CHE 423 LCA Quiz

What is the primary purpose of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)?

• A. Reduce product cost

• B. Measure energy efficiency

• C. Quantify environmental impacts throughout a product's life

• D. Increase product sales

What does “cradle to grave” mean in the context of LCA?

• A. From manufacturing to retail

• B. From design to consumer use

• C. From raw material extraction to end-of-life disposal

• D. From product development to customer feedback

What is the first phase of the LCA methodology according to ISO 14040?

• A. Inventory analysis

• B. Goal and scope definition

• C. Impact assessment

• D. Interpretation

What rule was used to exclude components from the inventory in the LCA?

• A. Items below 5% in cost

• B. Items below 1% of total impact, not exceeding 5% in total

• C. Items under 10g in weight

• D. Items not included in Dyson’s bill of materials

What is “open loop” recycling?

• A. Recycling within the same factory

• B. Recycling a product back into itself

• C. Recycling a product into a different product category

• D. A failed recycling process

Which database was used to map material impacts in the study?

• A. GaBi

• B. GREET

• C. SimaPro

• D. ecoinvent

What does the classification step in impact assessment involve?

• A. Ranking product cost

• B. Assigning environmental impact categories to emissions

• C. Listing transport routes

• D. Comparing brand reputation

What is the purpose of characterization in LCA?

• A. Assess user experience

• B. Assign financial values to products

• C. Quantify emissions in common impact units (e.g., CO₂e)

• D. Predict market success

Which of the following is NOT a true environmental impact category?

• A. Global Warming Potential

• B. Cumulative Energy Demand

• C. Human Health Impact

• D. Ecosystem Quality

Why did the researchers perform Monte Carlo simulations?

• A. To predict market demand

• B. To simulate drying times in bathrooms

• C. To account for uncertainty in multiple input variables

• D. To test legal claims about hand dryers