Arch 463
ECS
Midterm I
Fall 2001

30 Multiple Choice Questions

1. The primary reason to install an environmental control system in a building is to 

A. meet the energy code
B. keep the interior at 72ºF and 50% RH
C. provide human comfort
D. all of the above

2. A design tool that can help building designers understand the the interaction among architecture, people, and climate is

A. the sun angle calculator
B. the bioclimatic chart
C. Climate Consultant software
D. all of the above

3. The difference between weather and climate is the same as the difference between 

A. data and information
B. a day and a month
C. mathematics and poetry
D. Diet Pepsi and Coke

4. If a geriatric matron from Miami was wearing 0.3 clo, walking slowly, and in the shade, she would be comfortable at temperatures

A. lower than the standard comfort zone
B. about the same as the standard comfort zone
C. higher than the standard comfort zone
D. that are unpredictable

5. A resident of Green Bay, Wisconsin, ice fishing on a clear, sub-zero winter day at the local fishin' pond will maintain comfort through heat gain by

A. conduction/convection
B. metabolism
C. insulation
D. none of the above

6. If your body is losing heat to the environment, you will

A. be cold
B. be comfortable if your metabolic gain equals the loss
C. be overheated if it is sunny
D. be comfortable only if it's windy and cloudy

7. Analogous to your metabolism, a building gains heat through

A. solar radiation
B. location in a warm/hot environment
C. the people, lights, and machines that occupy it
D. all of the above

8. If the temperature is 74ºF and the relative humidity is 50%, an adult lounging on a recliner, dressed in a chambray shirt and khakis is most likely to be comfortable

A. in the sun
B. in the shade
C. in the wind
D. in the shade protected from the wind

9. A Suunto Global Compass allows you measure

A. the solar horizon
B. wind speed and dew point temperature
C. surface temperature
D. all of the above

10. The Balance Point spreadsheet provides us with

A. temperature data for furnace control
B. raw weather data
C. insight into the nature of the heating and cooling needs of a building
D. appropriate architectural interactions with climate

11. The climate-responsive vernacular architecture of the Plains Native Americans features

A. horizontal shading devices above south-facing windows
B. portable buildings with changeable elements to control exposure and ventilation
C. thermal mass to combat bitter winter conditions
D. all of the above

12. The balance point temperature is

A. the lower limit of the standard comfort zone
B. the temperature at which the majority of people feel comfortable
C. the outdoor temperature at which neither heating or cooling is needed for a building
D. the upper limit of the standard comfort zone

13. Vernacular architecture in hot arid climates feature climatic responses that include

A. site scale shading
B. thermal mass
C. small windows
D. all of the above

14. In Oregon's Willamette Valley where summer winds are from the north and winter winds from the SW, the working porch of a traditional farm house is usually located on the

A. SE side
B. SW side 
C. NE side
D. NW side

15. The most compelling approach to envisioning climate-responsive architecture is

A. application of analytic Cartesian reasoning
B. use of synthetic systems thinking
C. acceptance of rumor and innuendo 
D. adopting an International Architecture mindset

16. The climatic characteristics of a place are determined by its

A. latitude
B. proximity to water and mountains
C. prevailing winds
D. all of the above

17. The lowest air temperature usually occurs

A. at midnight
B. at dawn
C. in the afternoon
D. after sunset

18. In a mild temperate Northern hemisphere climate, on a south-facing slope, the best location for a passively heated and cooled residential building is

A. on the hill crest
B. on the brow of the hill
C. just below mid slope
D. at the foot of the hill

19. Near a large city at 40º NL, a site will experience only

A. diurnal thermal winds 
B. prevailing SW winds
C. episodes of fog and frost
D. none of the above

20. The city effect is caused by

A. waste heat from transportation and buildings
B. reduced wind speeds and increased run-off
C. heat storage in the masonry of buildings and streets
D. all of the above

21. Moscow's climate is milder and moister than expected because of

A. it's proximity to Seattle
B. the Willamette Valley
C. the Columbia Gorge and the prevailing wind pattern
D. the Great Basin

22. A climatic transect of Oregon taken from west to east reveals 

A. increased vegetation
B. decreased rainfall in the lowlands
C. ample rainfall at all points
D. none of the above

23. You can photograph the sun grazing the north elevation of your spectacular new building in Couer d'Alene

A. at sunrise on the spring equinox
B. at sunrise on the summer solstice
C. at sunset on August 23
D. never

24. A horizontal shading device is totally useless on

A. a south facade
B. an east facade
C. a southwest facade
D. a north facade

25. An external shading device can be most effectively designed by using 

A. Mazria’s elevational sun chart
B. LOF’s plan view sun chart
C. Knowles’ solar envelope
D. none of the above

26. The clinometer and compass can help you describe the solar horizon when coupled with

A. Mazria’s elevational sun chart
B. LOF’s plan view sun chart
C. Knowles’ solar envelope
D. none of the above

27. In order for two rooms to be in the same thermal zone they must

A. be on the same floor
B. have the same lighting systems 
C. the same window types
D. none of the above

28. A twenty story building, with typical floors that contain 5 thermal zones each, if well-designed thermally will probably have about

A. five thermal zones
B. fifteen thermal zones
C. forty five thermal zones
D. one hundred thermal zones

29. The computer tool that gives you the percentage of window exposed to the sun at any hour of the year is

A. Solar-2
B. Sun Tool
C. both of the above
D. none of the above

30. Computer-based tools allow you to evaluate shading devices

A. on all building orientations
B. that include courtyard walls
C. at any place on the globe
D. all of the above