Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 195 · 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.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) hanging outside (b) on a thin pole (c) low down (d) on the very top
2. 2.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 150 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
3. 3.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 240 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
4. 4.🏚️ 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 200 cm tall on a 40 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 B (c) tower A
5. 5.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) adding cross bracing (c) having a wide base (d) stacking loose bricks
6. 6.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 210 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
7. 7.True or false: building tall and narrow makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
8. 8.🏚️ 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 210 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
9. 9.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
10. 10.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 160 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 B (b) tower C (c) tower A
11. 11.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
12. 12.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
13. 13.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 160 cm tall on a 40 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 A (c) tower C
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 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
15. 15.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using flexible joints (d) raising heavy tanks high
16. 16.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
17. 17.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) using a heavy roof (c) building tall and narrow (d) stacking loose bricks
18. 18.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
19. 19.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) building tall and narrow
20. 20.🏚️ 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 280 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 C (c) tower B
21. 21.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) using a light roof (c) using a heavy roof (d) fitting rubber base pads
22. 22.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is colourful (b) it is taller (c) it is lighter (d) it is harder to tip over
23. 23.🏚️ 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 140 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
24. 24.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
25. 25.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) using a light roof (d) building tall and narrow
26. 26.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) making brittle joints (c) stacking loose bricks (d) adding steel to concrete
27. 27.🏚️ 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 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
28. 28.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) making brittle joints (c) using a light roof (d) stacking loose bricks
29. 29.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a light roof (b) using flexible joints (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) raising heavy tanks high
30. 30.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 80 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 80 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 B (b) tower A (c) tower C
31. 31.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) using a heavy roof (d) making brittle joints
32. 32.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) making brittle joints (c) using flexible joints (d) fitting rubber base pads
33. 33.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
34. 34.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) using a light roof (c) leaving out steel bars (d) adding steel to concrete
35. 35.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
36. 36.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) using a light roof (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) raising heavy tanks high
37. 37.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
38. 38.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 210 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
39. 39.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) building tall and narrow (c) adding cross bracing (d) using a heavy roof
40. 40.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a telescope (b) a fridge (c) a shake table (d) a microscope

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