Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 145 · 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: building tall and narrow makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
2. 2.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) using flexible joints (c) stacking loose bricks (d) building tall and narrow
3. 3.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
4. 4.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) having a wide base (c) adding steel to concrete (d) building tall and narrow
5. 5.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
6. 6.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) keeping a simple shape (c) having a wide base (d) leaving out steel bars
7. 7.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) building tall and narrow (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) leaving out steel bars
8. 8.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
9. 9.🏚️ Does using a light roof 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 90 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 100 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.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on a thin pole (b) hanging outside (c) low down (d) on the very top
12. 12.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) keeping a simple shape (d) adding cross bracing
13. 13.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
14. 14.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 40 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 20 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 C (b) tower A (c) tower B
15. 15.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they are cheap (b) they bend, not break (c) they stop shaking (d) they look nice
16. 16.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
17. 17.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
18. 18.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
19. 19.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a light roof (b) making brittle joints (c) having a wide base (d) using flexible joints
20. 20.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
21. 21.True or false: stacking loose bricks makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
22. 22.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) making brittle joints (c) adding steel to concrete (d) building tall and narrow
23. 23.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) keeping a simple shape (c) using a heavy roof (d) leaving out steel bars
24. 24.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
25. 25.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
26. 26.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
27. 27.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
28. 28.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using a heavy roof (d) using a light roof
29. 29.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
30. 30.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
31. 31.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest 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 120 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
33. 33.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) adding cross bracing (c) using a heavy roof (d) making brittle joints
34. 34.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
35. 35.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) stacking loose bricks (d) making brittle joints
36. 36.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) building tall and narrow (c) keeping a simple shape (d) having a wide base
37. 37.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) adding steel to concrete (c) stacking loose bricks (d) using a heavy roof
38. 38.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) keeping a simple shape (c) making brittle joints (d) raising heavy tanks high
39. 39.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is colourful (b) it is harder to tip over (c) it is taller (d) it is lighter
40. 40.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a microscope (b) a shake table (c) a telescope (d) a fridge

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