Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 471 · 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.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) making brittle joints (c) keeping a simple shape (d) building tall and narrow
2. 2.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 150 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
3. 3.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 120 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 210 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
4. 4.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is harder to tip over (b) it is colourful (c) it is lighter (d) it is taller
5. 5.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) using a light roof (c) having a wide base (d) building tall and narrow
6. 6.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) using a heavy roof (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) using a light roof
7. 7.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) stacking loose bricks (c) having a wide base (d) adding cross bracing
8. 8.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
9. 9.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
10. 10.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
11. 11.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
12. 12.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) using flexible joints (c) keeping a simple shape (d) leaving out steel bars
13. 13.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
14. 14.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) having a wide base (c) making brittle joints (d) using a heavy roof
15. 15.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
16. 16.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) building tall and narrow (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) raising heavy tanks high
17. 17.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) stacking loose bricks (c) making brittle joints (d) using flexible joints
18. 18.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they stop shaking (b) they are cheap (c) they bend, not break (d) they look nice
19. 19.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) adding cross bracing (c) building tall and narrow (d) fitting rubber base pads
20. 20.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on the very top (b) hanging outside (c) on a thin pole (d) low down
21. 21.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) building tall and narrow (c) adding steel to concrete (d) making brittle joints
22. 22.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) making brittle joints (c) using a heavy roof (d) using flexible joints
23. 23.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) having a wide base (c) using a light roof (d) using flexible joints
24. 24.🏚️ 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 180 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
25. 25.🏚️ 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 240 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
26. 26.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
27. 27.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
28. 28.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) keeping a simple shape (c) making brittle joints (d) adding steel to concrete
29. 29.🏚️ 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 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
30. 30.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
31. 31.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) adding cross bracing (c) building tall and narrow (d) stacking loose bricks
32. 32.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
33. 33.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a fridge (b) a microscope (c) a shake table (d) a telescope
34. 34.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
35. 35.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
36. 36.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) having a wide base (c) using flexible joints (d) stacking loose bricks
37. 37.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) adding cross bracing (c) making brittle joints (d) building tall and narrow
38. 38.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 280 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 150 cm tall on a 30 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 A (c) tower B
39. 39.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
40. 40.True or false: having a wide base makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True

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