Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 354 · 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.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) adding cross bracing (c) adding steel to concrete (d) making brittle joints
2. 2.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they stop shaking (b) they look nice (c) they bend, not break (d) they are cheap
3. 3.🏚️ 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 20 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
4. 4.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) leaving out steel bars (c) adding cross bracing (d) building tall and narrow
5. 5.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
6. 6.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
7. 7.True or false: building tall and narrow makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
8. 8.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 120 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
9. 9.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
10. 10.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
11. 11.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) stacking loose bricks (c) using a heavy roof (d) building tall and narrow
12. 12.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) adding steel to concrete (c) leaving out steel bars (d) using a light roof
13. 13.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
14. 14.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is taller (b) it is lighter (c) it is harder to tip over (d) it is colourful
15. 15.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on the very top (b) low down (c) hanging outside (d) on a thin pole
16. 16.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) using flexible joints (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) having a wide base
17. 17.🏚️ 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 320 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
18. 18.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) leaving out steel bars (c) stacking loose bricks (d) having a wide base
19. 19.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
20. 20.🏚️ Does using a light roof 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 90 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
22. 22.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
23. 23.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
24. 24.🏚️ 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 40 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 A (b) tower C (c) tower B
25. 25.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
26. 26.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
27. 27.🏚️ 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 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
28. 28.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
29. 29.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
30. 30.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
31. 31.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a shake table (b) a telescope (c) a fridge (d) a microscope
32. 32.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) adding cross bracing (d) having a wide base
33. 33.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) making brittle joints (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) using a heavy roof
34. 34.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 30 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
35. 35.🏚️ 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 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
36. 36.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) building tall and narrow (d) leaving out steel bars
37. 37.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) using flexible joints (c) using a heavy roof (d) adding cross bracing
38. 38.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 30 cm tall on a 30 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 hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
39. 39.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) using a heavy roof (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) using flexible joints
40. 40.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) keeping a simple shape (c) stacking loose bricks (d) fitting rubber base pads

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