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.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 2.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) using a light roof (c) adding cross bracing (d) raising heavy tanks high
- 3.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) using a light roof (c) having a wide base (d) using a heavy roof
- 4.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 5.🏚️ 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 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.True or false: building tall and narrow makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 7.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is taller (b) it is colourful (c) it is lighter (d) it is harder to tip over
- 8.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) stacking loose bricks (c) having a wide base (d) using a light roof
- 9.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a telescope (b) a shake table (c) a microscope (d) a fridge
- 10.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 11.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) using a light roof (c) having a wide base (d) fitting rubber base pads
- 12.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 13.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 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 A (c) tower B
- 14.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) keeping a simple shape (c) using a light roof (d) having a wide base
- 15.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
- 16.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) making brittle joints (c) leaving out steel bars (d) adding cross bracing
- 17.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 18.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) using a heavy roof (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) having a wide base
- 19.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they are cheap (b) they stop shaking (c) they bend, not break (d) they look nice
- 20.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
- 21.🏚️ 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 180 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 A (b) tower C (c) tower B
- 22.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 23.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 240 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
- 24.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 25.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) adding steel to concrete (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) using a heavy roof
- 26.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 10 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 10 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
- 27.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 28.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 20 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 A (c) tower C
- 29.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on the very top (b) on a thin pole (c) hanging outside (d) low down
- 30.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) building tall and narrow (c) using a light roof (d) leaving out steel bars
- 31.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 32.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 33.True or false: using a light roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 34.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) building tall and narrow (c) using flexible joints (d) raising heavy tanks high
- 35.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) having a wide base (c) stacking loose bricks (d) using a heavy roof
- 36.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 37.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 10 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
- 38.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) stacking loose bricks
- 39.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 40.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) making brittle joints (c) using a heavy roof (d) fitting rubber base pads
Answer key
- less safe
- raising heavy tanks high
- using a heavy roof
- True
- tower A
- True
- it is harder to tip over
- stacking loose bricks
- a shake table
- True
- making brittle joints
- False
- tower C
- building tall and narrow
- tower C
- adding cross bracing
- less safe
- having a wide base
- they bend, not break
- tower B
- tower A
- safer in earthquakes
- tower C
- True
- adding steel to concrete
- tower B
- True
- tower A
- low down
- using a light roof
- False
- safer in earthquakes
- True
- using flexible joints
- having a wide base
- safer in earthquakes
- tower A
- fitting rubber base pads
- True
- fitting rubber base pads
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