Mass of a building that is effectivein lateral oscillation duringearthquake shaking is called
the seismic mass of the building. It is the sum of its seismic masses at different floor levels. Seismic
mass at each floor level is equal to full dead load plus appropriate fraction of live load. The fraction
of live load depends on the intensity of the liveload and how it is connected to the floor slab.
Seismic design codes of each country/region provide fractions of live loads to be considered for
design of buildings to be built in that country/region.