Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 410 · 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.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
2. 2.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
3. 3.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
4. 4.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) using a heavy roof (c) having a wide base (d) leaving out steel bars
5. 5.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is lighter (b) it is colourful (c) it is harder to tip over (d) it is taller
6. 6.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) adding steel to concrete (c) having a wide base (d) building tall and narrow
7. 7.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) using flexible joints (d) building tall and narrow
8. 8.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) using flexible joints (c) building tall and narrow (d) adding cross bracing
9. 9.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) using a light roof (c) building tall and narrow (d) leaving out steel bars
10. 10.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) building tall and narrow (c) keeping a simple shape (d) using a heavy roof
11. 11.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
12. 12.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) building tall and narrow (c) keeping a simple shape (d) making brittle joints
13. 13.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
14. 14.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) adding cross bracing (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) raising heavy tanks high
15. 15.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
16. 16.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 240 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
17. 17.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
18. 18.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) adding steel to concrete (c) leaving out steel bars (d) adding cross bracing
19. 19.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a shake table (b) a telescope (c) a fridge (d) a microscope
20. 20.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) keeping a simple shape (c) stacking loose bricks (d) adding cross bracing
21. 21.🏚️ 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 40 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 B (b) tower C (c) tower A
22. 22.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they are cheap (b) they stop shaking (c) they bend, not break (d) they look nice
23. 23.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) stacking loose bricks (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) having a wide base
24. 24.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
25. 25.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
26. 26.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
27. 27.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
28. 28.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
29. 29.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
30. 30.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) building tall and narrow (d) adding cross bracing
31. 31.🏚️ 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
32. 32.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) stacking loose bricks (c) leaving out steel bars (d) using a heavy roof
33. 33.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) stacking loose bricks (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) fitting rubber base pads
34. 34.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) adding cross bracing
35. 35.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
36. 36.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
37. 37.🏚️ 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 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
38. 38.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) using a light roof (c) adding cross bracing (d) using a heavy roof
39. 39.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a light roof (b) using flexible joints (c) stacking loose bricks (d) fitting rubber base pads
40. 40.🏚️ 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 20 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A

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