Free LEED Green Associate Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers

Question 1: What does a LEED rating reflect?

The cost of a building
How green a building is (Correct answer)
The carbon footprint of a building's occupants
The location of the building

Correct answer: How green a building is

Explanation: 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.

Question 2: How can the proximity of a mass transit system to a building site affect a project?

Construction must occur only when the system is not operational
Smaller parking areas will be required (Correct answer)
The building's windows must be designed to shield occupants from noise and vibrations
The minimum occupancy rate requirement will be increased

Correct answer: Smaller parking areas will be required

Explanation: LEED encourages building near existing infrastructure, including mass transit systems, 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

Question 3: Which phase of a construction schedule requires monitoring by a project team leader?

The pre-design phase
The materials selection phase
The construction phase
All phases (Correct answer)

Correct answer: All phases

Explanation: A construction schedule is a timeline 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.

Question 4: Which of the following is not considered part of a building's footprint?

The restrooms
The foundation
The parking lot (Correct answer)
The kitchen area

Correct answer: The parking lot

Explanation: 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.

Question 5: Which of the following building sites is most likely to qualify for LEED certification?

A plot of land that has been developed already and is located two miles away from a federally protected wetland (Correct answer)
An undeveloped swampland that has been flooded several times in the last 100 years
An empty meadow which is a few yards away from a stream occupied by trout
An undeveloped area several feet away from a river which serves as an important industrial route for local commerce

Correct answer: A plot of land that has been developed already and is located two miles away from a federally protected wetland

Explanation: LEED has specific standards for the type of building sites that 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.

Question 6: How many credits are needed for a LEED Silver Rating?

26-32
33-38 (Correct answer)
39-51
51-69

Correct answer: 33-38

Explanation: 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 26-32. A score of 39-51 points earns Gold, and 52-69 points earn a Platinum rating. A 32-38 credit score earns Silver.

Question 7: Which of the following is considered a hard cost?

Design
Insurance
Fees for building permits
Labor (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Labor

Explanation: 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 that may arise. In this case, labor is a hard cost.

Question 8: Who develops the LEED professional credentialing tests?

The GCBI (Correct answer)
The DOE
The AIA
The USGBC

Correct answer: The GCBI

Explanation: 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.

Question 9: Which entity works to advance Energy Security?

The Department of Energy (Correct answer)
The Environmental Protection Agency
The Green Building Certification Institute
The United States Green Building Council

Correct answer: The Department of Energy

Explanation: 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 created the LEED rating system, and certification is partially administered by the Green Building Certification Institute.

Question 10: How might using green building practices in home construction make a building more marketable?

By earning a LEED Gold Rating
By reducing pollution during the construction phase and avoiding fines
By relying on existing transportation infrastructure and reducing the commuting costs for occupants
By reducing the energy use and operating costs of the home (Correct answer)

Correct answer: By reducing the energy use and operating costs of the home

Explanation: 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.

Question 11: Why does LEED encourage residential development in areas of high density?

Dense areas tend to have higher property values
Higher-density areas are lower in pollution
Essential services are often close to homes in high-density areas, making walking a viable transportation choice (Correct answer)
The LEED system does not certify residential development on undeveloped land

Correct answer: Essential services are often close to homes in high-density areas, making walking a viable transportation choice

Explanation: Building homes in areas with higher density will often mean that services such as food, recreation, and other important day-to-day amenities are close to homes which will enable residents to walk to them. Walking and biking reduce pollution associated with driving and traffic congestion. High-density areas may or may not have higher property values or lower rates of pollution. LEED does not have a prerequisite that undeveloped land cannot be certified.

Free LEED Green Associate Questions and Answers

What does a LEED rating reflect?