Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 530 · 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.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
2. 2.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 240 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
3. 3.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
4. 4.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
5. 5.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
6. 6.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) using a heavy roof (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) building tall and narrow
7. 7.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
8. 8.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) building tall and narrow (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) keeping a simple shape
9. 9.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
10. 10.🏚️ 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 10 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
11. 11.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a fridge (b) a telescope (c) a shake table (d) a microscope
12. 12.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
13. 13.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
14. 14.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
15. 15.🏚️ 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 240 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 70 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
16. 16.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) using a heavy roof (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) having a wide base
17. 17.🏚️ 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
18. 18.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 10 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
19. 19.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) keeping a simple shape (c) having a wide base (d) adding steel to concrete
20. 20.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
21. 21.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 10 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
22. 22.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) stacking loose bricks (d) leaving out steel bars
23. 23.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they stop shaking (b) they look nice (c) they are cheap (d) they bend, not break
24. 24.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
25. 25.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) building tall and narrow (c) keeping a simple shape (d) having a wide base
26. 26.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) using a heavy roof (c) leaving out steel bars (d) having a wide base
27. 27.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) stacking loose bricks (c) using a light roof (d) raising heavy tanks high
28. 28.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) adding cross bracing (c) using flexible joints (d) using a heavy roof
29. 29.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) adding steel to concrete (c) building tall and narrow (d) raising heavy tanks high
30. 30.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
31. 31.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
32. 32.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
33. 33.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) using a light roof (c) using flexible joints (d) making brittle joints
34. 34.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) using flexible joints (d) adding steel to concrete
35. 35.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 280 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
36. 36.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
37. 37.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) making brittle joints (c) stacking loose bricks (d) leaving out steel bars
38. 38.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on the very top (b) hanging outside (c) low down (d) on a thin pole
39. 39.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
40. 40.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True

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