Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 602 · 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.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they look nice (b) they are cheap (c) they stop shaking (d) they bend, not break
2. 2.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) using a light roof (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) stacking loose bricks
3. 3.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
4. 4.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
5. 5.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
6. 6.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) adding cross bracing (d) using flexible joints
7. 7.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) making brittle joints (c) having a wide base (d) using a light roof
8. 8.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is taller (b) it is colourful (c) it is lighter (d) it is harder to tip over
9. 9.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) adding steel to concrete (c) having a wide base (d) raising heavy tanks high
10. 10.🏚️ 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 70 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
11. 11.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) making brittle joints (c) adding cross bracing (d) building tall and narrow
12. 12.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
13. 13.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) stacking loose bricks (c) making brittle joints (d) using a heavy roof
14. 14.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
15. 15.🏚️ 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 320 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
16. 16.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a telescope (b) a shake table (c) a microscope (d) a fridge
17. 17.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) making brittle joints (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) building tall and narrow
18. 18.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) having a wide base (c) using flexible joints (d) using a heavy roof
19. 19.True or false: using a light roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
20. 20.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 a light roof
21. 21.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) having a wide base (d) using a light roof
22. 22.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
23. 23.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
24. 24.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) adding cross bracing (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) building tall and narrow
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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
26. 26.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
27. 27.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
28. 28.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
29. 29.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
30. 30.🏚️ 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 320 cm tall on a 40 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 B (c) tower C
31. 31.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
32. 32.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
33. 33.True or false: having a wide base makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
34. 34.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
35. 35.🏚️ 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 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
36. 36.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
37. 37.🏚️ 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 10 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
38. 38.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
39. 39.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) using flexible joints (c) having a wide base (d) building tall and narrow
40. 40.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) using a heavy roof (d) stacking loose bricks

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