the following ways would a project use environmental product declarations
(EPDs)?
A To identify products that contain hazardous chemicals
B To help the project team understand a product's sustainable qualities
C To select product's that have met a minimum standard of energy efficiency
D To find certified green building products
32. A tenant is reviewing cabinets for an office kitchen. One option is wheatboard cabinets
sourced from different areas and compressed together with glue. A second option is solid
oak cabinets extracted and manufactured locally. How can the environmental attributes of
the products be compared?
A By a review of the manufacturer's corporate sustainability policy
B By a life-cycle assessment
C By the product's MSDS
D By an air-quality sample
33. Which of the following is NOT a strategy to reduce construction waste?
A Use salvaged materials
B Maximize the building footprint
C Sell unused materials
D Recycle materials
34. Which of the following are the environmental benefits of reusing a building? (Choose 2)
A Preserves a site's historical, cultural, and aesthetic values
B Makes landfills last longer
C Reduces demands on virgin resources
D Increases water efficiency
E Reduces CFCs
35. Which project layout would be the best for reducing demand for new materials?
A An outdoor shopping mall built on a greenfield
B Single-home residences in a suburban area
C A dense, mixed-use neighborhood
D A multi-building office project with single-story buildings
36. What document does the project team create for the administrative and procedural
requirements for salvaging, recycling, and disposing of non-hazardous demolition and
construction waste?
A Building recycling plan
B Owners Project Requirements (OPR)
C Construction waste management plan
D Building commissioning plan
37. What are the biggest waste categories sent to landfills as a result of the building
operations in commercial buildings? (Choose 2)
A Mercury containing light bulbs
B Concrete
C Organics
D Paper
E Aluminum cans
38. The choice of a building material used for a project should be determined by what
criteria? (Choose 3)
A The size of the company supplying the materials
B How long the material has been used in other projects
C If the company is a USGBC member
D The impact the material has on society
E The environmental impact of extracting and manufacturing the material
F The cost of the material
39. Which of the following is one of the most toxic and common sources of indoor air
pollution in an existing building?
A VOCs
B CFCs
C Radon
D Mercury
40. For building product disclosure and optimization, how would a project team calculate the
optimization of materials?
A By volume
B By quantity
C By cost
D By weight
41. A large home builder is developing a new neighborhood with 200 homes. What strategies
would help the builder save on material costs and conserve materials? (Choose 3)
A Select products that ship with less packaging
B Choose products made in factories that support worker health
C Reducing hallways
D Advanced framing
E Structural insulated panels
F Low VOC paints
42. Which of the following does LEED use as a standard means of reporting the
environmental impacts of a product, such as global warming potential and greenhouse
gas emissions?
A Environmental Product Declarations
B Greenhouse Gas Inventory
C MSDS
D Carbon management tool
43. Which of the following legally binding documents describe the quality of the materials to
be used on the project?
A Cradle-to-Grave Analysis
B Health Product Declaration (HPD)
C Specifications
D Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
44. When selecting windows for a building project, along with performance and adaptability,
what else should the project team consider?
A The social context of the windows
B Reusing old windows
C Leverage points in the windows
D Embodied energy of the windows
45. A floor covering that can be recycled into a new product at the end of its useful life
would be what type of product?
A Passive
B Cradle to grave
C Cradle to cradle
D Renewable
46. An environmental product declaration (EPD) for LEED must conform to which of the
following standards?
A ASHRAE
B Green-e
C ISO
D Local code or jurisdiction
47. In an existing office building, how can the project team determine if there are additional
opportunities for increasing the amount of waste diverted from ongoing operations?
B Count the number of recycling bins
C Survey the building occupants
D Review the monthly waste-haul receipts
48. When reviewing products in the integrative design, which of the following are
environmentally preferable material attributes that should be considered? (Choose 2)
A Durability
B Being assembled in factories that pay below average wages
C Being created in the same or neighboring countries
D Supporting the local economy
49. What is an example of adaptive reuse?
A Designing a building with a flexible floor plan that can accommodate offices or
apartments
B Renovating a historic home
C Tearing down an old steel mill and putting residences on the property
D Designing classrooms so they can be divided into separate class spaces
50. Which of the following is an example of a source control waste reduction strategy?
A Using commingled recycling
B Reusing salvaged materials onsite
C Installing recycling bins onsite
D Pre-ordering materials cut to size
51. REACH Optimization would be used in which of the following credit categories?
A Location and Transportation
B Materials and Resources
C Energy and Atmosphere
D Indoor Environmental Quality
52. Which of the following are effective ways to lessen the overall environmental
consequences of an interior space over its lifetime? (Choose 2)
A Installing demountable interior nonstructural walls
B Choosing products that have a published Environmental Product Declaration
(EPD)
C Selecting a site located 1 mile (1,600 meters) from public transportation
D Installing 1.6 gpf (6 lpf) toilets
E Selecting refurbished furniture
53. The manufacturer of a foam ceiling acoustic tile has disclosed the ingredients in the
product. With this information project teams will be able to do which of the following?
A Select less expensive products
B Determine if the product is locally sourced
C Make better-informed decisions
D Evaluate the greenhouse gas emissions of the product
54. Which of the following strategies should a hospital project choose to extend the life of
the building and conserve building resources as the surrounding population grows?
A Design rooms with modular systems
B Site the building in a dense area
C Purchase additional land on which to construct additional buildings
D Select low-emitting materials
55. A project team has evaluated the potential for source reduction, reuse, and recycling of
project materials to minimize the construction waste sent to the landfill. If the project
team also considers a waste-to-energy strategy, which of the following needs to be
addressed?
B The green materials selected
C The size of the HVAC system
D Strict air-quality control
56. The purchasing policies for the ongoing operations of a building should address which of
the following? (Choose 2)
A Utility rates
B RECs
C Durable goods
D Designing for flexibility
E Pest control service
F Ongoing consumables
57. Which of the following purchasing decisions would reduce the environmental harm used
in the operations of a school project? (Choose 3)
A Cafeteria food from a local farm
B New textbooks
C Paper towels that are FSC certified
D ENERGY STAR computers
E Power adapters
F Lithium ion batteries
58. Which of the following would an EPD reveal about a product?
A How long the product can be expected to last
B If the product is part of a take-back program
C The raw materials contained in the product
D The energy resource depletion of the product
59. Selecting products that have been developed with a sustainable design is an example of:
A Waste diversion
B Source reduction
C Reuse
D Recycling
60. When choosing products that have Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), which
factor is used in determining if LEED credit can be earned?
A The number of different permanently installed products used from one manufacturer
B The cost of the qualifying products as a percentage of the total project cost
C The cost of the qualifying products as a percentage of the total building envelope
material's cost
D The number of different permanently installed products used from different
manufacturers
61. Which of the following materials, if reused, would be considered pre-consumer recycled
content? (Choose 3)
A Sunflower seed hulls
B Milk jugs
C Construction and demolition debris
D Sawdust
E Walnut shells
62. What are the environmental benefits of using salvaged wood flooring in a residential
project?
A The wood flooring will reduce the demand for virgin resources
B The wood flooring will have a lower installation cost
C The wood flooring will increase the tax base of the local economy
D The wood flooring will have a lower cost since it did not have to be extracted from a
forest
63. A construction waste management plan should address what items?
A The use of certified wood
B Corporate sustainability reporting
C Source reduction
D What materials should be diverted from the waste stream