Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 542 · 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.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a fridge (b) a telescope (c) a shake table (d) a microscope
2. 2.🏚️ 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 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
3. 3.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) adding steel to concrete (c) stacking loose bricks (d) making brittle joints
4. 4.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) building tall and narrow (c) having a wide base (d) stacking loose bricks
5. 5.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
6. 6.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
7. 7.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) building tall and narrow (d) keeping a simple shape
8. 8.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
9. 9.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
10. 10.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on the very top (b) hanging outside (c) on a thin pole (d) low down
11. 11.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) leaving out steel bars (d) fitting rubber base pads
12. 12.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) keeping a simple shape (c) making brittle joints (d) having a wide base
13. 13.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) using a heavy roof (c) using flexible joints (d) leaving out steel bars
14. 14.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
15. 15.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) keeping a simple shape (c) having a wide base (d) using a heavy roof
16. 16.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) leaving out steel bars (c) making brittle joints (d) using flexible joints
17. 17.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
18. 18.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
19. 19.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
20. 20.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
21. 21.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they bend, not break (b) they look nice (c) they stop shaking (d) they are cheap
22. 22.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) building tall and narrow (d) keeping a simple shape
23. 23.🏚️ 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 50 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 B (b) tower A (c) tower C
24. 24.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) leaving out steel bars (c) having a wide base (d) fitting rubber base pads
25. 25.True or false: adding cross bracing 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 100 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
27. 27.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) stacking loose bricks (c) using a light roof (d) building tall and narrow
28. 28.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
29. 29.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 40 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 80 cm tall on a 40 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 A (c) tower C
30. 30.True or false: using a light roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
31. 31.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is lighter (b) it is colourful (c) it is harder to tip over (d) it is taller
32. 32.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
33. 33.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) leaving out steel bars (c) stacking loose bricks (d) using a light roof
34. 34.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
35. 35.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
36. 36.🏚️ 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 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
37. 37.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using a light roof (d) keeping a simple shape
38. 38.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
39. 39.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
40. 40.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False

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