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Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 472 · 40 questions
TalentJR

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. 1.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  2. 2.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) stacking loose bricks (c) making brittle joints (d) adding cross bracing
  3. 3.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on a thin pole (b) on the very top (c) low down (d) hanging outside
  4. 4.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
  5. 5.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) using a heavy roof (c) adding steel to concrete (d) keeping a simple shape
  6. 6.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they look nice (b) they are cheap (c) they bend, not break (d) they stop shaking
  7. 7.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is colourful (b) it is lighter (c) it is taller (d) it is harder to tip over
  8. 8.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) making brittle joints (c) leaving out steel bars (d) using flexible joints
  10. 10.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using a heavy roof (d) keeping a simple shape
  11. 11.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) stacking loose bricks (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) having a wide base
  12. 12.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) adding steel to concrete (c) keeping a simple shape (d) leaving out steel bars
  14. 14.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) having a wide base (c) using a heavy roof (d) stacking loose bricks
  15. 15.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  16. 16.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  18. 18.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) building tall and narrow (d) making brittle joints
  19. 19.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  21. 21.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a fridge (b) a microscope (c) a telescope (d) a shake table
  22. 22.True or false: using a light roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  23. 23.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) adding steel to concrete (c) keeping a simple shape (d) using a light roof
  24. 24.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) leaving out steel bars (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) using a light roof
  25. 25.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  26. 26.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
  27. 27.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  28. 28.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  29. 29.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) adding steel to concrete (d) having a wide base
  30. 30.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) stacking loose bricks (c) using a heavy roof (d) leaving out steel bars
  31. 31.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) adding cross bracing (c) stacking loose bricks (d) keeping a simple shape
  32. 32.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 140 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
  33. 33.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) using flexible joints (d) building tall and narrow
  35. 35.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) building tall and narrow (c) having a wide base (d) adding steel to concrete
  37. 37.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  38. 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 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  39. 39.🏚️ 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 140 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 A (c) tower B
  40. 40.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) adding steel to concrete (c) making brittle joints (d) using a heavy roof

Answer key

  1. True
  2. adding cross bracing
  3. low down
  4. tower B
  5. using a heavy roof
  6. they bend, not break
  7. it is harder to tip over
  8. False
  9. using flexible joints
  10. keeping a simple shape
  11. stacking loose bricks
  12. False
  13. leaving out steel bars
  14. having a wide base
  15. less safe
  16. False
  17. True
  18. keeping a simple shape
  19. False
  20. less safe
  21. a shake table
  22. True
  23. making brittle joints
  24. leaving out steel bars
  25. True
  26. tower B
  27. tower A
  28. tower A
  29. raising heavy tanks high
  30. using a light roof
  31. stacking loose bricks
  32. tower B
  33. True
  34. building tall and narrow
  35. True
  36. building tall and narrow
  37. safer in earthquakes
  38. tower A
  39. tower A
  40. adding steel to concrete

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