[30 Test Answers] FEMA IS-8: Building for the Earthquakes of Tomorrow

Here are the test answers to FEMA IS-8.A: Building for the Earthquakes of Tomorrow, Complying with Executive Order 12699.

Overview: The FEMA IS-8.A course was published on 10/31/2013 to provide individuals in State and local governments, and the building and financial industries, with information about the requirements of Executive Order 12699 and how they will be implemented.

Because Executive Order 12699 is so wide-reaching, a training course was needed to provide the tools, information, and planning guidance for those people affected by the Executive Order. IS-8.A is also intended to provide the student with basic knowledge about earthquakes and how buildings can be built to be safe during an earthquake.

FEMA IS-8.A test answers

Each time this test is loaded, you will receive a unique set of questions and answers. The test questions are scrambled to protect the integrity of the exam.

Question 1. Which of the following activities may be considered mitigation?
a. Emergency medical services to individuals following an earthquake.
b. Post-earthquake reconstruction.
c. Adoption of zoning.✅ 
d. Establishment of temporary housing.

Question 2. A community that is likely to incur a great deal of damage during an earthquake is referred to as having a high seismic _____.
a. impact
b. hazard
c. cost
d. risk✅ 

Question 3. NEHRP was created as a result of:
a. Executive Order 12699.
b. Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act.✅ 
c. ICSSC recommendations.
d. Nuclear Regulatory Commission mandate.

Question 4. In order to make the construction of seismically safe buildings economically possible, the ICSSC drafted Executive Order 12699 to mandate that a building should be designed to prevent:
a. damage.
b. collapse.
c. defacement.
d. All of the above.✅ 

Question 5. The NEHRP Provisions addressed effective methods of seismic design and construction of:
a. buildings in high-risk areas.
b. buildings in moderate risk areas.
c. buildings in low-risk areas.
d. All of the above.✅ 

Question 6. Scientists use _____ waves to find an earthquake’s epicenter.
a. body
b. core
c. Love
d. surface✅ 

Question 7. _____ waves cause most of the damage to the built environment during an earthquake.
a. body
b. primary
c. secondary
d. surface✅ 

Question 8. Earthquake activity can be caused by _____ movement of plates.
a. convergent
b. divergent
c. lateral
d. All of the above.✅ 

Question 9.  A fault is a fracture in the earth’s outer shell, on either side of which rock mass moves _____.
a. horizontally
b. vertically
c. both horizontally and vertically✅ 
d. Any of the above.

Question 10. Seismic waves generally travel much shorter distances on the West Coast than on the East Coast because:
a. the soil composition is different in the two regions.✅ 
b. the earthquakes are of a greater intensity on the East Coast.
c. earthquakes are more frequent on the West Coast.
d. communities are better prepared for earthquakes on the West Coast.

Question 11. The Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale measures the _____ of an earthquake.
a. magnitude
b. speed
c. frequency
d. impact✅

Question 12. The Richter Scale measures the _____ of an earthquake.
a. magnitude✅ 
b. speed
c. frequency
d. impact

Question 13. Liquefaction occurs when:
a. water from a seiche washes away soil.
b. flooding occurs as a secondary effect of an earthquake.
c. ground motion causes loose, sandy soil to act like a fluid.✅
d. rivers are created at fault lines.

Question 14. Which term refers to powerful ocean waves caused by an earthquake, landslide, or volcanic eruption on the seafloor?
a. Tsunami✅ 
b. Seiche
c. Ductile
d. Drift

Question 15. When a building and the ground vibrate at the same rate, they resonate, and the vibrations _____.
a. increase, putting less stress on the building
b. increase, putting more stress on the building✅ 
c. decrease, putting less stress on the building
d. decrease, putting more stress on the building

Question 16. Partitions, ceilings, and exterior walls can _____ a building’s vibration.
a. increase
b. transfer
c. dampen✅
d. eliminate

Question 17. Which of the following is not a horizontal bracing system?
A. Diaphragm✅ 
B. Shear wall
C. Braced frame
D. Moment-resistant

Question 18. The NEHRP Provisions provide two seismic hazard maps that contain quantitative measures from which seismic forces on buildings may be determined. Which of the following variables were not considered in developing these maps?
a. Historical seismicity of area
b. Area’s proximity to known faults
c. Geological investigations
d. Types of structures built in an area✅ 

Question. 19. Buildings are assigned to Seismic Use Groups on the basis of _____.
a. community’s need✅ 
b. age
c. quality of construction
d. All of the above.

Question 20. The Provisions consider a building’s seismicity and its Seismic Use Group and assign it to a _____ in order to define its seismic safety requirements.
a. Provisions Category
b. Requirements Category
c. Seismic Risk Category
d. Seismic Design Category✅ 

Question 21. What is the clearest indication that your community is seismically safe?
a. A recent earthquake occurred and caused no injuries or damage.
b. Earthquake hazard maps say the seismicity of your State is low.✅
c. Your community adopted a recent version of a model building code, including its seismic provisions.
d. Building codes have been in use for years.

Question 22. If the region in which you live has not experienced an earthquake in 200 years, your earthquake hazard is low.
a. True
b. False✅

Question 23. Two of the objectives of NEHRP were to educate the public about earthquake risk reduction and increase the use of existing scientific and engineering knowledge to mitigate earthquake hazards.
a. True✅ 
b. False

Question 24. The owner of a new office building, currently under construction, is going to lease 20 percent of the building’s space to the Federal Government and is therefore subject to the requirements of Executive Order 12699.
a. True✅ 
b. False

Question 25. All Federal agencies have the same seismic safety standards.
a. True
b. False✅ 

Question 26. Temporary as well as permanent structures built following a disaster using Federal funds through the Stafford Act must meet the requirements of Executive Order 12699.
a. True
b. False✅ 

Question 27. A building constructed according to the NEHRP Provisions may sustain enough damage during an earthquake that it must be demolished.
a. True✅ 
b. False

Question 28. All faults will cause earthquakes.
a. True
b. False✅ 

Question 29. A tall building has a longer natural period than a short one.
a. True✅ 
b. False

Question 30. The ideal characteristics for building materials in seismically active areas are ductility and stiffness.
a. True
b. False✅