Chapter 15

Building Green

Question 1
What problem do Green architects try to solve?

They try to design buildings that have fewer

negative impacts on the environment.

Question2
What makes the heating system in Chriss green
building more efficient than the heating system in
conventional buildings?

Answer 2
The heating in Chriss green building is more
efficient than a conventional building because they
created a thermostat that could detect the
temperature of the room and change it.

Question 3
Make a list of four materials that Chris will use in
her building and briefly explain the function of each
material.

Answer 3
Insulator- material where energy does not flow
well
Thermostat- changes the temperature to allow
less money to be used
Concrete block- acts as a thermal mass, which is
component of building which absorbs and stores
heat

Question 4
Draw an energy of a toaster heating up a slice of
bread.

Answer 4

Question 5
What is the difference between an insulator and a
conductor? Would an engineer choose a good
insulator or a good conductor as a material for a
coffee mug? What about a saucepan?

Answer 5
Insulator is material through which energy does not
flow well. A conductor is a material through which
energy flows well. An engineer would choose an
insulator for a coffee mug and a conductor for a
saucepan.

Question 6
Which is a better insulator, wood or cellulose
insulation? How do you know? (Use the R-value
chart earlier in this chapter)

Answer 6
Cellulose insulation a better insulator because its Rvalue is 3.5.

Question 7
Many of the engineers in this book discuss the
importance of teamwork. Why is teamwork so
critical when it comes to designing Green buildings?
How is this different from the teamwork in The
making of a new balance shoe and other earlier
chapters?

Answer 7
Teamwork is important in building greens building
because if one person messes up on their job, the
whole building will fall or be messed up. Unlike
building a shoe really the factories make them or
just one person and if you mess up you just restart.

Question 8
Look around your school and list at least three ways
the building could be designed to better conserve
energy?

Answer 8
The lights could have a lightening system in them
where is dims the lights on their own. We could use
the lights with solar power. The air conditioners
could burn slower and save some energy and power
for later use.

Question 9
Chris talks about the role of a building inspector.
Why is this an important role? What might result if
cities and towns did not employ building inspectors?

Answer 9
Building inspectors look over all the work of the
workers to make sure all their work is done 100%
correctly. If we did not have these inspectors
buildings might collapse more or have unstable
foundations.