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