Mercantile vs. Business (and auto repair or auto sales, S-1 and S-2etc)
-
Jon,
Yes. You will likely be given a description of a buildings use and then have to determine from chapter 3 which use group it is. I am here to tell you that the description will not be vague on the ARE. Using your example, itll say "a service garage for automobiles " so that its clear as day.
You will be given the code so you can look up the use group. Expect this likely in the case studies i would say.
Thats it. Really no need to follow this up with a reply. KEEP IT SIMPLE JON. You'll get a description of the use/function of the building, you'll use Chapter 3 to select the appropriate use group, and then there you go, you can now answer the exam question. -
hey. thanks david.
there is a parts to whole issue or something they have though.
i mean when you say keep it simple i don’t know what this means practically for instance regarding occupancy and use.
are you saying i need to go into occupancy and drill down to the subcategories to determine if service garage for automobiles (or this or that storage usage /description/) is in this or that section in chapter 3 to determine which category to use for fire walls?
meaning i would not know up front where this or that automobile usage description is going to be in terms of a category. you know what i mean? -
Hey Jonathan,
I've had the exact same concern regarding this exam (and PPD). I posted on this board about it but I haven't received much of a comforting answer yet. I get that if the description is given to us in the case study ,we'll have the opportunity to look in the code...which is easy enough. However, in my experience there has been a description given in the MC without a code reference pasted in the question, and you either just have to know, or need to look it up. My concern is that we won't be able to look it up in the new style of testing, because any question we view will become locked once we go on break. So the answer I guess is to just know the occupancy groups, and hope the description in the question is very clear...or don't go on break. Hopefully someone else can shed some light on this for us.
-
hi sarah. any input we can get in this forum is helpful i think. so i appreciate in particular testing candidates posting and continuing to post.
a follow up question if i may?
when you say that determining this kind of designation in case studies is “easy enough” - can you describe the steps you would take for - well the example here for say a description of a :usage/ of “auto sales” or of “auto repair”? i mean i’m terms of steps how would you make this determination in case studies or in MC. please like step by step?
also - sorry but i forget. i have access to the CODE and the STRUCTURAL references in case study snd i have access to the EQUATIONS only in MC - is that right?? -
I think the steps I would take would just be looking at the definitions under Chapter 3 to see how the description would qualify. I was typically getting tripped up on the many types of Residential.
You are correct, there will most likely be a code reference attached in the Case Studies. However, after the December update you cannot use this as a reference on the multiple choice, unless you plan to answer the case studies while you're there. Once you view a question, it will become locked when you go on break.
As for references on the MC, you will have access to equations for each type (as they show in the NCARB practice model), as well as structural steel references. I would recommend getting comfortable with those since they are available on every question.
-
so in MC you will be given the ACTUAL CATEGORY and not a description of the use?
and in case studies you might be given a description of a use that you cannot determine a category for? so you would have to go into the code in MC to determine in the SUB-CHAPTERS which SUB-CATEGORY the description fits into? -
In the multiple choice you might be given both. You could be given a description of the use, but not the actual code to look it up. Or they could give you the actual category and you'll need to use it to find an allowable height for example. Honestly in my experience, anything goes. Seems like we're both better off just memorizing the occupancy classification types just in case.
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
7 comments