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 using a heavy roof 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) stacking loose bricks (b) using a heavy roof (c) keeping a simple shape (d) making brittle joints
- 3.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 4.🏚️ 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 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 B (b) tower A (c) tower C
- 5.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a fridge (b) a shake table (c) a telescope (d) a microscope
- 6.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 7.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 8.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) low down (b) hanging outside (c) on a thin pole (d) on the very top
- 9.🏚️ 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 100 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 C (b) tower A (c) tower B
- 10.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) using a heavy roof (c) having a wide base (d) fitting rubber base pads
- 11.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 12.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 10 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
- 13.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 14.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) using flexible joints (c) building tall and narrow (d) leaving out steel bars
- 15.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 16.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they look nice (b) they stop shaking (c) they bend, not break (d) they are cheap
- 17.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
- 18.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 19.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) stacking loose bricks (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) making brittle joints
- 20.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) stacking loose bricks (d) building tall and narrow
- 21.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 100 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 60 cm tall on a 10 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 A (c) tower B
- 22.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding cross bracing (b) stacking loose bricks (c) using a light roof (d) adding steel to concrete
- 23.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 24.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 25.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 26.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
- 27.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 40 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 20 cm tall on a 10 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
- 28.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) building tall and narrow (c) stacking loose bricks (d) having a wide base
- 29.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) using a heavy roof (c) leaving out steel bars (d) adding steel to concrete
- 30.🏚️ 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 200 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 B (b) tower C (c) tower A
- 31.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 32.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 33.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 34.True or false: stacking loose bricks makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 35.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) making brittle joints (b) using a heavy roof (c) stacking loose bricks (d) having a wide base
- 36.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) keeping a simple shape (c) using flexible joints (d) using a light roof
- 37.🏚️ 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 40 cm base and tower C is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
- 38.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is lighter (b) it is taller (c) it is harder to tip over (d) it is colourful
- 39.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) making brittle joints (b) stacking loose bricks (c) using flexible joints (d) leaving out steel bars
- 40.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) building tall and narrow (c) making brittle joints (d) using a heavy roof
Answer key
- less safe
- keeping a simple shape
- safer in earthquakes
- tower A
- a shake table
- safer in earthquakes
- True
- low down
- tower B
- using a heavy roof
- safer in earthquakes
- tower A
- True
- using flexible joints
- True
- they bend, not break
- tower C
- safer in earthquakes
- fitting rubber base pads
- fitting rubber base pads
- tower B
- stacking loose bricks
- True
- less safe
- less safe
- tower C
- tower C
- having a wide base
- adding steel to concrete
- tower C
- False
- False
- safer in earthquakes
- True
- having a wide base
- leaving out steel bars
- tower C
- it is harder to tip over
- using flexible joints
- adding steel to concrete
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