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Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 263 · 40 questions
TalentJR

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. 1.🏚️ 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 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
  2. 2.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) adding cross bracing (c) keeping a simple shape (d) raising heavy tanks high
  3. 3.🏚️ Does having a wide base 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) adding steel to concrete (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) using a heavy roof (d) building tall and narrow
  5. 5.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) building tall and narrow (c) making brittle joints (d) adding cross bracing
  6. 6.True or false: having a wide base makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  8. 8.🏚️ 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 20 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 A (c) tower B
  9. 9.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) stacking loose bricks (c) adding cross bracing (d) using a heavy roof
  10. 10.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) making brittle joints (c) using a light roof (d) fitting rubber base pads
  11. 11.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a light roof (b) using flexible joints (c) adding cross bracing (d) building tall and narrow
  12. 12.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on the very top (b) on a thin pole (c) low down (d) hanging outside
  13. 13.🏚️ 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 10 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest 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 20 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
  15. 15.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  16. 16.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  18. 18.🏚️ 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 50 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 B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  19. 19.🏚️ 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 150 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
  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 240 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
  21. 21.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) leaving out steel bars (c) making brittle joints (d) using a light roof
  22. 22.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) adding steel to concrete (c) using flexible joints (d) fitting rubber base pads
  23. 23.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  24. 24.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they are cheap (b) they look nice (c) they bend, not break (d) they stop shaking
  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.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is taller (b) it is lighter (c) it is colourful (d) it is harder to tip over
  27. 27.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  28. 28.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 30 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 B (c) tower C
  29. 29.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) using a heavy roof (c) building tall and narrow (d) adding steel to concrete
  31. 31.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  32. 32.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  33. 33.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) using a heavy roof (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) building tall and narrow
  34. 34.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) stacking loose bricks (c) using flexible joints (d) building tall and narrow
  35. 35.🏚️ 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 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  36. 36.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  37. 37.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) leaving out steel bars (c) stacking loose bricks (d) raising heavy tanks high
  38. 38.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) keeping a simple shape (c) using flexible joints (d) leaving out steel bars
  39. 39.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  40. 40.True or false: stacking loose bricks makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False

Answer key

  1. tower B
  2. raising heavy tanks high
  3. safer in earthquakes
  4. adding steel to concrete
  5. adding cross bracing
  6. False
  7. safer in earthquakes
  8. tower A
  9. adding cross bracing
  10. making brittle joints
  11. building tall and narrow
  12. low down
  13. tower B
  14. tower A
  15. less safe
  16. False
  17. less safe
  18. tower B
  19. tower A
  20. tower A
  21. using a light roof
  22. building tall and narrow
  23. less safe
  24. they bend, not break
  25. less safe
  26. it is harder to tip over
  27. safer in earthquakes
  28. tower C
  29. True
  30. adding steel to concrete
  31. safer in earthquakes
  32. tower B
  33. fitting rubber base pads
  34. using flexible joints
  35. tower A
  36. safer in earthquakes
  37. fitting rubber base pads
  38. leaving out steel bars
  39. safer in earthquakes
  40. True

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