PPD Practice Exam - Question Issues
Hello NCARB,
After taking your practice exam today I found four questions and answers that I would like to address here.
# Question 29
The answer states that outdoor courtyard will be the only correct option "because it would have minimal impact on the school layout, requiring neither revision to the design of the building facade nor the other programmed spaces."
However, the outdoor space, in my opinion, will also be a "programmed space" as well as any other spaces close to the library.
I have selected rooms below the library and expected that was the correct answer.
#Question 37
The answer assumes that the space on the north side of this site plan is "higher than 50 feet" - however, there is no contour line higher 50 feet on this site plan.
I have placed on the northern area assuming it was 50 feet elevation.
Since there is no contour line - I understand that it is a flat area at the hight of 50'.
#Question 49
The answer shows restrooms rotated 90 degrees. However, in the original position both restrooms were oriented horizontally, which prevents from answering this question correctly.
#Question 62
This roof plan is confusing because the skylight may not need any cricket, as it can be just flat. What actually looks like needs a cricket is the area on the right - looks like it is a parapet wall! I have imagined it was a parapet wall and since the roof slopes towards east - I clicked on the area on the right.
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Looking forward to hear from you,
Thank you,
Roman
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Hi Roman -
Good questions.
About #29: I think the constraint that matters most here is the amount of additional square footage required. Taking 2000 sf from the courtyard reduces its size by about 30 percent. Taking space from the rooms below completely eliminates them.
Question 37: No insight. I agree with you.
Question 49: You can right-click items to rotate them. I just took PPD & PDD about a week ago and had to rotate objects for at least a couple questions.
Question 62: Skylights are pretty much always installed on a curb. This holds true for residential construction with pitched roofs, and also for commercial low-sloped (“flat”) roofs. Skylights are notorious leakers! Installing them on a curb and providing crickets reduce the risk of leaking substantially. The line on the right end of the roof is probably a gutter. Buildings with parapets usually have them along the entire perimeter, and those roofs are typically sloped to internal drains (not over the edges of the roof).
Hope this helps. Good luck:)
Christine Williamson
www.christine-williamson.com -
#Question 37
The answer assumes that the space on the north side of this site plan is "higher than 50 feet" - however, there is no contour line higher 50 feet on this site plan.
I have placed on the northern area assuming it was 50 feet elevation.
Since there is no contour line - I understand that it is a flat area at the hight of 50'. - What makes you think it's a flat area? What if the slope goes uphill? Even if the elevation is 50.0000000000001 your answer will not meet the requirements, because the foundation of the turbine cannot be constructed at elevations higher than 50'. -
Valerie, I would agree with you that I can't prove that it is a flat area.
In fact, it is unknown what is there. It can be flat, sloped uphill or downhill.
So "the flat area" was just my guess.Therefore, since it is unknown - I should just use only valid data that is provided in a question.
Sometimes it is just confusing because some ARE questions are extremely simple (like this one) and sometimes they are very complicated that require long math calculation.
So it is hard to accept the potential simplicity of the question. My brain somehow wants to believe that all questions must be at least close to equal in complexity.Thanks for your comment anyway.
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