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Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 549 · 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 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 120 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
  3. 3.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using a heavy roof (d) using flexible joints
  4. 4.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they are cheap (b) they bend, not break (c) they look nice (d) they stop shaking
  6. 6.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a fridge (b) a telescope (c) a shake table (d) a microscope
  7. 7.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  8. 8.🏚️ 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 40 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 B (b) tower A (c) tower C
  9. 9.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 150 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 140 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  10. 10.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) keeping a simple shape (c) adding steel to concrete (d) raising heavy tanks high
  11. 11.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) having a wide base (c) adding cross bracing (d) using flexible joints
  12. 12.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) having a wide base (c) leaving out steel bars (d) adding cross bracing
  14. 14.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
  15. 15.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  16. 16.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) using a heavy roof (c) building tall and narrow (d) raising heavy tanks high
  17. 17.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) keeping a simple shape (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) stacking loose bricks
  18. 18.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  19. 19.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.🏚️ 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 210 cm tall on a 30 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 C (c) tower B
  21. 21.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) using a heavy roof (c) building tall and narrow (d) using flexible joints
  22. 22.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) using a heavy roof (c) having a wide base (d) building tall and narrow
  23. 23.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.🏚️ 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 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  25. 25.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) stacking loose bricks (c) using a heavy roof (d) making brittle joints
  26. 26.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) building tall and narrow (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) using a heavy roof
  27. 27.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  28. 28.🏚️ 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 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  29. 29.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  30. 30.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  31. 31.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) adding steel to concrete (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) leaving out steel bars
  32. 32.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  33. 33.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) adding cross bracing (c) keeping a simple shape (d) stacking loose bricks
  34. 34.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  35. 35.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  36. 36.🏚️ 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
  37. 37.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 30 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 B (c) tower C
  38. 38.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) making brittle joints (c) adding steel to concrete (d) stacking loose bricks
  39. 39.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  40. 40.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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