Construction Final Exam

Going way back to some really primitive cultures, what was one of the more significant events that spurred some of the early inventions in tools, tools that had a direct impact on building technology?

Leisure time and living in caves

What is the "most widely used building material ever employed" according to the book. 

Pise

What materials are used to make Pise?

-Soil

-straw/dung

-water

The concept of taxation began in about 3000 BC. what purpose did it serve?

To pay organizer, or politicians, who administered the trading industry

What rivers bounded the delta where the Sumerians lived almost 6000 years ago?

 

Tigris-Euphrates

What was the material(s) used to build Sumerian houses?

Reeds and reed matting and sometimes pise

What was the primary material used in building the Skara Brae village 5000 years ago? What was the most remarkable amenity built into the village?

Stone, sewers

What group was the first to create a surplus of food?

paleolithic people

There are several factors and considerations discussed in the book as important to providing a labor force such as:

Security & safety AND Quantity& quality

Under the heading "Site Selection" we listed four items that builders generally check out before committing to a project. They include:

-Density of the job site

-Soil conditions

-terrain

Roads have always been a very important part of the building of a project. which is (are) examples form ancient times where access roads played an integral part in the building process?

- The pyramids

-Glasgow cathedral

- The pathenon

What is hydrogenesis?

 

Obtaining water from rocks/condensation

What is one of the three R's mentioned in the book?

-renovation

-repair

-restoration

What is (are) a reason(s) that differentiates the handicraft artisans from the construction craftsperson?

-Localized

-Repetitive

-Time

What is meant by the term vernacular in the context used in this textbook?

 

Structures built using native materials and methods

Cite three reasons why building codes exist:

-cultural practices

-safety

-uniformity

-standardization

-societal pressures

If "Jerry-building" does not refer to those structures built by a fellow named Jerry, what does it refer to?

 

Both shoddy practices that result in unsafe or dangerously substandard structures and inept or incompetent workmanship Time

"Scamping" is an old English term that refers to the "___________ and/or use of inferior materials." 

Production

What, is any, are the positives of a natural disaster such as a hurricane?

 

We use the natural disasters as learning tools to build for the futures and not make the same mistakes

Name one of the three reasons cited in the text that cause non-intentional building failures.

- Misjudgement

-Misinformation

-Miscalculation

The South Florida Building Code, adopted in 2957, was seriously out of date; the effects of wind on the built environment are not thoroughly understood; and, the critical wind-engineering expertise of engineer and architects is largely absent when it comes to the design of residential construction. These lessons, according to the book resulted from: 

 

Hurricane Andrew

In which area of the world would you expect to find bamboo scaffolding 

 

China

Name the two types of shoring: 

 

Structural shoring and trench and excavations shoring

Which of the following is an example of falsework?

-Scaffolding

-Shoring

-Formwork

What is pozzolana and who invented it?

 A cement used by the Romans

_______________is generally the most expensive to use of the four falsework types

 

Scaffolding

What type of falsework would one use to build a rammed earth wall?

 

Formwork

Which of the following is not a component of an arch/column?

 

Tap

Which of the following is not a component of medieval scaffolding?

 

Tap

Why is the old Tacoma Narrows Bridge famous?

 

It failed spectacularly

Initially the role of the _______________ was divided into two distinct trades.

carpenter

What is probably the most visible characteristic found in a construction worker?

-Endurance to work long hours

-Stamina

-Physical strength

What was the basic difference, which affected the labor forces at the time, between the Greek and Roman building philosophies?

 Greeks were more into beauty and elegance (the aesthetics)

What is the true benefit to all of us form having an organized labor force according to the text?

 Quality workmanship

What was the important contribution made by Vitruvius? he writings on: 

-Building in water

-Building materials and rules of design

-dimensioning of columns, temples, palaces, theaters, harbors

Who pioneered the theory known as the strength of materials?

Galileo

Who was the very famous scientist that has been given partial credit for the invention of calculus?

Newton

Who was the very famous scientist that has been given credit for introducing the concept of the modulus of elasticity?

young

Explain the difference between dead loads and live loads.

 BOTH dead loads are gravity loads and live loads are transitory or temporary loads

Name at least two reasons why wind loads are so difficult to analyze.

 They can come form multiple directions and they can cause negative pressures

What is the procedure for accommodating the thermal expansion in our modern highways?

 Install expansion joints in the concrete highways

What are the advantages of using human carriers to transport construction materials as discussed by the text?

 BOTH Human carriers can simply pick-up and carry the load and can also travel where the conditions are rough, steep or too narrow for other forms of transportation

What are many purpose of roads

 BOTH political and trade and military and religious

What are the major elements of modern road engineering? (The romans were the first to introduce the major elements of modern road engineering)

-Good drainage and smooth surfaces

-Solid foundations

 -A planned network

The five types of bridges are: 

 The beam or girder bridge; the arch bridge; the bascule or drawbridge; the truss bridge; and the suspension bridge

The basic difference between bridge type is the way that each carriers its own 

Weight

One of the first tasks in constructing a bridge pier in water is in the sinking of the _________used to form the foundation of the piers 

 Caissons

Constructing a bridge is big accomplishment, but what are some of the considerations in maintaining a bridge

 One of the best ways to protect a bridge from corrosion is to maintain a coat of paint on its surface

What was the major problem the Americans had to overcome when they took over construction of the Panama Canal from the French

 To control the problem of disease

What has been, and still is in the most designs, the problem with using a  fireplace to provide heat?

 

Providing proper ventilation to evacuate the smoke

An open or plenum under the floor that is flooded with heat is a: 

 Hypocaust

Buildings that do not have proper ventilation that will recirculate polluting type contaminants that will eventually cause people to develop respiratory problems or other sicknesses is an example of:

 Sick building syndrome

What is the primary reason for applying a solar coating or broncing to glass fenestration (windows)?

 BOTH it keeps the harmful effects of the sun-heat and ultra-violet rays- outs and it allows 95% of the natural light to pass through

One of the many innovations used in building the roman coliseum that provided ventilation and illumination to crowds up to 90,000 people was: 

-The use of metal grating embedded in the concrete to allow air and light ot pass form one level to another

-In some of the upper areas buried within the mass of the structure, light shafts were cut through the vaulting that allowed for natural illumination and ventilation

 -The practical use of the arches on all of the levels and the vaulted stairways

Air conditioning is the process of treating air in an internal environment to establish and maintain required standards of: 

-Temperature

-Humidity

-Cleanliness and motion

The criteria that was considered in the pyramids site selection process included:

 The site must be high enough above the level of the river to be protected from the annual flooding- but not too far away from the river, as this would increase the effort needed in constructing the causeway and in transporting materials to the building site from the river

The typical pyramids made up of the three general types of blocks: 

-Core blocks

-Packing blocks

-Casing blocks

The ancient Egyptians mummified their kinds. The whole process took _______

over two months

The main building material of the pyramids was_________

limestone

The casing stones were removed from the pyramids. Where did they go?

 -They were used in other Egyptian structures