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Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 521 · 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.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  2. 2.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  3. 3.🏚️ 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
  4. 4.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) building tall and narrow (c) using a light roof (d) adding steel to concrete
  5. 5.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  6. 6.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) leaving out steel bars (c) having a wide base (d) making brittle joints
  7. 7.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) having a wide base (c) using a heavy roof (d) fitting rubber base pads
  8. 8.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using flexible joints (d) using a heavy roof
  9. 9.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a fridge (b) a shake table (c) a telescope (d) a microscope
  10. 10.🏚️ 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 10 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
  11. 11.🏚️ 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 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
  12. 12.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) using a light roof (c) using a heavy roof (d) making brittle joints
  13. 13.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is lighter (b) it is harder to tip over (c) it is taller (d) it is colourful
  14. 14.True or false: using a light roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  15. 15.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) adding cross bracing
  16. 16.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  17. 17.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) keeping a simple shape (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) leaving out steel bars
  18. 18.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on a thin pole (b) hanging outside (c) low down (d) on the very top
  19. 19.🏚️ 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 10 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  20. 20.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
  21. 21.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
  23. 23.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) keeping a simple shape (c) leaving out steel bars (d) using a heavy roof
  24. 24.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) adding cross bracing (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) raising heavy tanks high
  25. 25.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  26. 26.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.🏚️ 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 280 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 C (b) tower B (c) tower A
  28. 28.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  29. 29.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  30. 30.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  32. 32.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 40 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 A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  33. 33.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) using a heavy roof (c) adding cross bracing (d) having a wide base
  35. 35.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) using a heavy roof (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) building tall and narrow
  36. 36.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) using flexible joints (c) keeping a simple shape (d) building tall and narrow
  38. 38.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) leaving out steel bars (d) making brittle joints
  39. 39.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 40 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 B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  40. 40.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B

Answer key

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

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