40 Minutes of Competence (Powered by Amber Book) on Thursdays at 2pm Eastern
Thursday's Amber Book Zoom Call was well-attended (200 participants), well-received, and most importantly, useful for those studying. Join us next week (and future Thursdays) and feel free to invite your colleagues who are sitting for the exams, or thinking about sitting for the exams. Amber Book enrollment isn’t a prerequisite to participate, at least for now.
We’ll title these Zoom calls, “40 Minutes of Competence.” We’ll use this Zoom meeting link and we’ll meet Thursday’s at 2pm, Eastern (11am Pacific).
The format will be as follows
New content: 30 minutes
I answer questions from the previous week’s chat thread: 10 minutes
Then breakout rooms for those who want to contribute in smaller group discussions
See you Thursday—Michael Ermann, creator of The Amber Book
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This week’s 40 Minutes of Competence title will be Shear Diagrams, Part I. For the first five minutes we’ll work on a problem together in silence, but I’m going to give you the problem now, in the event you prefer to start early . . . . Snow is 20lbs per cubic foot and last night it snowed 6in. The roof only holds the snow (ignore the weight of the beam and other loads for this thought-exercise). Horizontal beams, simply supported, 30ft long, 10’ O.C.. What is the maximum vertical shear in the beam?
The audio from last Thursday’s call, titled, “8 Things I’d Want to Know if I Were Taking These Exams” can be accessed here.
Last week, several people asked what is free about the Amber Book during the testing center closings? Go here.
If you have 10th or 11th graders that you love, we made the Olive Book for high schoolers preparing for the SAT and ACT exams. I share this because it is also free now in light of the school closings. Go too www.olive-book.com.
See you Thursday—Michael Ermann creator of The Amber Book
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Next week’s 40 Minutes of Competence title will be Moment Diagrams, Part I. For the first five minutes we’ll work on a problem together in silence, but I’m going to give you the problem now for those who like to start early . . . . Snow is 20lbs per cubic foot and last night it snowed 6in. The roof only holds the snow (ignore the weight of the beam and other loads for this thought-exercise). Horizontal beams, simply supported, 30ft long, 10’ O.C.. What is the maximum bending moment in the beam?
For next week’s meeting, and future meetings, use the same Zoom meeting link and meet at the same time (Thursday’s at 2pm, Eastern or 11am Pacific). Feel free to invite colleagues; for now you don’t have to be an Amber Book enrollee to attend.
If you are not on the mailing list for these calls, but want to be added, email firms@amber-book.com with "please add me" in the subject line
The video from this past thursday's 40 Minutes of Competence, “Shear Diagrams Part I” Zoom call can be accessed here
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Yes Paulina! We will have our Amber Book : 40 Minutes of Competence Zoom call this (and every) Thursday. There were dueling Zoom meetings. . . and I lost. Next week’s 40 Minutes of Competence Zoom call will be delayed to a 4pm Eastern start. NCARB is hosting its own video meeting during our normal time slot to discuss test center closures. NCARB’s meeting is here at 2pm and our Zoom call will be at 4pm Eastern here. We will return to our regular 2pm time next week.
Thursday’s Amber Book 40 Minutes of Competence program is titled, “Door Lock Hardware.” As always, we’ll take the first five minutes of class to answer the question together, but if you would like to get a head-start on that, here is the question:
Describe the door hardware required for a door that
Connects an office to a corridor
Connects a bedroom to a corridor
Connects a classroom to a corridor
Connects a storeroom to a corridor
To watch old 40 Minutes of Competence Zoom calls, go here. To be added to our mailing list for future meetings, email firms@amber-book.com
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- Today's (Thursday's) 40 Minutes of Competence Zoom will take place at our usual 2pm Eastern start in our usual Zoom link, here. Take a minute now to put that link on repeat in your calendar for every Thursday. Seriously, do that.
- Today's program is titled, “Composite Sound Transmission Loss” As always, we’ll take the first five minutes of class to answer the question together, but if you would like to get a head-start on that, here is the question:
Wall A has a sound transmission loss (TL) of 60 in the opaque portion and five percent of the surface of the wall is covered by window (TL of 25).
Wall B has a sound transmission loss of 40 for the whole assembly (there is no window in Wall B)
Which will do a better job keeping passing bus noise out of the apartment, Wall A or Wall B
Given
- To watch old Amber Book 40 Minutes of Competence Zoom calls, go here. To be added to our mailing list for future meetings, email firms@amber-book.com.
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Today’s (Thursday’s) Amber Book : 40 Minutes of Competence program is titled, “Water pressure” As always, we’ll take the first five minutes of class to answer the question together, but if you would like to get a head-start on that, here is the question:
The pressure in a city water main is 50 psi. The pressure loss through piping, fittings, and the water meter can be ignored for this exercise. What is the height above the water main, above which the water will not flow? Given: 1psi=2.3 ft of water
40 Minutes of Competence Zoom calls take place Thursdays at 2pm Eastern in our recurring Zoom link, here.
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40 Minutes of Competence. Code Adjacencies
Thursday’s (today's) Amber Book : 40 Minutes of Competence program is titled, “Code Adjacencies” As always, we’ll take the first five minutes of class to answer the question together, but if you would like to get a head-start on that, here is the question:
A bank shares a wall with a courtroom in an un-sprinklered building. That wall must be rated to _______ hours.
No rating required
1-hour rating
2-hour rating
4-hour rating
You are encouraged to Google the building code liberally, as we will consider this a searchable case study practice question.
This Zoom call will take place Thursday at our usual 2pm Eastern start in our usual Zoom link, here.
To watch old Amber Book 40 Minutes of Competence Zoom calls, go here. To be added to our mailing list for future meetings, email firms@amber-book.com.
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Amber Book : 40 Minutes of Competence. Reverberation Time
Today’s Amber Book : 40 Minutes of Competence program is titled, “Reverberation Time.” As always, we’ll take the first five minutes of class to answer the question together, but if you would like to get a head-start on that, here is the question:
Last month I volunteered to help out with the renovation of a building on campus. People assemble there for banquets and weddings. The operators of the space field regular complaints of excessive reverberance: for instance, at a banquet a dean is recognizing faculty who have won teaching awards and each syllable of the dean’s speech seems to linger in the air too long, interfering with the next syllable before it is uttered. How much extra sound absorbing material, in square feet, should be added to move this room to a (1000 Hz) reverberation time of 0.40 seconds for improved speech intelligibility?
Given:
I measured the existing reverberation time to be 0.73 seconds at 1000Hz
The sound absorption coefficient (SAC or ⍺) of the absorbing material they chose, measured at 1000Hz, is 0.95
I measured the total surface area of all the surfaces in the room to be 4,365 sf
I measured the total volume of the room to be 11,619 cu ft
Assume that the absorbing material will replace gypsum board; the GWB being replaced has a 1000Hz sound absorption coefficient (SAC or ⍺) of 0.04
If you are curious, you can see photos of the space here and here.
Looking for the formulas you need? Check the “References bar” on the NCARB Demonstration Exam (which can be accessed from your MyNCARB page)
Amber Book : 40 Minutes of Competence Zoom will take place Thursday at our usual 2pm Eastern start in our usual Zoom link, here.
To watch old Amber Book 40 Minutes of Competence Zoom calls, go here. To be added to our mailing list for future meetings, email firms@amber-book.com.
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Technical Standards : Amber Book 40 Minutes of Competence
Today's Amber Book : 40 Minutes of Competence program is titled, “Technical Standards.” As always, we’ll take the first five minutes of class to answer the question together, but if you would like to get a head-start on that, here is the question:
Identify the following standards:
ASTM E1527
ASTM E 1903
ASHRAE 55
ASHRAE 62
ASHRAE 90.1
*Feel free to Google
40 Minutes of Competence Zoom calls take place Thursdays at our usual 2pm Eastern start in our usual Zoom link.
To watch past Amber Book 40 Minutes of Competence videos, go to our unlisted YouTube channel. To be added to our mailing list for future meetings, email firms@amber-book.com.
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- Thursday’s (today's) Amber Book : 40 Minutes of Competence program is titled, “Fuel Heat Value.” As always, we’ll take the first five minutes of class to answer the question together, but if you would like to get a head-start on that, here is the question:
What is the cost of heating a building with a natural gas boiler, given
Peak heat loss = 500,000 BTU/hr
2,000 Full-load hours/yr
Fuel heat value of natural gas = 1,000 BTU/cu ft
Fuel cost = $11 per thousand cubic feet of natural gas
Boiler efficiency = 90%
*utilize the formulas available to you on the exam. See the NCARB demonstration exam on the right hand column of your myNCARB page. Click on the References bar once you have started the practice exam to browse the available formulas under the HVAC tab.- 40 Minutes of Competence Zoom will take place Thursdays at our usual 2pm Eastern start in our usual Zoom link.
- To watch past Amber Book 40 Minutes of Competence videos, go to our unlisted YouTube channel. To be added to our mailing list for future meetings, email firms@amber-book.com. (You don't have to subscribe to Amber Book to join).
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Subject Line: Calculating Foot-Candles : Amber Book 40 Minutes of Competence.
- Thursday’s (today’s) Amber Book : 40 Minutes of Competence program is titled, “Calculating foot-candles.” As always, we’ll take the first five minutes of class to answer the question together, but if you would like to get a head-start on that, here is the question:
How many footcandles would be measured 3’ above the floor directly below a fixture hung at a height 9’ above the floor
Given:
An omnidirectional point source light
9,000 candle power (cp)
Ignore reflectance from room surfaces, dirt depreciation, etc.
- 40 Minutes of Competence Zoom will take place Thursdays at our usual 2pm Eastern start in our usual Zoom link.
- To watch past Amber Book 40 Minutes of Competence videos, go to our unlisted YouTube channel. To be added to our mailing list for future meetings, email firms@amber-book.com.
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Cut and Fill : Amber Book 40 Minutes of Competence.
- Thursday’s Amber Book : 40 Minutes of Competence program is titled, “Cut and Fill.” As always, we’ll take the first five minutes of class to answer the question together, but if you would like to get a head-start on that, here is the question:
You are employing a cut-and-fill strategy, whereby the earth you are using as compacted fill behind a retaining wall will come from excavation for the building’s foundation. How much compacted soil will be available for the retaining wall?
Given:
230 bank cubic yards of earth will be removed for the foundation
After excavation that becomes 300 cubic yards of loose soil
The swell factor for the soil is 10%
- 40 Minutes of Competence Zoom calls will take place Thursdays at our usual 2pm Eastern start in our usual Zoom link.
- To watch past Amber Book 40 Minutes of Competence videos, go to our unlisted YouTube channel. To be added to our mailing list for future meetings, email firms@amber-book.com.
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The Final Four of Building Systems : Amber Book 40 Minutes of Competence.
- Thursday’s Amber Book : 40 Minutes of Competence program is titled, “The Final Four of Building Systems.” We’ll take the first ten minutes of class to answer the question together (usually it’s five but this week it’s ten), but if you would like to get a head-start on that, here is the assignment:
Print out and fill out this final four bracket for your current design project at work in the same way you would for March Madness. It’ll be fun and useful.
- 40 Minutes of Competence Zoom will take place Thursdays at our usual 2pm Eastern start in our usual Zoom link.
- To watch past Amber Book 40 Minutes of Competence videos, go to our unlisted YouTube channel. To be added to our mailing list for future meetings, email firms@amber-book.com.
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