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Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 482 · 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: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  2. 2.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) making brittle joints (b) building tall and narrow (c) leaving out steel bars (d) using flexible joints
  3. 3.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  4. 4.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  5. 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. 6.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) stacking loose bricks (c) adding steel to concrete (d) using a heavy roof
  7. 7.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  8. 8.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) using a heavy roof (d) fitting rubber base pads
  9. 9.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) having a wide base (c) building tall and narrow (d) using a light roof
  12. 12.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) building tall and narrow (c) leaving out steel bars (d) having a wide base
  13. 13.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  14. 14.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) having a wide base (c) using flexible joints (d) raising heavy tanks high
  15. 15.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they bend, not break (b) they are cheap (c) they stop shaking (d) they look nice
  16. 16.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 280 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
  17. 17.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 150 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  18. 18.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) adding cross bracing (c) stacking loose bricks (d) leaving out steel bars
  19. 19.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  20. 20.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) stacking loose bricks (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) leaving out steel bars
  21. 21.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) adding steel to concrete (c) having a wide base (d) keeping a simple shape
  22. 22.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) building tall and narrow (c) having a wide base (d) making brittle joints
  23. 23.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  24. 24.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  25. 25.🏚️ 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 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  26. 26.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  27. 27.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  28. 28.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  30. 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 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 160 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
  31. 31.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  32. 32.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  33. 33.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  34. 34.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) using a light roof (c) using a heavy roof (d) adding cross bracing
  35. 35.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is harder to tip over (b) it is taller (c) it is colourful (d) it is lighter
  36. 36.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
  37. 37.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) building tall and narrow (c) keeping a simple shape (d) stacking loose bricks
  39. 39.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  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 100 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 B (b) tower C (c) tower A

Answer key

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

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