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.🏚️ 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
- 2.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) building tall and narrow (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) raising heavy tanks high
- 3.🏚️ 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 20 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
- 4.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a telescope (b) a microscope (c) a fridge (d) a shake table
- 5.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) adding steel to concrete (c) having a wide base (d) using a heavy roof
- 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 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
- 7.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) using flexible joints (c) using a light roof (d) building tall and narrow
- 8.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) adding cross bracing (c) using flexible joints (d) keeping a simple shape
- 9.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 10.🏚️ 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 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 A (b) tower C (c) tower B
- 11.🏚️ 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
- 12.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 13.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 14.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 140 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
- 15.🏚️ 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 240 cm tall on a 40 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 C (c) tower A
- 16.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 17.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) building tall and narrow (c) using a heavy roof (d) stacking loose bricks
- 18.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 19.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
- 20.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 21.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) using a light roof (c) adding steel to concrete (d) leaving out steel bars
- 22.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 23.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 24.🏚️ 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 40 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
- 25.True or false: stacking loose bricks makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 26.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 27.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) adding steel to concrete (c) using a light roof (d) adding cross bracing
- 28.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
- 29.🏚️ 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 80 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 A (c) tower B
- 30.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 30 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
- 31.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 10 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
- 32.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) adding cross bracing (c) stacking loose bricks (d) adding steel to concrete
- 33.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 34.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using a heavy roof (d) adding cross bracing
- 35.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they bend, not break (b) they stop shaking (c) they look nice (d) they are cheap
- 36.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) stacking loose bricks (d) using a light roof
- 37.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) stacking loose bricks (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) adding steel to concrete
- 38.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 100 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 180 cm tall on a 30 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
- 39.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 140 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
- 40.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) using a heavy roof (c) making brittle joints (d) raising heavy tanks high
Answer key
- low down
- fitting rubber base pads
- tower C
- a shake table
- using a heavy roof
- tower A
- building tall and narrow
- using a heavy roof
- less safe
- tower C
- it is harder to tip over
- safer in earthquakes
- True
- tower C
- tower B
- False
- fitting rubber base pads
- less safe
- tower A
- True
- leaving out steel bars
- less safe
- safer in earthquakes
- tower B
- True
- True
- raising heavy tanks high
- tower C
- tower C
- tower A
- tower A
- stacking loose bricks
- safer in earthquakes
- adding cross bracing
- they bend, not break
- using a light roof
- adding steel to concrete
- tower B
- tower A
- having a wide base
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