Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 102 · 40 questions

Engineer's tip (Low, wide, flexible): Safer: wide base, flexible joints, bracing, steel in concrete, light roof, rubber pads, simple shape. Less safe: heavy tops, narrow bases, loose bricks, no steel, brittle joints. Tipping: compare height ÷ base width — the smaller it is, the steadier the block.

1. 1.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
2. 2.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a shake table (b) a microscope (c) a fridge (d) a telescope
3. 3.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 150 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
4. 4.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
5. 5.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 60 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
6. 6.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they look nice (b) they bend, not break (c) they stop shaking (d) they are cheap
7. 7.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) using flexible joints (c) keeping a simple shape (d) using a light roof
8. 8.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 150 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
9. 9.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) building tall and narrow (c) using flexible joints (d) leaving out steel bars
10. 10.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
11. 11.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
12. 12.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) leaving out steel bars (d) adding steel to concrete
13. 13.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
14. 14.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) using a heavy roof (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) making brittle joints
15. 15.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
16. 16.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
17. 17.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 20 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
18. 18.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 120 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 60 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
19. 19.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using a heavy roof (d) stacking loose bricks
20. 20.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is colourful (b) it is lighter (c) it is taller (d) it is harder to tip over
21. 21.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) stacking loose bricks (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) making brittle joints
22. 22.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
23. 23.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
24. 24.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
25. 25.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
26. 26.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
27. 27.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) using flexible joints (d) adding cross bracing
28. 28.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
29. 29.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 10 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
30. 30.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) having a wide base (c) making brittle joints (d) stacking loose bricks
31. 31.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 60 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
32. 32.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
33. 33.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) adding cross bracing (c) making brittle joints (d) keeping a simple shape
34. 34.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) adding steel to concrete (c) keeping a simple shape (d) making brittle joints
35. 35.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) using a heavy roof (c) keeping a simple shape (d) raising heavy tanks high
36. 36.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
37. 37.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 120 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 320 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 240 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
38. 38.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on a thin pole (b) low down (c) hanging outside (d) on the very top
39. 39.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
40. 40.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) leaving out steel bars (c) having a wide base (d) using a light roof

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