Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 616 · 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.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
2. 2.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) hanging outside (b) low down (c) on the very top (d) on a thin pole
3. 3.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) using a light roof (c) keeping a simple shape (d) building tall and narrow
4. 4.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) using flexible joints (c) using a light roof (d) having a wide base
5. 5.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) using a heavy roof (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) fitting rubber base pads
6. 6.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
7. 7.🏚️ 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 10 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 C (b) tower A (c) tower B
8. 8.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
9. 9.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
10. 10.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they stop shaking (b) they bend, not break (c) they look nice (d) they are cheap
11. 11.🏚️ 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 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 A (b) tower B (c) tower C
12. 12.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
13. 13.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) building tall and narrow (c) making brittle joints (d) fitting rubber base pads
14. 14.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
15. 15.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) using a heavy roof (c) adding steel to concrete (d) using a light roof
16. 16.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) stacking loose bricks (c) building tall and narrow (d) keeping a simple shape
17. 17.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
18. 18.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a microscope (b) a shake table (c) a telescope (d) a fridge
19. 19.🏚️ 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 10 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 C (b) tower A (c) tower B
20. 20.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) adding cross bracing (c) using a light roof (d) using a heavy roof
21. 21.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 60 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
22. 22.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
23. 23.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
24. 24.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) adding cross bracing (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) fitting rubber base pads
25. 25.🏚️ 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
26. 26.🏚️ 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 150 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 70 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
27. 27.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
28. 28.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
29. 29.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
30. 30.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) adding cross bracing (c) stacking loose bricks (d) building tall and narrow
31. 31.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) using a heavy roof (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) stacking loose bricks
32. 32.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) having a wide base (c) using flexible joints (d) adding cross bracing
33. 33.True or false: having a wide base makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
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.🏚️ 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 30 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 B (b) tower C (c) tower A
36. 36.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 10 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
37. 37.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) making brittle joints (b) stacking loose bricks (c) using a light roof (d) using a heavy roof
38. 38.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
39. 39.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
40. 40.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes

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