Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 15 · 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 of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) having a wide base (c) using flexible joints (d) using a heavy roof
2. 2.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on the very top (b) hanging outside (c) on a thin pole (d) low down
3. 3.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 210 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
4. 4.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a telescope (b) a shake table (c) a microscope (d) a fridge
5. 5.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 50 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 210 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
6. 6.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they bend, not break (b) they look nice (c) they are cheap (d) they stop shaking
7. 7.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a light roof (b) using flexible joints (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) building tall and narrow
8. 8.🏚️ 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 280 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
9. 9.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) leaving out steel bars (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) stacking loose bricks
10. 10.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
11. 11.🏚️ 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 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
12. 12.🏚️ 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 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
13. 13.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) making brittle joints (c) building tall and narrow (d) fitting rubber base pads
14. 14.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
15. 15.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
16. 16.🏚️ 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 60 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 A (c) tower C
17. 17.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
18. 18.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
19. 19.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) using a heavy roof (c) using flexible joints (d) making brittle joints
20. 20.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
21. 21.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is harder to tip over (b) it is taller (c) it is colourful (d) it is lighter
22. 22.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) using flexible joints (c) making brittle joints (d) fitting rubber base pads
23. 23.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) using a heavy roof (c) building tall and narrow (d) stacking loose bricks
24. 24.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) adding steel to concrete (d) leaving out steel bars
25. 25.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) using a heavy roof (c) building tall and narrow (d) using a light roof
26. 26.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) stacking loose bricks (c) adding cross bracing (d) raising heavy tanks high
27. 27.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
28. 28.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 30 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
29. 29.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) building tall and narrow (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) using a heavy roof
30. 30.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
31. 31.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
32. 32.True or false: building tall and narrow makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
33. 33.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 30 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 70 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
34. 34.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
35. 35.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
36. 36.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
37. 37.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
38. 38.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a light roof (b) using a heavy roof (c) having a wide base (d) adding steel to concrete
39. 39.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
40. 40.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A

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