Changed LEED-Green-Associate Exam Questions

Increasing density means building more units or floor area on a given site, which reduces the amount of land and resources needed per unit or occupant1. This also creates a smaller footprint and maximizes the floor area ratio (FAR), which is the ratio of the total building floor area to the site area2. Increasing density can help achieve creditsin the Location and Transportation category, such as Surrounding Density and Diverse Uses3.

LEED v4: Neighborhood Development Guide | U.S. Green Building Council1

Floor Area Ratio - Planning Department2

LEED v4: Building Design + Construction Guide - U.S. Green Building Council3

Building commissioning is a quality assurance process that begins during the design phase and continues through construction, occupancy, and operation of the building. It ensures that the building’s systems are designed efficiently, installed correctly, and operate as intended. The commissioning process involves a series of inspections, tests, and adjustments of building systems, followed by a review of the system design and operation with the building’s operations team. References: LEED Green Associate Candidate Handbook, U.S. Green Building Council resources

Pre-consumer recycled content refers to waste material that is diverted from the waste stream during the manufacturing process. This can include scraps or trimmings that are collected and returned to the manufacturing process. It does not include rework, regrind, or scrap materials capable of being reclaimed within the same process that generated them. References: LEED Green Associate Candidate Handbook, U.S. Green Building Council resources

The location valuation factor is a concept that applies to several credits under the Materials and Resources credit category in LEED v4. It means that if the purchased products or materials are extracted, manufactured, and purchased within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of the project, LEED will award the project in the credit calculations by valuing those products at 200% of their cost1. This is to incentivize the purchase of products that reduce transportation emissions and environmental impacts associated with long-distance shipping2.

 2 LEED v4: Building Design + Construction Guide, Materials and Resources, p. 487-4881 LEED 2009 vs. LEED v4: Regional Materials - LaForce, LLC.