TOPIC: My expierience so far to become a Certified Energy rater.

Ian, there's 2 squares + a right triangle making up the image. The triangle has 2 sides of 20 and hypotenuse of 28.8.

Hey Dom, did you mean 28.28 or 28.3?  If its 28.8 what did we do wrong?

Yes I see the pic now, missed the attachment, thanks.

Sorry, meant 28.28. Typing too fast.

One decimal point in the wrong place means an incorrect answer.

I have done that one too many times.

I have watched a few videos on basic geometry and it seems top help.

Now I am going over the air leakage sections. This is the blower door, duct blaster and basic principles. This is the mst important part of being a rater.

Dave - it is best to prepare for tests by doing things topically.  Work on a topic until you are so bored with it you don't want to read it anymore.  Then move to the next.

They obviously gave you all the formulas you will need to accomplish the perimeter and volume calcs above.  That 20*20*.05 I don't understand.  Do they mean 20 squared x 20 squared x (20 squared x .5)?  That number of 200 doesn't fit any answer to any question in the test module.  The grammar on their test stunk pretty badly, but I am used to seeing that...

You cannot do an accurate energy examination or audit without being able to calculate volumes and perimeters.  If the cubic foot volume of a house is incorrect, everything to follow will be inaccurate.  But you already know that.

Taking tests is a matter of being prepared.  The best way to prepare is to drill yourself until bored.  I haven't had geometry since 10th grade, but looking at your test I was able to calculate everything in my head.  Once you understand the why behind the formula, answering a question is not a matter of having to remember the formula.  Dividing shapes into their component parts, squares or rectangles and triangles will get you to their perimeter or volume once all the components are added up.

Pi and radius squared are the only way to calculate the volume of a cylinder.  But it is nothing more than a box with an r squared thrown in.  A circle is a box with the corners cut off.  The r squared part cuts off the corners of the box and makes it into a circle.  It's essentially length times width, with a curve thrown in.  The easiest way to remember circles is that the area is 3.1415 x a bunch of radiuses, which you get by squaring the radius.

Don't take the test again until you have it cold.  Then you don't go into it with, the fabled, hope* - you know you are going to nail it.

* "Hope," NOT the Biblical hope, is nothing more than a lack of preparation. 

Good luck with your next test Dave, I know you can do it.

Should be (.5 * 20) * 20 = 1/2 base * height

Note .5 not .05.