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