Systems Final

What fire rating does a wall need to be if it is 4 feet away from an adjacent building for occupancy group M? See table 602.

2 hours

Sound transmitted directly into a structure at a high energy level is termed:

20Hz to 20,000Hz

According to IBC table 705.8, what percentage of a wall in a group B building may be an unprotected opening if it is 15 feet away from a property line or another building?

25%

How many times larger than the stair itself can the opening around it be before it is considered an atrium?

2x

When is the human ear the most sensitive?

3000-4000Hz

What is the minimum open width of an egress door?

32"

Signals to loudspeakers situated more than ____ feet away from the sound source should be delayed to ensure reinforcement arrives after the direct sound.

40

For most normal occupancy groups, a room with __ people requires two exits.

49

An airborne sound has a frequency of 2000 hz. Assuming the speed of sound is 1000 feet/second, what is the sound's wavelength?

6 inches

What percentage of the world's population is projected to live under water stress in the year 2025?

66% --

The total sum of 58dBA + 68dBA + 71dBA + 74dBA =

77dBA

A delay of more than _______ milliseconds between a direct sound and a strong reflection can sound like an echo.

80

Experts say that people exposed to eight hours or so a day of high noise levels can have permanent hearing impairment. Where would most experts place the safe eight-hour upper limit at?

84 dBA

The ear has a sharp drop in sensitivity at high frequencies.

False

The same phonemes exist in all languages.

False

Vertical-axis or top-loading washers have greatly reduced the need for hot water per wash cycle.

False

What is sound power?

An independent property of a sound source that quantifies the source's acoustical output.

._______ is the stage of fire at which everything combustible ignites.

Flashover

The outer ear is what shape?

Funnel or pinna

A space with highly reflective, minimally absorptive surfaces is characterized as being:

Live

Carpeting with padding can be used to produce a high degree of absorption in

Middle and high frequencies

Porous absorbers:

B. II & III -- Correct Answer

What group instituted guidelines for exiting, overall building safety, and fire extinguishment after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire?

Committee on Life Safety

._______ use natural systems to treat storm water and waste water to a high level of quality.

Constructed wetlands

._______ use natural systems to treat storm water and waste water to a high level of quality.

Constructed wetlands --

An impact can:

A. I & II B. II & III C. I & III D. I, III, & IV -- Correct Answer

Which of the following is most beneficial for dampening machine noise?

A. Installation of vibration isolators B. Seal openings at base to prevent noise leak C. Both A and B -- Correct Answer

Floor to ceiling structure-borne noise is made worse by which of the following conditions?

A. No air space between finish floor and structural deck B. No air space between structure and ceiling (below) C. Neither A or B D. Both A and B -- Correct Answer

Why is sufficient pressure at fixtures important?

A. Prompt and adequate flow of water for use B. Adequate pressure keeps the fixtures sanitary C. a and b

Why is sufficient pressure at fixtures important?

A. Prompt and adequate flow of water for use B. Adequate pressure keeps the fixtures sanitary C. a and b --

Which of the following is false?

A. Reverberation can be considered as a mixture of previous and more recent sounds B. The converse of reverberation is articulation C. An articulate environment keeps each sound event separate rather than running them together D. None of the above -- Correct Answer

Using greywater for non-potable use results in which of the following benefits (choose two):

A. reduced water use D. reduced building operating costs

Absorption techniques are useful and effective in all of the following EXCEPT which one?

Where listeners are in the free field.

Absorption techniques are useful and effective in all of the following EXCEPT which one?

Where listeners are in the free field. --

What are the two basic building attributes that govern how high and how large (in plan) buildings can be?

construction type and building occupancy

Which of the following elevator components do straight-piston hydraulic elevators NOT have?

counterweight

The town of Lenexa forwarded the storm water management plan "Lenexa 2020" in order to both correct existing storm water problems AND:

create a park and recreation system for residents and tourists

A highly absorptive, non-reflective environment is

dead.

Does an exit access corridor have to be fire rated?

depends on occupancy group

How far is the allowable egress path for an interior open stair?

depends on occupancy group

Occupied rooms in commercial buildings need two exits.

depends on occupant load

All of the following are readily available sources of potable water EXCEPT:

desalinated sea water

All of the following are guidelines for good waste water systems EXCEPT:

don't use more than one vertical stack

Reclaimed water, or effluent, can NOT be immediately used for:

drinking --

The fixture required by the IPC that people use to get fresh water is called a:

drinking fountain

Which stair type is universally acceptable as a means of egress?

enclosed stair

How are open interior stairs and enclosed stairs considered differently by the International Building Code?

enclosed stairs are considered exits, while open stairs may be part of the exit access system

Which vertical trasportation device can move the most people from floor to floor in a given amount of time?

escalator

Excessive loudness, an acoustic defect, is most often due to:

excessive reverberation

The measured path from an occupied space to an exit is called:

exit access travel distance

The part of the egress system that leads from the exit to the public way is called:

exit discharge

Residential developments cannot shrink the size of roadways.

false

Which type of stair cannot be used in new construction?

fire escape

Each of these factors contributes to the danger a material poses if on fire except:

fire rating

What is the correct term for a wall that is directly adjacent to another structure and is designed to prevent fire from spreading between the two buildings?

fire wall

The measure that indicates how quickly fire would move across or through a building material is called:

flame spread

Which of the following building elements is not considered to be part of a primary structural frame?

floor joists

What is the accepted maximum number of floors escalator banks ascend/descend?

four

Which elevator has the highest operating height?

gearless traction

Which elevator is the fastest?

gearless traction

Which type of automatic fire alarm was the earliest invented?

heat activated

All of the following are non-combustible materials except:

heavy timber

Which type of elevator is commonly used for a 2 story building?

hole-less hydraulic

Which of the following cases does NOT increase the allowable length of a dead end corridor

if dead end is on ground floor

Which stage of fire generates no visible flame, smoke, or heat?

incipient

To promote acoustic intimacy in a space, use any combination of the following strategies EXCEPT:

increase reverberation

Untreated grey water can only be re-used for:

irrigation

Untreated grey water can only be re-used for:

irrigation --

What is the main purpose of a trap?

it provides a seal between building and sewer

What one factor causes the most deaths in the Iroqouis Theatre fire?

lack of proper egress

A fixture used for handwashing is a:

lavatory

Which of the following is the appropriate order of priorities in fire safety strategy?

life, structure, operations, stuff

The human ear responds to sound intensity (or pressure):

logarithmically

Rooms for speech need ____ reverberation times.

low

The overall strategy of eliminating or reducing the impact of stormwater runoff, both in terms of volume and toxic content, is called:

low impact development

All of the following are attributes of distributed sound systems EXCEPT:

manifest clear localization of source

What frequencies are porous absorbers best at reducing?

middle high

Parking lots can be made more low-impact-development friendly by all of the following strategies except:

multiple connections to municipal storm sewer system

Are exit ramps and exit stairs considered different types of elements by the international building code?

no

Stormwater runoff is basically clean

no

In order to optimize the amplified hearing environment, the far throw of a centralized cluster of loudspeakers should be ________ the near throw.

no more than two times

Can an exit path go from an upper floor to an enclosed fire stair to an atrium and then outside?

no, enclosed stairs must be continuous to exterior door

Which building element is generally not required to be fire protected, regardless of construction type?

non-bearing walls

A building material that cannot be ignited is called:

non-combustible

For elevators, what is a buffer?

piston or spring in the pit that provides last-ditch safety measure

Which water source is generally the cleanest?

precipitation

Sound, in architectural acoustics terms, is best described as:

pressure variations in an elastic medium

Egress windows are required for which occupancy type?

residential

Where do most fire deaths occur?

residential buildings

Which elevator type has the range of a straight piston hydraulic without the need for a hole drilled into the ground?

roped hydraulic

Which of the following professional obligations of an architect does life safety fall under?

safety

What aspect of fire causes most deaths?

smoke

Which type of fire alarm is most utilized in normatively occupied buildings?

smoke detector

Which stage of fire produces wisps of smoke, but no heat or flame?

smouldering

What term measures the ratio of absorbed sound energy to total sound energy of materials?

sound absorption coefficient

Which type of life safety element can positively affect building size, height, travel path length, and other egress attributes?

sprinklers

.A fire hose may be connected to a ________, usually located inside an exit stair enclosure.

standpipe

Which water source is the easiest to tap?

surface bodies --

What is the difference between a swale and a bioswale

swales do not remove toxicity, bioswales do

Noise reduction (NR) is best defined as:

the difference in sound intensity between two adjacent rooms

Transmission loss (TL) is best defined as:

the ratio of re-radiated to incident sound energy (at a barrier)

The absorption coefficient for an acoustic material is:

the ratio of sound absorbed to incident sound

What is the primary disadvantage of internal roof drains for flat roofs?

their pipes come down inside the building

A floor with 783 occupants requires ___ number of exits.

three

What is the main purpose of a building stormwater system?

to collect and remove stormwater from building and site

What is the primary objective of pitched roof stormwater drainage systems?

to prevent water from affecting building foundations

gearless traction

traction

STC (sound transmission class) is a single-number rating that expresses the:

transmission loss of a barrier

In an interior space, noise reduction is a function of:

transmission loss of the barrier, and absorption in the source room

Increasing the intensity of a sound by ten decibels sounds

twice as loud

Increasing the intensity of a sound by ten decibels sounds:

twice as loud

Which of the following building materials is acoustically absorbent?

unfinished CMU

All of the following are main strategies to control impact noise EXCEPT:

use heavy, monolithic materials

When minimizing impact noise from footfalls, all of the following are valid strategies EXCEPT:

using massive, monolithic materials

Sound can be borne through all of the following mediums EXCEPT:

vacuum

Which of the four minimum required fixtures does not usually require a trap?

water closet

Acousticians use the Sound Transmission Class (STC) of a material or assembly when controlling noise for any of the following situations EXCEPT:

when designing recording studios.

Heavy timber is granted special status by the IBC because:

when ignited, the charred outer layer retards further burning

Landscape designs that aim to eliminate the need for irrigation are called:

xeriscape

Can rooms have direct exits to the exterior?

yes

Do building sewer pipes extend through the roof?

yes

Have the lessons learned in tragic fires resulted in improved safety measures for buildings?

yes

Proper design of a building wastewater system is required by code.

yes

Can doors from a room swing out into an exit access corridor?

yes, but door cannot unduly restrict exit access

Do manual fire alarms alert the fire department?

yes, if connected to a fire control center

Which of the definitions below describes conventional, Western practice of building-related water use when it comes to high-quality, municipally treated water?

Municipal water is used for all building water needs. --

._________ is the persistence of sound after the sound source has ceased.

Reverberation

The unit used to express the acoustic absorption of a material of given size is:

Sabins

According to table 706.4, what is the minimum fire rating of a fire wall?

2 hours

What amount of fire rating is the wall separating an exterior exit stair and the building required to be?

2 hours

High-frequency tones are most easily absorbed and least diffracted.

True

Sound envelopment is enhanced by lateral (side wall) reflections that reinforce the direct signal.

True

Sound travels as easily against airflow as with the airflow in ductwork.

True

Structure-borne sound travels much more rapidly than airborne sound.

True

The 'phon' is a measure used to describe

comparative loudness by frequency

Which of the following materials is both non-combustible and protected?

concrete

Which type of stair cannot be used in new construction?

. fire escape

What fire rating does the wall (or walls) around an enclosed fire stair - the ones not touching the interior of the building - need to possess?

0 hours

A four story building has three staircases, all of which are to be considered part of the egress system. How many of these can be open?

1

Which reverberation time is most appropriate for speech in a lecture hall?

1.0s

If egress from a room requires two exits, how far apart should the doors be from each other?

1/2 the longest diagonal distance in the room

What is the maximum suggested slope (in degrees) for an inclined moving walkway?

12

If an escalator is longer than __ feet, it needs support at the midpoint.

18

Vibration reduction takes which two forms?

Dampening and isolation

.________ is the artificial process by which sea water is made potable.

Desalination

________ is the artificial process by which sea water is made potable.

Desalination --

Which component of an electric sound system eliminates howl, rough sounds and poor sound quality in general?

Equalizer

Installation of absorbent material directly on a wall or ceiling is the most effective means.

False

Sound travels faster than the speed of light.

False

Which water distribution method is good for buildings that are small enough to be served by the pressure available in water mains?

Gravity up-feed

Frequency of sound is expressed in which of the following units:

Hertz

An impact can:

I, III, & IV

The vent stack of a typical building liquid waste system: I.channels rain water to flush out pipes II.vents sewer gasses to the environment III.provides smooth flow in waste pipes IV.allows air to oxidize waste

I.channels rain water to flush out pipes III.provides smooth flow in waste pipes

Ground water: I.is a relatively pure water source II.may have a prized taste due to dissolved minerals III.is the easiest water source to tap IV.is subject to contamination

I.is a relatively pure water source II.may have a prized taste due to dissolved minerals IV.is subject to contamination

Porous absorbers: I.must be mounted vertically II.are lightweight and fibrous III.work best at high frequencies IV.works best at low frequencies

I.must be mounted vertically III.work best at high frequencies

In water-scarce areas such as ancient Persia (modern day Iran), water has many roles and meanings, including:

I.spirituality II.social order III.commodity for trade

The vent stack of a typical building liquid waste system: I.channels rain water to flush out pipes II.vents sewer gasses to the environment III.provides smooth flow in waste pipes IV.allows air to oxidize waste

II & III

Construction tested and approved for protection against fire is called:

III-B

The abbreviation 'IIC' stands for:

Impact Isolation Class

What are phonemes?

Individual and distinctive sounds that good architectural acoustics must be able to support to maintain intelligibility.

Which of the following are the three basic elements that all electric sound systems consist of?

Input devices, amplifiers, and loudspeakers.

When it comes to on-site sewage treatment, what are septic tank drainfields (or leachfields)?

Perforated pipes in trenches of gravel for waste water infiltration

What is sound pressure?

The deviation from ambient air pressure that is caused by sound waves.

Roof drains occurring somewhere in the middle of flat roofs are more desirable stormwater systems than scuppers through the parapet. Why?

The joint between the wall and roof is more vulnerable to leakage

How are fibrous materials, panel resonators, and volume resonators related?

They are the three families of devices for absorption

How are room criteria (RC) curves used?

To evaluate the acceptability of background mechanical system noise for typical space types.

A surface that is sealed to prevent heat loss or gain is also sealed acoustically.

True

Chemicals or oil can substitute water in waterless toilets.

True

For absorbent materials, absorption is normally higher at high frequencies than at low ones.

True

What do fibrous materials, panel resonators, and volume resonators do to sound?

absorb

Materials with an absorption coefficient > .20 are acoustically:

absorptive

Reducing noise _______, as a strategy, has the most potential to affect architectural decisions.

along its path

In a distributed array design the spacing of loudspeakers should

be equal or less than the distance between the listener and the loudspeaker

The Chicago Fire of 1871 provided lessons for building design in all the following categories except:

building egress

Which strategy addresses fire spread through radiation?

building separation

Which of the following is TRUE regarding fire ratings for non-atrium located elevators?

buildings higher than 4 stories require a 2 hour rated enclosure

Which type of automatic sprinkler system is most commonly used in restaurant fume hoods?

carbon dioxide

Which type of absorber can be tuned to specific frequencies?

cavity

All of the following are aborptive materials commonly used in concert halls except:

cavity resonators

The natural or man-made sinkholes used in the Yucatan peninsula to access groundwater are called:

cenotes

The best configuration for loudspeakers to localize sound to its source is:

centralized cluster

The image depicting a part of the human ear, shows a(n):

cochlea

The escalator safety feature that prevents clothing and other things from being pulled down between the step and the landing is called:

comb plate