Live loads are...

• A. Non-permanent, moveable loads such as furniture
• B. Permanent structural elements
• C. Wind loads
• D. Soil masses

Answer: (A)

Live loads are the non-permanent, movable loads that a space experiences during use, such as furniture and people. They vary with how the space is arranged and inhabited, unlike dead loads, which are the fixed, permanent parts of the structure like walls and floors. Wind loads are environmental forces acting on the building’s envelope, not the interior items that can be moved, and soil masses relate to the foundation and surrounding earth rather than the interior loads the occupants and furnishings place on the structure. So the best description focuses on items that can be rearranged or moved and people using the space, which is why furniture and occupants embody live loads.