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) on a thin pole (c) hanging outside (d) low down
- 2.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they are cheap (b) they stop shaking (c) they look nice (d) they bend, not break
- 3.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) using flexible joints (d) fitting rubber base pads
- 4.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) adding cross bracing (c) using a heavy roof (d) raising heavy tanks high
- 5.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 6.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 7.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is lighter (b) it is colourful (c) it is harder to tip over (d) it is taller
- 8.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 9.🏚️ 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 100 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 A (b) tower C (c) tower B
- 10.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 11.🏚️ 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 10 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
- 12.True or false: stacking loose bricks makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 13.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) making brittle joints (c) adding cross bracing (d) having a wide base
- 14.🏚️ 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 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
- 15.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 16.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) building tall and narrow (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) making brittle joints
- 17.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) building tall and narrow (c) making brittle joints (d) stacking loose bricks
- 18.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
- 19.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 20.🏚️ 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 180 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
- 21.🏚️ 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 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 240 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
- 22.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) having a wide base (c) adding steel to concrete (d) building tall and narrow
- 23.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) leaving out steel bars (c) having a wide base (d) using a heavy roof
- 24.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) having a wide base (c) making brittle joints (d) fitting rubber base pads
- 25.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) using flexible joints (c) stacking loose bricks (d) keeping a simple shape
- 26.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
- 27.True or false: building tall and narrow makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 28.🏚️ 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 30 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 B (c) tower A
- 29.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
- 30.True or false: using a light roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 31.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) leaving out steel bars (c) having a wide base (d) stacking loose bricks
- 32.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 33.🏚️ 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 160 cm tall on a 20 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 C (c) tower B
- 34.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a fridge (b) a telescope (c) a shake table (d) a microscope
- 35.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a light roof (b) using a heavy roof (c) having a wide base (d) fitting rubber base pads
- 36.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) leaving out steel bars (c) adding steel to concrete (d) building tall and narrow
- 37.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 38.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 39.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) adding steel to concrete (c) stacking loose bricks (d) adding cross bracing
- 40.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) leaving out steel bars (c) keeping a simple shape (d) using a heavy roof
Answer key
- low down
- they bend, not break
- raising heavy tanks high
- adding cross bracing
- False
- less safe
- it is harder to tip over
- less safe
- tower A
- True
- tower C
- True
- making brittle joints
- tower C
- False
- fitting rubber base pads
- adding cross bracing
- tower C
- safer in earthquakes
- tower B
- tower B
- building tall and narrow
- having a wide base
- making brittle joints
- stacking loose bricks
- tower C
- False
- tower A
- tower C
- True
- having a wide base
- False
- tower A
- a shake table
- using a heavy roof
- adding steel to concrete
- safer in earthquakes
- False
- stacking loose bricks
- keeping a simple shape
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