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 using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 2.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 3.🏚️ 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
- 4.🏚️ 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 120 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 C (b) tower A (c) tower B
- 5.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they stop shaking (b) they bend, not break (c) they are cheap (d) they look nice
- 6.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) making brittle joints (d) raising heavy tanks high
- 7.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) adding steel to concrete (c) keeping a simple shape (d) using flexible joints
- 8.🏚️ 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 150 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 C (b) tower B (c) tower A
- 9.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) stacking loose bricks (c) adding steel to concrete (d) making brittle joints
- 10.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 11.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 12.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 13.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) using a heavy roof (c) stacking loose bricks (d) having a wide base
- 14.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 15.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) keeping a simple shape (c) adding steel to concrete (d) using a light roof
- 16.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 17.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) stacking loose bricks (c) building tall and narrow (d) adding steel to concrete
- 18.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 19.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) keeping a simple shape (c) adding steel to concrete (d) raising heavy tanks high
- 20.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 40 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 B (b) tower C (c) tower A
- 21.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 22.🏚️ 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 210 cm tall on a 30 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
- 23.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) keeping a simple shape (d) leaving out steel bars
- 24.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
- 25.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 40 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
- 26.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
- 27.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars 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 160 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 20 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
- 29.🏚️ 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 60 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
- 30.🏚️ 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 180 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 C (b) tower B (c) tower A
- 31.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 32.🏚️ 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 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
- 33.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
- 34.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) building tall and narrow (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) using flexible joints
- 35.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 36.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a fridge (b) a shake table (c) a microscope (d) a telescope
- 37.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) using flexible joints (c) leaving out steel bars (d) having a wide base
- 38.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is harder to tip over (b) it is lighter (c) it is colourful (d) it is taller
- 39.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using a light roof (d) raising heavy tanks high
- 40.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) keeping a simple shape (d) stacking loose bricks
Answer key
- safer in earthquakes
- safer in earthquakes
- low down
- tower B
- they bend, not break
- fitting rubber base pads
- using a heavy roof
- tower B
- adding steel to concrete
- safer in earthquakes
- less safe
- less safe
- having a wide base
- False
- stacking loose bricks
- safer in earthquakes
- adding steel to concrete
- False
- raising heavy tanks high
- tower B
- safer in earthquakes
- tower B
- keeping a simple shape
- tower A
- tower A
- tower B
- less safe
- tower B
- tower A
- tower C
- False
- tower C
- tower A
- using flexible joints
- True
- a shake table
- leaving out steel bars
- it is harder to tip over
- using a light roof
- stacking loose bricks
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