Under which Strength load combination does the unfactored dead load exceed seven times the unfactored live load?

• A. Strength II
• B. Strength I
• C. Strength III
• D. Strength IV

Answer: (D)

The key idea is comparing how much dead load is used relative to live load in each strength load combination. A dead-load–dominated combination uses the full dead load while minimizing or effectively excluding live load, which makes the ratio DL/LL large. Among the standard strength combinations, the one that emphasizes dead load most and reduces live load is Strength IV, so the unfactored dead load can easily exceed seven times the unfactored live load. In other combinations, live load contributes more, keeping the DL/LL ratio below seven. So Strength IV is the correct choice because it produces the highest dead-load emphasis, allowing DL to be more than seven times LL.