Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings
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.True or false: stacking loose bricks makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 2.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 3.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) making brittle joints (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) keeping a simple shape
- 4.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 240 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
- 5.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) keeping a simple shape (c) using a light roof (d) stacking loose bricks
- 6.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 80 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 C (b) tower A (c) tower B
- 7.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) stacking loose bricks (c) building tall and narrow (d) using flexible joints
- 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 160 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
- 9.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) making brittle joints (c) keeping a simple shape (d) having a wide base
- 10.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) using flexible joints (c) adding steel to concrete (d) adding cross bracing
- 11.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 12.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a microscope (b) a telescope (c) a fridge (d) a shake table
- 13.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is lighter (b) it is colourful (c) it is harder to tip over (d) it is taller
- 14.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they are cheap (b) they look nice (c) they stop shaking (d) they bend, not break
- 15.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 16.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 17.🏚️ 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 150 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
- 18.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 19.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 20.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) stacking loose bricks (c) using a heavy roof (d) fitting rubber base pads
- 21.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) using a heavy roof (c) adding cross bracing (d) using a light roof
- 22.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) having a wide base (c) making brittle joints (d) adding steel to concrete
- 23.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 24.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 25.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) adding steel to concrete (c) stacking loose bricks (d) raising heavy tanks high
- 26.🏚️ 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 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
- 27.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 28.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
- 29.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) having a wide base (d) keeping a simple shape
- 30.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) using flexible joints (d) having a wide base
- 31.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) having a wide base (c) using flexible joints (d) building tall and narrow
- 32.🏚️ 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 200 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 B (b) tower C (c) tower A
- 33.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 160 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 A (b) tower B (c) tower C
- 34.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 140 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 150 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
- 35.True or false: stacking loose bricks makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 36.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 37.True or false: using a light roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 38.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 39.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 40.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
Answer key
- False
- safer in earthquakes
- keeping a simple shape
- tower B
- stacking loose bricks
- tower A
- using flexible joints
- tower A
- making brittle joints
- leaving out steel bars
- safer in earthquakes
- a shake table
- it is harder to tip over
- they bend, not break
- less safe
- True
- tower A
- False
- False
- fitting rubber base pads
- using a heavy roof
- making brittle joints
- less safe
- less safe
- adding steel to concrete
- tower A
- less safe
- tower C
- raising heavy tanks high
- building tall and narrow
- building tall and narrow
- tower A
- tower C
- tower B
- True
- safer in earthquakes
- True
- safer in earthquakes
- True
- less safe
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