First of all, there are many people who passed the LEED GA Exam by reading my book, "LEED GA Exam Guide" ONLY. There is one reader passed the LEED GA Exam by studying my book for three days.
Secondly, people learn in many different ways. Some people learn better by doing extra mock exams. If you want to be safe and do additional sample tests to find out if you are ready for the real exam, I would suggest "LEED GA Mock Exams."
The practice questions in "LEED GA Exam Guide" are normal in term of difficulty, but its mock exam is harder than the real LEED GA Exam. We want it to be harder to make the readers nervous and force them to go back and review the study materials in my book a few more times.
This approach is apparently working. Every one of the readers that I know passed the LEED GA Exam on the first try. Well, I'd rather my readers pass the LEED GA Exam on the first try. It is better safe than sorry.
A set of hard mock exam can be very helpful: What does not kill you makes you stronger.
We want your LEED knowledge to peak on the day of the LEED GA Exam, NOT before or after. One way to achieve this goal is to make you nervous and keep the pressure on, and you will be willing to go back and seriously study and keep reviewing the materials in my book. It is a hard fight against human brain's natural tendency to forget things:
"The process of memorization is like filling a cup with a hole at the bottom: You need to fill it faster than the water leaks out at the bottom, and you need to constantly fill it; otherwise, it will quickly be empty.
Once you memorize something, your brain has already started the process of forgetting it. It is natural. That is how we have enough space left in our brain to remember the really important things." ---Quoted from page 5 of "LEED GA Exam Guide."
Our goal is for "LEED GA Exam Guide" to stand alone. In fact, there are readers who passed the LEED GA Exam by reading "LEED GA Exam Guide" ONLY. One reader passed the LEED GA Exam by studying it for three days. If you choose ANY other books (most of them constantly refer you back to the 700-page USGBC reference guide, and do not stand alone at all) or study materials, you need at least 3 weeks to even go through their study materials once, let alone reviewing the materials several times or passing the LEED GA Exam.
To balance your exam prep effort, the sample tests in "LEED GA Mock Exams" are very close to the real exams. They will definitely help you.
For more info, see:
http://www.architeg.com/pub-details.php?i=9
See all my published books at:
http://GreenExamEducation.com/
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Latest trend for LEED Exams
Recently, there are quite a few readers run into the versions of the LEED exams that have many questions on refrigerants (CFC, HCFC, and HFC), the following advice will help you answer these questions correctly:
For more information, see free pdf file of "The Treatment by LEED of the Environmental Impact of HVAC Refrigerants" that you can download at link below:
http://www.gbci.org/Files/References/The-Treatment-by-LEED-of-the-Environmental-Impact-of-HVAC-Refrigerants.pdf
This is a VERY important document that you need to become familiar with. Many real LEED exam questions (CFC, HCFC, and HFC, etc.) come from this document. You need to download it for free and read it at least 3 times.
Pay special attention to the Table on ODP and GWP on page 3. You do not have to remember the exact value of all ODPs and GWPs, but you do need to know the rough number for various groups of refrigerants."
This latest trend regarding refrigerants (CFC, HCFC, and HFC) for LEED Exams has a lot to do with LEED v3.0 Credit Weighting. EA (including refrigerants) is the biggest winner in LEED v3.0, meaning the category has MORE questions than any other areas for ALL the LEED exams. See pages 36 to 38 of my book, LEED GA Exam Guide quoted below:
How are LEED credits allocated and weighted?
Answer: They are allocated and weighted per strategies that will have greater positive impacts on the most important environmental factors: CO2 reductions and energy efficiency.
They are weighted against 13 aftereffects of human activities, including carbon footprint / climate change (25%), indoor-air quality (15%), resource/fossil-fuel depletion (9%), particulates (8%), water use/water intake (7%), human health: cancer (7%), ecotoxity (6%), eutrophication (5%), land use/habitat alteration (5%), human health: non cancer (4%), smog formation (4%), acidification (3%), and ozone depletion (2%).
These 13 aftereffects were created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and are also known as "TRACI", a mnemonic for "Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and Other Environmental Impacts."
1) The USGBC used a reference building to estimate environmental impact in the 13 categories above.
2) The USGBC also used a tool developed by the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) to prioritize the TRACI categories.
3) The USGBC also created a matrix to show the existing LEED credits and the TRACI categories, and used data that quantify building impacts on human health and environment to allocate points for each credit.
The points for Energy and Transportation credits have been greatly increased in LEED 2009, primarily because of the importance to reduce carbon or greenhouse gas emissions. Water Efficiency is also a big winner in the credits, doubling from 5 to 10 points for some LEED rating systems.
In addition to the weighting exercise, the USGBC also used value judgments, because if they only used the TRACI-NIST tool, some existing credits would be worth almost nothing, like the categories for human health and indoor air quality. The USGBC wanted to keep the LEED system somewhat consistent and retained the existing credits including those with few environmental benefits. So each credit was assigned at least one point in the new system.
There are NO negative values or fractions for LEED points.
20% reduction of indoor water-use used to be able to gain points, now this is a prerequisite in LEED 2009.
For more information, see free pdf file of "The Treatment by LEED of the Environmental Impact of HVAC Refrigerants" that you can download at link below:
http://www.gbci.org/Files/References/The-Treatment-by-LEED-of-the-Environmental-Impact-of-HVAC-Refrigerants.pdf
This is a VERY important document that you need to become familiar with. Many real LEED exam questions (CFC, HCFC, and HFC, etc.) come from this document. You need to download it for free and read it at least 3 times.
Pay special attention to the Table on ODP and GWP on page 3. You do not have to remember the exact value of all ODPs and GWPs, but you do need to know the rough number for various groups of refrigerants."
This latest trend regarding refrigerants (CFC, HCFC, and HFC) for LEED Exams has a lot to do with LEED v3.0 Credit Weighting. EA (including refrigerants) is the biggest winner in LEED v3.0, meaning the category has MORE questions than any other areas for ALL the LEED exams. See pages 36 to 38 of my book, LEED GA Exam Guide quoted below:
How are LEED credits allocated and weighted?
Answer: They are allocated and weighted per strategies that will have greater positive impacts on the most important environmental factors: CO2 reductions and energy efficiency.
They are weighted against 13 aftereffects of human activities, including carbon footprint / climate change (25%), indoor-air quality (15%), resource/fossil-fuel depletion (9%), particulates (8%), water use/water intake (7%), human health: cancer (7%), ecotoxity (6%), eutrophication (5%), land use/habitat alteration (5%), human health: non cancer (4%), smog formation (4%), acidification (3%), and ozone depletion (2%).
These 13 aftereffects were created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and are also known as "TRACI", a mnemonic for "Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and Other Environmental Impacts."
1) The USGBC used a reference building to estimate environmental impact in the 13 categories above.
2) The USGBC also used a tool developed by the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) to prioritize the TRACI categories.
3) The USGBC also created a matrix to show the existing LEED credits and the TRACI categories, and used data that quantify building impacts on human health and environment to allocate points for each credit.
The points for Energy and Transportation credits have been greatly increased in LEED 2009, primarily because of the importance to reduce carbon or greenhouse gas emissions. Water Efficiency is also a big winner in the credits, doubling from 5 to 10 points for some LEED rating systems.
In addition to the weighting exercise, the USGBC also used value judgments, because if they only used the TRACI-NIST tool, some existing credits would be worth almost nothing, like the categories for human health and indoor air quality. The USGBC wanted to keep the LEED system somewhat consistent and retained the existing credits including those with few environmental benefits. So each credit was assigned at least one point in the new system.
There are NO negative values or fractions for LEED points.
20% reduction of indoor water-use used to be able to gain points, now this is a prerequisite in LEED 2009.
Tips on How to Pass a LEED Exam on the First Try and in One Week and Responses to Some of the Readers' Questions
The following are tips on how to pass the LEED exam on the first try and in one week. I also included my responses to some readers' questions. They may help you:
1. I found the reference guide way too tedious. Can I read your books only and just refer to the USGBC reference guide (if one is available for the exam I am taking) when needed?
Response: Yes, that is one way to study. If you read only LEED GA Exam Guide, you already have a very good chance of passing. LEED GA Mock Exams will help you become more familiar with the way that questions are asked in the real LEED Green Associate Exam, give you more confidence, and increase your chance of passing.
2. Is one week really enough time for me to prepare for the exam while I am working?
Response: Yes, if you can put in 40 to 60 hours study time during the week you can pass the exam. This exam is similar to a history or political science exam; you need to MEMORIZE the information. If you wait too long to take the test after studying, you will probably forget the information.
In my book, LEED GA Exam Guide, I give you tips on how to MEMORIZE the information, and I have already highlighted/underlined the most important materials that you definitely have to MEMORIZE in order to pass the exam. My goal through this book is to help you to pass the LEED Green Associate Exam with minimum time and effort. I want to make your life easier.
However, to be on the safe side, for an average reader, I recommend not less than 2 weeks, but not MORE than 2 months of prep time.
3. Would you say that if I buy books from your LEED Exam Guide series, I could pass the exam without any other study materials? The books sold on the USGBC website cost hundreds of dollars, so I would be quite happy if I could buy your books and just use them.
Response: First of all, there are readers who have passed the LEED exam by reading only my books in the LEED Exam Guide series (www.ArchiteG.com). My goal is to write one book for each of the LEED exams, and make each of my books stand alone to prepare people for one specific LEED exam.
Secondly, people learn in many different ways. That is why I published LEED GA Mock Exams, and added some new advice below for people who learn better by doing practice tests.
If you do the following things, you have a very good chance of passing the LEED exam (This is NOT a guarantee, nobody can guarantee you will pass):
a. If you study, understand, and MEMORIZE all of the information in my book, LEED GA Exam Guide, do NOT panic when you run into problems you are unfamiliar with, and use the guess strategy explained in my books, then you have a very good chance of passing the exam.
You need to UNDERSTAND and MEMORIZE the information in LEED GA Exam Guide and achieve almost a perfect score on the mock exam in order to pass the GA exam or the first part of any AP exam. For the second part of the specific LEED AP exam you are taking, the corresponding book from my LEED Exam Guide series will give you the BULK of the most CURRENT information that you need. You HAVE to know the information included in my book related to the specific AP Exam you are taking, in order to pass the second part of the AP Exam.
b. If you have not been involved in any LEED projects before, I suggest you also go to the USGBC website, and download the latest LEED credit templates for the LEED rating system related to the LEED exam you are taking. Read the templates and become familiar with them. This is important. See the link below:
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=222
c. If you want to be safe and take additional sample tests to find out if you are ready for the real Green Associate Exam or part one of the AP exam, I would suggest LEED GA Mock Exams. That is probably the reason you bought this book in the first place.
In fact, some of my readers have passed the LEED Green Associate Exam with a high score by reading only my books, LEED GA Exam Guide and LEED GA Mock Exams and WITHOUT reading the USGBC reference guide AT ALL.
The LEED exam is NOT an easy exam, but anyone with a 7th grade education should be able to study and pass the LEED exam if s/he prepares correctly.
If you have extra time and money, the only other book I would recommend is the USGBC reference guide. I know some people who did not even read the reference guide from cover to cover when they took the exam. They just studied the information in my book, only referred to the reference guide to look up a few things, and passed on the first try. Some of my readers have even passed WITHOUT reading the USGBC reference guide AT ALL.
4. I am preparing for the LEED exam. Do I need to read the 2" thick reference guide?
Response: See the answer above.
5. For LEED v3.0, will the total number of points be more than 110 if a project receives all of the extra and standard credits?
Response: No, for LEED v3.0, there are 100 base points and 10 possible bonus points. There are many ways to achieve bonus points (extra credits or exemplary performance), but you can have a maximum number of only 6 ID and 4 Regional Priority bonus points. So, the maximum points for ANY project will be 110.
On another note, the older versions of LEED rating systems all have less than 110 possible points except LEED for Homes, which has 136 possible points.
6. For the exam, do I need to know the project phase in which a specific prerequisite/credit takes place? i.e., pre-design, schematic design, etc.
Response: The information on the project phase (NOT LEED submittal phase) for each prerequisite/credit is NOT mentioned in the USGBC reference guides, but it is covered in the USGBC workshops. If this information is important enough for the USGBC workshops to cover, then it may show up on the actual LEED exam.
Most, if not all, other third party books completely miss this important information. I cover the material for each prerequisite/credit in my book because I think it is very important.
Some people THINK that the LEED exam ONLY tests information covered by the USGBC reference guides. They are wrong.
The LEED exam does test information NOT covered by the USGBC reference guides at all. This may include the process of LEED submittal and project team coordination, etc.
I would MEMORIZE this information if I were you, because it may show up on the LEED exam. Besides, this information is not hard to memorize once you understand the content, and you need to know it to do actual LEED submittal work anyway.
7. Are you writing any other books for the new LEED exams? What new books are you writing?
Response: Yes, I am working on other books in the LEED Exam Guide series. I will be writing one book for each of the LEED exams. See LEEDSeries.com for more information.
1. I found the reference guide way too tedious. Can I read your books only and just refer to the USGBC reference guide (if one is available for the exam I am taking) when needed?
Response: Yes, that is one way to study. If you read only LEED GA Exam Guide, you already have a very good chance of passing. LEED GA Mock Exams will help you become more familiar with the way that questions are asked in the real LEED Green Associate Exam, give you more confidence, and increase your chance of passing.
2. Is one week really enough time for me to prepare for the exam while I am working?
Response: Yes, if you can put in 40 to 60 hours study time during the week you can pass the exam. This exam is similar to a history or political science exam; you need to MEMORIZE the information. If you wait too long to take the test after studying, you will probably forget the information.
In my book, LEED GA Exam Guide, I give you tips on how to MEMORIZE the information, and I have already highlighted/underlined the most important materials that you definitely have to MEMORIZE in order to pass the exam. My goal through this book is to help you to pass the LEED Green Associate Exam with minimum time and effort. I want to make your life easier.
However, to be on the safe side, for an average reader, I recommend not less than 2 weeks, but not MORE than 2 months of prep time.
3. Would you say that if I buy books from your LEED Exam Guide series, I could pass the exam without any other study materials? The books sold on the USGBC website cost hundreds of dollars, so I would be quite happy if I could buy your books and just use them.
Response: First of all, there are readers who have passed the LEED exam by reading only my books in the LEED Exam Guide series (www.ArchiteG.com). My goal is to write one book for each of the LEED exams, and make each of my books stand alone to prepare people for one specific LEED exam.
Secondly, people learn in many different ways. That is why I published LEED GA Mock Exams, and added some new advice below for people who learn better by doing practice tests.
If you do the following things, you have a very good chance of passing the LEED exam (This is NOT a guarantee, nobody can guarantee you will pass):
a. If you study, understand, and MEMORIZE all of the information in my book, LEED GA Exam Guide, do NOT panic when you run into problems you are unfamiliar with, and use the guess strategy explained in my books, then you have a very good chance of passing the exam.
You need to UNDERSTAND and MEMORIZE the information in LEED GA Exam Guide and achieve almost a perfect score on the mock exam in order to pass the GA exam or the first part of any AP exam. For the second part of the specific LEED AP exam you are taking, the corresponding book from my LEED Exam Guide series will give you the BULK of the most CURRENT information that you need. You HAVE to know the information included in my book related to the specific AP Exam you are taking, in order to pass the second part of the AP Exam.
b. If you have not been involved in any LEED projects before, I suggest you also go to the USGBC website, and download the latest LEED credit templates for the LEED rating system related to the LEED exam you are taking. Read the templates and become familiar with them. This is important. See the link below:
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=222
c. If you want to be safe and take additional sample tests to find out if you are ready for the real Green Associate Exam or part one of the AP exam, I would suggest LEED GA Mock Exams. That is probably the reason you bought this book in the first place.
In fact, some of my readers have passed the LEED Green Associate Exam with a high score by reading only my books, LEED GA Exam Guide and LEED GA Mock Exams and WITHOUT reading the USGBC reference guide AT ALL.
The LEED exam is NOT an easy exam, but anyone with a 7th grade education should be able to study and pass the LEED exam if s/he prepares correctly.
If you have extra time and money, the only other book I would recommend is the USGBC reference guide. I know some people who did not even read the reference guide from cover to cover when they took the exam. They just studied the information in my book, only referred to the reference guide to look up a few things, and passed on the first try. Some of my readers have even passed WITHOUT reading the USGBC reference guide AT ALL.
4. I am preparing for the LEED exam. Do I need to read the 2" thick reference guide?
Response: See the answer above.
5. For LEED v3.0, will the total number of points be more than 110 if a project receives all of the extra and standard credits?
Response: No, for LEED v3.0, there are 100 base points and 10 possible bonus points. There are many ways to achieve bonus points (extra credits or exemplary performance), but you can have a maximum number of only 6 ID and 4 Regional Priority bonus points. So, the maximum points for ANY project will be 110.
On another note, the older versions of LEED rating systems all have less than 110 possible points except LEED for Homes, which has 136 possible points.
6. For the exam, do I need to know the project phase in which a specific prerequisite/credit takes place? i.e., pre-design, schematic design, etc.
Response: The information on the project phase (NOT LEED submittal phase) for each prerequisite/credit is NOT mentioned in the USGBC reference guides, but it is covered in the USGBC workshops. If this information is important enough for the USGBC workshops to cover, then it may show up on the actual LEED exam.
Most, if not all, other third party books completely miss this important information. I cover the material for each prerequisite/credit in my book because I think it is very important.
Some people THINK that the LEED exam ONLY tests information covered by the USGBC reference guides. They are wrong.
The LEED exam does test information NOT covered by the USGBC reference guides at all. This may include the process of LEED submittal and project team coordination, etc.
I would MEMORIZE this information if I were you, because it may show up on the LEED exam. Besides, this information is not hard to memorize once you understand the content, and you need to know it to do actual LEED submittal work anyway.
7. Are you writing any other books for the new LEED exams? What new books are you writing?
Response: Yes, I am working on other books in the LEED Exam Guide series. I will be writing one book for each of the LEED exams. See LEEDSeries.com for more information.
Some people say ANYONE can take the LEED Green Associate Exam, is it true?
The short answer is: Yes.
If you are taking LEED Green Associate Exam, you need to meet one of the three criteria below:
1) Studying in an education program that addresses green building principles
Per USGBC:
"GBCI has confirmed that all of USGBC's education programs, with the exception of its webinars, satisfy this requirement." See link below for more information:
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=2011
This means ANYONE can take the LEED Green Associate Exam.
Why?
Because ANYONE can take the one of the USGBC's education programs listed at link above and qualified for the exam as long as he is willing to pay the fee (about a few hundred dollars, exact fee is depending on which program he chooses). You probably will take one of these education programs to prepare for the LEED exam anyway.
OR
2) Working in a sustainable field
OR
3) Have previous experience supporting a LEED-registered project
Quoted from page 25 of "LEED GA Exam Guide"
If you are taking LEED Green Associate Exam, you need to meet one of the three criteria below:
1) Studying in an education program that addresses green building principles
Per USGBC:
"GBCI has confirmed that all of USGBC's education programs, with the exception of its webinars, satisfy this requirement." See link below for more information:
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=2011
This means ANYONE can take the LEED Green Associate Exam.
Why?
Because ANYONE can take the one of the USGBC's education programs listed at link above and qualified for the exam as long as he is willing to pay the fee (about a few hundred dollars, exact fee is depending on which program he chooses). You probably will take one of these education programs to prepare for the LEED exam anyway.
OR
2) Working in a sustainable field
OR
3) Have previous experience supporting a LEED-registered project
Quoted from page 25 of "LEED GA Exam Guide"
Book Reviews for "LEED GA Mock Exams"
A Great Book for Preparing the LEED GA Exam!
I have read almost all the books for LEED Exams, and found LEED Exam Guide Series to be the best. The USGBC Reference Guide was too detailed and kind of confusing. Some other third party books have too many grammatical mistakes and are hard to understand, and way too many questions. The questions in those books are confusing instead of helpful. The USGBC workshop missed some of the very important information, like extra credits.
LEED Exam Guide Series gives you just the right amount of information for you to pass the LEED exam. This book has 2 sets of LEED GA mock exams, including questions, answers and explanations. It is one of the best and closely matches the real LEED GA Exam. A Great book!
---Ellen
I have read almost all the books for LEED Exams, and found LEED Exam Guide Series to be the best. The USGBC Reference Guide was too detailed and kind of confusing. Some other third party books have too many grammatical mistakes and are hard to understand, and way too many questions. The questions in those books are confusing instead of helpful. The USGBC workshop missed some of the very important information, like extra credits.
LEED Exam Guide Series gives you just the right amount of information for you to pass the LEED exam. This book has 2 sets of LEED GA mock exams, including questions, answers and explanations. It is one of the best and closely matches the real LEED GA Exam. A Great book!
---Ellen
Disclaimer for LEED GA Mock Exams
"LEED GA Mock Exams" provides general information about the LEED Green Associate Exam and LEED green building certification. The book is sold with the understanding that neither the publisher nor the author is providing legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal, accounting, or other professional services are required, seek the assistance of a competent professional firm.
The purpose of this publication is not to reprint the content of all other available texts on the subject. You are urged to read other materials, and tailor them to fit your needs.
Great effort has been taken to make this resource as complete and accurate as possible; however, nobody is perfect, and there may be several typographical errors or other mistakes. You should use this book as a general guide and not as the ultimate source on this subject.
"LEED GA Mock Exams" is intended to provide general, entertaining, informative, educational, and enlightening content. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable to anyone or any entity for any loss or damages, or alleged loss and damages, caused directly or indirectly by the content of this book.
USGBC and LEED are trademarks of the U.S. Green Building Council. The U.S. Green Building Council is not affiliated with this publication.
The purpose of this publication is not to reprint the content of all other available texts on the subject. You are urged to read other materials, and tailor them to fit your needs.
Great effort has been taken to make this resource as complete and accurate as possible; however, nobody is perfect, and there may be several typographical errors or other mistakes. You should use this book as a general guide and not as the ultimate source on this subject.
"LEED GA Mock Exams" is intended to provide general, entertaining, informative, educational, and enlightening content. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable to anyone or any entity for any loss or damages, or alleged loss and damages, caused directly or indirectly by the content of this book.
USGBC and LEED are trademarks of the U.S. Green Building Council. The U.S. Green Building Council is not affiliated with this publication.
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