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Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 125 · 40 questions
TalentJR

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.

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  1. 1.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) using flexible joints (c) adding cross bracing (d) adding steel to concrete
  2. 2.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
  3. 3.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) adding steel to concrete (c) having a wide base (d) making brittle joints
  4. 4.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  5. 5.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) adding steel to concrete (c) using a heavy roof (d) fitting rubber base pads
  6. 6.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) building tall and narrow (c) adding cross bracing (d) raising heavy tanks high
  7. 7.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  8. 8.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using flexible joints (d) using a light roof
  9. 9.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is taller (b) it is colourful (c) it is lighter (d) it is harder to tip over
  10. 10.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) making brittle joints (b) leaving out steel bars (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) adding cross bracing
  12. 12.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 150 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 60 cm tall on a 20 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
  13. 13.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a fridge (b) a telescope (c) a shake table (d) a microscope
  15. 15.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 100 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 10 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  16. 16.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding cross bracing (b) keeping a simple shape (c) stacking loose bricks (d) using flexible joints
  17. 17.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  18. 18.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  19. 19.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) using a light roof (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) using a heavy roof
  20. 20.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  21. 21.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  22. 22.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  23. 23.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they look nice (b) they bend, not break (c) they are cheap (d) they stop shaking
  25. 25.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) using flexible joints (c) adding cross bracing (d) stacking loose bricks
  26. 26.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 60 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
  28. 28.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) adding cross bracing (c) using flexible joints (d) using a light roof
  30. 30.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  31. 31.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using a heavy roof (d) fitting rubber base pads
  32. 32.True or false: building tall and narrow makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 240 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
  35. 35.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) making brittle joints (c) building tall and narrow (d) keeping a simple shape
  37. 37.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  38. 38.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  39. 39.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 20 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 120 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 A (b) tower B (c) tower C
  40. 40.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) having a wide base (c) adding steel to concrete (d) raising heavy tanks high

Answer key

  1. leaving out steel bars
  2. tower B
  3. making brittle joints
  4. safer in earthquakes
  5. using a heavy roof
  6. adding cross bracing
  7. less safe
  8. leaving out steel bars
  9. it is harder to tip over
  10. False
  11. adding cross bracing
  12. tower C
  13. False
  14. a shake table
  15. tower A
  16. stacking loose bricks
  17. safer in earthquakes
  18. less safe
  19. using a heavy roof
  20. less safe
  21. safer in earthquakes
  22. less safe
  23. False
  24. they bend, not break
  25. stacking loose bricks
  26. False
  27. tower C
  28. False
  29. making brittle joints
  30. True
  31. fitting rubber base pads
  32. True
  33. True
  34. tower B
  35. True
  36. keeping a simple shape
  37. safer in earthquakes
  38. less safe
  39. tower A
  40. raising heavy tanks high

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