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.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) making brittle joints (b) keeping a simple shape (c) building tall and narrow (d) leaving out steel bars
- 2.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) using a heavy roof (c) having a wide base (d) using flexible joints
- 3.🏚️ 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
- 4.True or false: using a light roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 5.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 6.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding cross bracing (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) using flexible joints (d) making brittle joints
- 7.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) having a wide base (c) stacking loose bricks (d) using a heavy roof
- 8.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 9.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
- 10.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a microscope (b) a telescope (c) a fridge (d) a shake table
- 11.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) keeping a simple shape (c) having a wide base (d) using flexible joints
- 12.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 13.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 14.🏚️ 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
- 15.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) stacking loose bricks (c) using a light roof (d) fitting rubber base pads
- 16.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) leaving out steel bars (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) building tall and narrow
- 17.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a light roof (b) leaving out steel bars (c) building tall and narrow (d) stacking loose bricks
- 18.🏚️ 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
- 19.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) leaving out steel bars (c) having a wide base (d) building tall and narrow
- 20.🏚️ 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 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
- 21.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 22.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 70 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 60 cm tall on a 20 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
- 23.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) making brittle joints
- 24.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 25.True or false: building tall and narrow makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 26.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) using flexible joints (c) using a light roof (d) using a heavy roof
- 27.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 40 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 B (c) tower A
- 28.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) using a heavy roof (c) building tall and narrow (d) adding cross bracing
- 29.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 30.🏚️ 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 180 cm tall on a 30 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
- 31.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 32.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 33.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
- 34.True or false: building tall and narrow makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 35.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) building tall and narrow (c) leaving out steel bars (d) raising heavy tanks high
- 36.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 37.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 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 60 cm tall on a 20 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
- 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 40 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 B (c) tower C
- 40.🏚️ 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 240 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 C (b) tower B (c) tower A
Answer key
- keeping a simple shape
- using a heavy roof
- they bend, not break
- True
- less safe
- making brittle joints
- having a wide base
- safer in earthquakes
- tower B
- a shake table
- building tall and narrow
- safer in earthquakes
- safer in earthquakes
- it is harder to tip over
- stacking loose bricks
- fitting rubber base pads
- using a light roof
- low down
- having a wide base
- tower B
- True
- tower A
- fitting rubber base pads
- less safe
- True
- using a heavy roof
- tower A
- adding cross bracing
- safer in earthquakes
- tower A
- True
- safer in earthquakes
- tower A
- False
- using flexible joints
- False
- less safe
- tower A
- tower B
- tower B
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