Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 49 · 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.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they look nice (b) they bend, not break (c) they are cheap (d) they stop shaking
2. 2.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
3. 3.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a light roof (b) having a wide base (c) building tall and narrow (d) using flexible joints
4. 4.🏚️ 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 320 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
5. 5.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) using flexible joints (c) adding cross bracing (d) making brittle joints
6. 6.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) building tall and narrow (c) having a wide base (d) stacking loose bricks
7. 7.🏚️ 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 50 cm tall on a 10 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
8. 8.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is taller (b) it is colourful (c) it is lighter (d) it is harder to tip over
9. 9.🏚️ 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 30 cm base and tower C is 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
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 280 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 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
12. 12.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) stacking loose bricks (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) fitting rubber base pads
13. 13.🏚️ 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 20 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 A (b) tower B (c) tower C
14. 14.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
15. 15.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) stacking loose bricks (c) adding steel to concrete (d) leaving out steel bars
16. 16.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
17. 17.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) using flexible joints (c) adding cross bracing (d) using a light roof
18. 18.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
19. 19.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
20. 20.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
21. 21.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
22. 22.🏚️ 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 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
23. 23.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) adding steel to concrete (c) adding cross bracing (d) having a wide base
24. 24.🏚️ 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 200 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 A (b) tower B (c) tower C
25. 25.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a shake table (b) a telescope (c) a microscope (d) a fridge
26. 26.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
27. 27.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
28. 28.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
29. 29.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using flexible joints (d) fitting rubber base pads
30. 30.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
31. 31.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) stacking loose bricks (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) building tall and narrow
32. 32.True or false: stacking loose bricks makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
33. 33.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 150 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
34. 34.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
35. 35.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 70 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
36. 36.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 60 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
37. 37.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
38. 38.True or false: having a wide base makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
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 80 cm tall on a 40 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.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe

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