Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 60 · 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 using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
2. 2.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using a heavy roof (d) fitting rubber base pads
3. 3.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) using a heavy roof (c) keeping a simple shape (d) making brittle joints
4. 4.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) using a heavy roof (c) adding cross bracing (d) fitting rubber base pads
5. 5.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) using a heavy roof (c) stacking loose bricks (d) building tall and narrow
6. 6.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) keeping a simple shape (d) adding cross bracing
7. 7.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
8. 8.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 210 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
9. 9.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) leaving out steel bars (c) stacking loose bricks (d) using a light roof
10. 10.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 50 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
11. 11.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
12. 12.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they stop shaking (b) they are cheap (c) they bend, not break (d) they look nice
13. 13.🏚️ 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 210 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
14. 14.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
15. 15.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
16. 16.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 280 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 180 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
17. 17.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) using flexible joints (d) keeping a simple shape
18. 18.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) using a light roof (c) leaving out steel bars (d) using a heavy roof
19. 19.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) making brittle joints (c) having a wide base (d) stacking loose bricks
20. 20.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) leaving out steel bars (c) making brittle joints (d) using a heavy roof
21. 21.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
22. 22.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
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 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
24. 24.🏚️ 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
25. 25.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) using a heavy roof (c) stacking loose bricks (d) adding cross bracing
26. 26.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) building tall and narrow (c) stacking loose bricks (d) adding steel to concrete
27. 27.True or false: having a wide base makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
28. 28.🏚️ 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 60 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 A (b) tower B (c) tower C
29. 29.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) using a heavy roof
30. 30.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
31. 31.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) using flexible joints (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) building tall and narrow
32. 32.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
33. 33.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
34. 34.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 40 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 B (c) tower A
35. 35.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 20 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
36. 36.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 320 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 120 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
37. 37.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) using a light roof (d) stacking loose bricks
38. 38.🏚️ 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 10 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
39. 39.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a microscope (b) a telescope (c) a fridge (d) a shake table
40. 40.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) low down (b) on a thin pole (c) hanging outside (d) on the very top

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