Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings
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.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using a heavy roof (d) making brittle joints
- 2.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) using a light roof (c) having a wide base (d) fitting rubber base pads
- 3.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) adding cross bracing (c) leaving out steel bars (d) adding steel to concrete
- 4.🏚️ 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 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 210 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
- 5.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding cross bracing (b) building tall and narrow (c) using a heavy roof (d) making brittle joints
- 6.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on the very top (b) hanging outside (c) on a thin pole (d) low down
- 7.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) adding steel to concrete (c) using a light roof (d) having a wide base
- 8.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 9.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 10.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 11.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they look nice (b) they are cheap (c) they bend, not break (d) they stop shaking
- 12.🏚️ 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 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
- 13.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) using a light roof (c) using a heavy roof (d) leaving out steel bars
- 14.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 15.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) adding cross bracing (c) adding steel to concrete (d) using flexible joints
- 16.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 17.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 18.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 19.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) having a wide base (c) building tall and narrow (d) leaving out steel bars
- 20.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 21.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
- 22.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
- 23.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) making brittle joints (d) keeping a simple shape
- 24.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) using a light roof (c) using a heavy roof (d) keeping a simple shape
- 25.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is lighter (b) it is colourful (c) it is harder to tip over (d) it is taller
- 26.True or false: building tall and narrow makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
- 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 80 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 B (b) tower A (c) tower C
- 28.🏚️ 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 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 A (c) tower C
- 29.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 70 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 150 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
- 30.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) using flexible joints (c) using a heavy roof (d) making brittle joints
- 31.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 32.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
- 33.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) using a light roof (c) adding steel to concrete (d) fitting rubber base pads
- 34.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) keeping a simple shape (c) stacking loose bricks (d) building tall and narrow
- 35.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) making brittle joints (c) using a heavy roof (d) using flexible joints
- 36.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) using a light roof (c) making brittle joints (d) fitting rubber base pads
- 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 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
- 38.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) using flexible joints (c) building tall and narrow (d) adding cross bracing
- 39.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) making brittle joints (d) stacking loose bricks
- 40.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 140 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
Answer key
- adding cross bracing
- building tall and narrow
- leaving out steel bars
- tower C
- adding cross bracing
- low down
- raising heavy tanks high
- less safe
- safer in earthquakes
- True
- they bend, not break
- tower C
- using a light roof
- True
- raising heavy tanks high
- True
- False
- less safe
- having a wide base
- safer in earthquakes
- safer in earthquakes
- False
- keeping a simple shape
- using a heavy roof
- it is harder to tip over
- True
- tower A
- tower A
- tower B
- using flexible joints
- safer in earthquakes
- less safe
- stacking loose bricks
- keeping a simple shape
- using flexible joints
- making brittle joints
- tower C
- building tall and narrow
- fitting rubber base pads
- tower B
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