Arch 463
ECS
Midterm II
Fall 99
30 Multiple Choice Questions
1. Courtyards that produce the most effective physiological cooling for their surrounding building during hot arid summer months
A. are filled with trees and vegetation
B. maximize exposure to the night sky
C. feature a fountain
D. all of the above
2. Natural ventilation is most effective for cooling on hot humid summer days when the building to be cooled
A. is surrounded by a dense grove of trees
B. has long, shaded alleys that funnel the breezes toward it
C. is surrounded by open ground
D. is adjacent to a fountain
3. The best choice of a passive solar heating system for a space that requires only daytime conditioning is
A. a sun space
B. a Trombe wall
C. a thermosiphon
D. all of the above
4. A metal roof beneath a south-facing clerestory window (as on the new UI Commons)
A. can improve its heating potential
B. causes no change in its potential to supply heat
C. will surely cause excess heat gain in summer
D. causes no summer heat gain problems
5. Which passive solar strategy is impossible to incorporate in a building remodeling project?
A. direct gain
B. indirect gain
C. isolated gain
D. none of the above
6. In order to make your Trombe wall provide better human comfort throughout the day and night in a cold winter climate, you could
A. provide thermo-circulation vents
B. design a night insulation scheme for the glazing
C. install a metalic reflector beneath the aperture
D. all of the above
7. Thermal mass is effective for heating when it’s
A. contained within the insulated skin of the building
B. exposed to solar radiation
C. at least 4" thick
D. all of the above
8. In a direct gain, solar heated space you will be comfortable at an air temperature lower than 65º F because
A. you’re always in the sun
B. you’ll wear more clothes
C. the surface temperature of the thermal mass is above 65º F
D. none of the above
9. Describe the interrelationship between thermal energy and mass
A. thermal mass stores thermal energy when it’s in abundance and releases it during times of need
B. all material in nature, the mountains and the streams and the the air and we, are made of Light which has been spent, and this crumpled mass called material casts a shadow, and the shadow belongs to Light
C. E = mc2
D. all of the above
10. The passive cooling systems that can most easily be used for heating in winter in the southwest United States are
A. earthtubes
B. courtyards
C. skytherms
D. all of the above
11. A cooling strategy that is not useful in all temperate and hot climates is
A. shading
B. ventilation
C. thermal mass
D. all of the above
12. When daylighting replaces electric lighting, it is an effective cooling strategy because
A. internal gains are reduced
B. stack ventilation is possible
C. solar gain is reduced
D. all of the above
13. In a building in the temperate zone with equal-sized windows (and a skylight) on all sides (including the flat roof), if you could only shade one aperture, your choice would be
A. south-facing
B. north-facing
C. west-facing
D. horizontal (skylight)
14. The shading device that has the most potential for cooling is
A. mounted on the building’s exterior
B. is in the glazing itself
C. mounted inside the building
D. all of the above are equally effective
15. An indigenous vine on a trellis over a south-facing window in Moscow, ID will provide the most shade
A. in the spring
B. at the summer solstice
C. at the beginning of August
D. in the fall
16. The best source of wind direction information is
A. personal on-site observation over several years
B. NOAA hourly weather data for the nearest station
C. monthly wind roses for the nearest station
D. prevailing wind direction and average speed from NOAA average and mean data summaries
17. To achieve the calmest air for a outdoor back deck on the leeward side of a house, the roof of the house should be
A. a shed, sloped down toward the front
B. flat
C. a gable perpendicular to the windflow
D. a shed, sloped down toward the back
A. high in the room
B. high on one side and low on the other
C. at human level
D. high and low in both walls
19. To increase the effectiveness of a stack ventilator, you can
A. increase the area of the outlet aperture
B. decrease the area of the inlet aperture
C. increase the height of the stack
D. all of the above
20. To prevent the "cold backside, warm front" syndrome of a traditional fireplace you could
A. introduce outdoor air directly into the combustion chamber
B. add more thermal mass to the chimney
C. insulate the building’s walls
D. all of the above
21. When using thermal mass for cooling it’s necessary to
A. shade it
B. place it within the insulated skin of the building
C. flush the accumulated heat out daily
D. all of the above
22. The best thermal mass has
A. the highest specific heat
B. the highest R-value
C. the highest conductivity
D. none of the above
23. A desiccant cooling system is appropriate for
A. vernacular buildings in hot humid climates
B. vernacular buildings in hot arid climates
C. closed buildings in hot humid climates
D. all of the above
24. Active solar systems are appropriate only for
A. residential buildings
B. commercial and institutional buildings
C. buildings that primarily require heating
D. none of the above
25. An advantage of active systems over passive systems is
A. lower first cost
B. possibility for seasonal energy storage
C. higher efficiency
D. none of the above
26. Thermal storage for an active system can be done in
A. a water tank
B. a rock bed
C. phase change materials
D. all of the above
27. Large scale solar buildings are more effective if they have
A. exterior shading devices
B. an unoccupied or lightly occupied buffer space for managing heat gains
C. large south-facing atrium spaces
D. all of the above
28. A composite building membrane of three materials with conductance values (C) of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 btuh/ft² °F respectively has a U-value of
A. 0.7 btuh/ft² °F
B. 10 btuh/ft² °F
C. 0.06 btuh/ft² °F
D. 17.5 btuh/ft² °F
29. On a hot day, an uninsulated wall will have a radiant temperature
A. significantly lower than room air temperature
B. lower than room air temperature
C. equal to room air temperature
D. higher than room air temperature
30. In a climate with hot arid summers and cold winters the vapor barrier in an R-20 insulated, wood frame wall should be placed
A. just outside the interior wall board
B. just inside the exterior sheathing
C. as described in both A. and B. above
D. none of the above