Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 215 · 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.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is colourful (b) it is lighter (c) it is harder to tip over (d) it is taller
2. 2.🏚️ 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 30 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 A (b) tower C (c) tower B
3. 3.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
4. 4.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) making brittle joints (c) having a wide base (d) adding cross bracing
5. 5.🏚️ 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 30 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 C (b) tower A (c) tower B
6. 6.True or false: having a wide base makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
7. 7.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) having a wide base (d) using a heavy roof
8. 8.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
9. 9.🏚️ 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 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 C (b) tower A (c) tower B
10. 10.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
11. 11.🏚️ 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 40 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 A (c) tower C
12. 12.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on the very top (b) hanging outside (c) low down (d) on a thin pole
13. 13.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) adding cross bracing (c) making brittle joints (d) keeping a simple shape
14. 14.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
15. 15.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
16. 16.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) using a heavy roof (c) using flexible joints (d) fitting rubber base pads
17. 17.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
18. 18.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) adding cross bracing (c) having a wide base (d) stacking loose bricks
19. 19.True or false: building tall and narrow makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
20. 20.🏚️ 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 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
21. 21.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding cross bracing (b) using a light roof (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) keeping a simple shape
22. 22.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they bend, not break (b) they are cheap (c) they stop shaking (d) they look nice
23. 23.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) adding steel to concrete
24. 24.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) using a heavy roof (c) leaving out steel bars (d) having a wide base
25. 25.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
26. 26.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
27. 27.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
28. 28.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) using a light roof (c) adding steel to concrete (d) fitting rubber base pads
29. 29.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a fridge (b) a microscope (c) a shake table (d) a telescope
30. 30.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
31. 31.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
32. 32.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
33. 33.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) adding steel to concrete (c) using flexible joints (d) stacking loose bricks
34. 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 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
35. 35.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
36. 36.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) adding steel to concrete (c) keeping a simple shape (d) using a light roof
37. 37.🏚️ 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 30 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 C (b) tower A (c) tower B
38. 38.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using a light roof (d) building tall and narrow
39. 39.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) building tall and narrow (c) stacking loose bricks (d) fitting rubber base pads
40. 40.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 70 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 60 cm tall on a 20 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

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