Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 596 · 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.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) stacking loose bricks (d) using a heavy roof
2. 2.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a shake table (b) a fridge (c) a telescope (d) a microscope
3. 3.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
4. 4.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
5. 5.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) making brittle joints (b) leaving out steel bars (c) having a wide base (d) stacking loose bricks
6. 6.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
7. 7.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is lighter (b) it is taller (c) it is colourful (d) it is harder to tip over
8. 8.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on the very top (b) low down (c) hanging outside (d) on a thin pole
9. 9.🏚️ 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 20 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 C (b) tower A (c) tower B
10. 10.🏚️ 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 150 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 240 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
11. 11.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
12. 12.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) making brittle joints (c) adding cross bracing (d) using flexible joints
13. 13.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
14. 14.🏚️ 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 240 cm tall on a 40 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
15. 15.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
16. 16.🏚️ 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 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
17. 17.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) using flexible joints (c) adding steel to concrete (d) building tall and narrow
18. 18.🏚️ 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 200 cm tall on a 40 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 A (c) tower B
19. 19.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) using flexible joints (c) building tall and narrow (d) fitting rubber base pads
20. 20.🏚️ 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 210 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
21. 21.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
22. 22.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) using a heavy roof (c) building tall and narrow (d) using flexible joints
23. 23.True or false: having a wide base makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
24. 24.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) using flexible joints (c) having a wide base (d) raising heavy tanks high
25. 25.🏚️ 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 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
26. 26.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
27. 27.🏚️ 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 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
28. 28.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
29. 29.🏚️ 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 20 cm base and tower C is 10 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
30. 30.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) leaving out steel bars (c) having a wide base (d) making brittle joints
31. 31.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
32. 32.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) stacking loose bricks (d) using a heavy roof
33. 33.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) leaving out steel bars (c) adding steel to concrete (d) raising heavy tanks high
34. 34.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) adding steel to concrete (d) using flexible joints
35. 35.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they stop shaking (b) they bend, not break (c) they are cheap (d) they look nice
36. 36.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
37. 37.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) using a heavy roof (d) making brittle joints
38. 38.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
39. 39.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
40. 40.🏚️ 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 50 cm tall on a 10 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 B (c) tower C

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