Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 284 · 40 questions

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.

1. 1.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
2. 2.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
3. 3.🏚️ 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 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 10 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
4. 4.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) hanging outside (b) low down (c) on the very top (d) on a thin pole
5. 5.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
6. 6.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) having a wide base (c) using a heavy roof (d) making brittle joints
7. 7.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 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
8. 8.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a fridge (b) a microscope (c) a telescope (d) a shake table
9. 9.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) using a heavy roof (c) using flexible joints (d) using a light roof
10. 10.🏚️ 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 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
11. 11.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
12. 12.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is colourful (b) it is lighter (c) it is taller (d) it is harder to tip over
13. 13.🏚️ 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 210 cm tall on a 30 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
14. 14.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) stacking loose bricks (c) using a heavy roof (d) fitting rubber base pads
15. 15.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
16. 16.True or false: having a wide base makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
17. 17.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
18. 18.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) adding cross bracing (c) keeping a simple shape (d) having a wide base
19. 19.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
20. 20.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) leaving out steel bars (c) keeping a simple shape (d) stacking loose bricks
21. 21.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
22. 22.🏚️ 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 90 cm tall on a 30 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
23. 23.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they look nice (b) they bend, not break (c) they are cheap (d) they stop shaking
24. 24.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
25. 25.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) adding cross bracing (c) making brittle joints (d) using a light roof
26. 26.🏚️ 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 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
27. 27.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
28. 28.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
29. 29.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) building tall and narrow (c) leaving out steel bars (d) using a light roof
30. 30.🏚️ 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 40 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
31. 31.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape 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 50 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 280 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
33. 33.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) using a heavy roof (d) adding cross bracing
34. 34.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) using a heavy roof (c) using flexible joints (d) raising heavy tanks high
35. 35.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) stacking loose bricks (c) adding steel to concrete (d) using a light roof
36. 36.🏚️ 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 hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
37. 37.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) building tall and narrow (c) stacking loose bricks (d) keeping a simple shape
38. 38.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) having a wide base (c) keeping a simple shape (d) building tall and narrow
39. 39.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) making brittle joints (b) building tall and narrow (c) using flexible joints (d) leaving out steel bars
40. 40.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe

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