Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 131 · 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.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using flexible joints (d) building tall and narrow
2. 2.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
3. 3.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
4. 4.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) using a light roof (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) using a heavy roof
5. 5.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
6. 6.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
7. 7.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) making brittle joints (c) stacking loose bricks (d) adding cross bracing
8. 8.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
9. 9.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
10. 10.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
11. 11.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
12. 12.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
13. 13.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they bend, not break (b) they are cheap (c) they look nice (d) they stop shaking
14. 14.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) low down (b) on the very top (c) on a thin pole (d) hanging outside
15. 15.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
16. 16.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
17. 17.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
18. 18.🏚️ 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 280 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
19. 19.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) making brittle joints (c) having a wide base (d) leaving out steel bars
20. 20.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
21. 21.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) using a heavy roof (c) building tall and narrow (d) adding cross bracing
22. 22.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
23. 23.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
24. 24.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
25. 25.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) building tall and narrow (d) making brittle joints
26. 26.True or false: having a wide base makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
27. 27.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
28. 28.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is taller (b) it is harder to tip over (c) it is colourful (d) it is lighter
29. 29.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) using flexible joints (c) adding steel to concrete (d) having a wide base
30. 30.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) using flexible joints (c) using a light roof (d) having a wide base
31. 31.🏚️ 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 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
32. 32.🏚️ 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 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
33. 33.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
34. 34.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
35. 35.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
36. 36.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) using a light roof (d) adding cross bracing
37. 37.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 30 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
38. 38.🏚️ 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 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 240 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
39. 39.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
40. 40.True or false: building tall and narrow makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False

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