Arch 464
ECS
Final Exam
Spring 2001
40 Prime Choice Questions—Select the best answer for each one
New Questions1. The speed of sound is slowest in
A. concrete
B. wood
C. water
D. air
2. The human ear is most sensitive to
A. deep rumbling bass sounds at 400 hz
B. babies cries at 4000 hz
C. high piercing screeches at 10,000 hz
D. all sounds from 20 hz to 20,000 hz
3. A sound meter reading of 0 dB indicates
A. a total lack of sound waves
B. a sound at the threshold of human hearing
C. that the meter is turned off
D. any of the above
4. In siting a building next to a busy highway, you can reduce the noise at the building entry by
A. placing the building as far from the highway as possible
B. planting a 75’ wide swath of conifers between building and highway
C. creating an earth berm alongside the highway
D. all of the above
5. Your golf partner, 30 feet away hears your cry of "fore!" as an 80 dB sound. The potential victim of your golfing indiscretion, 160 yards away, hears it as
A. an 80 dB sound
B. a 68 dB sound
C. a 66 dB sound
D. a 56 dB sound
6. A quiet goal room
A. should have high TR
B. is suitable for symphonic performance
C. may include a white noise source to mask conversation
D. all of the above
7. What is the reverberation time of a 63 cubic foot shower stall (occupied by one person, 4 sqft,
a = 0.96) with 102 square feet of walls, floor, and ceiling whose absorbency is 0.10?A. about the same as Carnegie Hall
B. 22 seconds
C. 2.2 seconds
D. 0.22 seconds
8. What is the combined intensity of sound from three identical instruments—each whose sound pressure level in the room is 1 dB?
A. 1 dB
B. 3 dB
C. 4.8 dB
D. 5.8 dB
9. To acoustically isolate an office from the tap dancing studio above it you could
A. cover the studio walls with Sonex to reduce sound at the source
B. improve the barrier between by adding insulation and a spring-hung ceiling
C. using carpeting and heavy drapes in the office to absorb sound at the receiver
D. all of the above
10. The idea behind piping elevator music such as Barry Manilow’s greatest hits into an open office is
A. to improve employee productivity via rhythmic acoustics
B. to provide acoustic privacy through sound masking
C. to simulate a Helmholz resonator
D. all of the above
11. The type of silence goal room that requires the longest reverberation time is
A. a cathedral
B. a symphony hall
C. a vaudeville hall
D. a theatrical playhouse
12. If you wanted to design an effective hall for musical performance that was not dependent on electronic acoustic enhancement, you would be best served to begin with
A. a shoebox form
B. a wide room
C. a surround configuration
D. an outdoor bandshell
13. If you find yourself seated well under one of the deep balconies at Carnegie Hall for a performance of the New York Philharmonic, you should expect
A. an unrivaled, wonderful acoustic experience
B. direct and reflected sounds to reach you simultaneously
C. an acoustic experience of lower quality than in the shallow loge seating areas
D. no view of the stage, no direct sound from the orchestra
14. Boettcher Hall, Denver’s surround concert hall, achieves fine symphony acoustics through
A. diffusely reflective facades for each seating section
B. a reverberant chamber beneath the stage
C. convex clouds suspended above the stage
D. all of the above
15. A pitfall of multi-purpose halls is
A. different uses require different reverberation times
B. different uses require different hall configurations
C. different uses require different chair colors
D. all of the above
16. Multi-purpose halls can be designed to accommodate different uses by
A. mechanically adjusting the spatial enclosure
B. electronically adjusting reverberation and early reflectance
C. either of the above
D. no means—one or all of the uses will suffer inferior acoustics
17. You can model the acoustics of a space with
A. a sound source and a 1:10 scale model
B. a laser light source and a cardboard and foil ¼" = 1’ – 0" scale model
C. a tray of water and a clay plan or section model
D. all of the above
18. To avoid a slapping or flutter echo and provide a suitable acoustic environment in a small reverberant classroom you can
A. add acoustically absorptive material to the ceiling
B. design the side walls to be non-parallel
C. design the back wall to be concave
D. all of the above
19. The space on the acoustic tour of campus with the acoustic "sweet spot" is
A. St. Augustine’s chapel
B. the SUB ballroom
C. the Music recital hall
D. all of the above
20. The Music and Architecture piece written for an outdoor environment yet doesn’t depend on percussion for intelligibility is
A. Music from Ancient Greece
B. Three Dances from the English Renaissance
C. The Bells of Speyer
D. Handel’s Water Music
Review Questions
21. Sustainable architecture responds to the context of
A. climate and ecology
B. cultural precedence
C. regional resources
D. all of the above
22. A standard, built-to-code suburban house with a three car garage, when rated on the SBSE Regeneration-Based Checklist for Design and Construction will score
A. a perfect 2200
B. positively, above zero
C. zero, give or take a few points
D. negatively, below zero
23. An electrical lighting source with a high CRI assures
A. high visual comfort
B. good color rendering at low light levels
C. energy efficiency
D. none of the above
24. Imagine a blue surface with a reflectance of 0.60 positioned 2 feet from a 40 candlepower light source. Its luminance will be
A. 40 footcandles
B. 10 footcandle
C. 6 footlamberts
D. 24 footlamberts
25. Glare can be a problem in a room that features
A. view windows to a verdant landscape
B. windows on adjacent walls
C. translucent windows
D. all of the above
26. An effective method of modeling the daylighting of a pyramidal room with oval apertures and external shading devices during a clear summer day is
A. computer-based Lumen-Micro
B. the Graphic Daylighting Design Method
C. a physical scale model of the space
D. all of the above
27. The HID lamp that is most likely to render colors satisfactorily is
A. low pressure sodium
B. high pressure sodium
C. metal halide
D. mercury
28. In a classroom with raked seating and a luminous ceiling like McClure 209, the illumination level at a typical desk surface can be predicted accurately by
A. the point source method
B. the line source method
C. the plane source method
D. the zonal cavity method
29. Electronic ballasts for fluorescent lamps out shine magnetic ballasts because they can
A. eliminate visible flicker
B. provide step dimming
C. improve color rendering
D. all of the above
30. The advantage of an indirect ambient lighting strategy over a direct strategy is
A. higher efficacy
B. reduced glare
C. improved color rendering
D. all of the above
31. This year’s surprising higher energy costs are an indication of our economic system’s
A. inability to predict future scarcities
B. inclusion of environmental and societal costs
C. ability to consider capital invested in expanding infrastructure
D. all of the above
32. A renewable energy resource that has potential for increased energy production and cost efficiency is
A. hydroelectric dams
B. nuclear power plants
C. wind turbine farms
D. all of the above
33. The energy source that is not associated with widespread human health consequences is
A. coal-fired power plants
B. nuclear power plants
C. hydroelectric dams
D. none of the above
34. The cost of a photovoltaic energy system for new construction can be minimized by
A. designing a building-integrated PV array
B. selling the excess energy back to the utility company
C. taking advantage of tax incentives for energy conservation
D. all of the above
35. An energy self-sufficient small building should be designed to
A. conserve energy
B. treat wastewater on-site
C. use xeriscaping
D. all of the above
36. In an urban area, using green roofs that absorb and collect rainfall
A. reduces the intensity of the city effect
B. reduces storm water treatment problems
C. reduces flood potential
D. all of the above
37. A land use that poses a pollution threat to its local aquifer is
A. conventional farming and ranching
B. solid waste landfill
C. managed forestry
D. all of the above
38. For a building that collects rainfall for domestic use, an ideal roofing material is
A. cedar shakes
B. building integrated photovoltaics
C. asphalt composite shingles
D. all of the above
39. In all municipalities in all western states, a legitimate technique for conserving more water than an ordinary new building is
A. the use of 1.6 gallon/flush toilets
B. xeriscaping to replace lawns
C. recycling grey water
D. all of the above
40. Solid waste problems in the western US have been most effectively addressed by
A. waste-to-energy plants
B. municipal recycling systems
C. membrane-lined waste disposal facilities
D. all of the above
Catch some rays, catch some Zzzzzzzzzzs, catch some horsehide at your local green cathedral!
See you next fall!