Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 344 · 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.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 210 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 100 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 C (b) tower B (c) tower A
2. 2.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
3. 3.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) hanging outside (b) on the very top (c) low down (d) on a thin pole
4. 4.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
5. 5.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding cross bracing (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) making brittle joints (d) using a heavy roof
6. 6.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) leaving out steel bars (c) adding steel to concrete (d) adding cross bracing
7. 7.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
8. 8.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) using a heavy roof (c) making brittle joints (d) leaving out steel bars
9. 9.True or false: using a light roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
10. 10.🏚️ 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 150 cm tall on a 30 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 A (c) tower B
11. 11.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) building tall and narrow (c) adding cross bracing (d) using a heavy roof
12. 12.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
13. 13.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
14. 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 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
15. 15.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) adding cross bracing (d) using a light roof
16. 16.🏚️ 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 180 cm tall on a 30 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 C (c) tower B
17. 17.🏚️ 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
18. 18.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is colourful (b) it is taller (c) it is harder to tip over (d) it is lighter
19. 19.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a telescope (b) a fridge (c) a shake table (d) a microscope
20. 20.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
21. 21.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
22. 22.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
23. 23.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) making brittle joints (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) leaving out steel bars (d) adding steel to concrete
24. 24.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
25. 25.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) adding cross bracing (c) making brittle joints (d) having a wide base
26. 26.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
27. 27.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
28. 28.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
29. 29.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
30. 30.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) building tall and narrow (c) using a light roof (d) adding steel to concrete
31. 31.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 240 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 80 cm tall on a 40 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
32. 32.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 20 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 C (c) tower B
33. 33.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
34. 34.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
35. 35.🏚️ 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 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
36. 36.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) stacking loose bricks (c) using a light roof (d) making brittle joints
37. 37.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) using a heavy roof (c) using a light roof (d) building tall and narrow
38. 38.🏚️ 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 200 cm tall on a 40 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 C (c) tower A
39. 39.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
40. 40.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) making brittle joints (c) building tall and narrow (d) fitting rubber base pads

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