Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 642 · 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 bend, not break (b) they are cheap (c) they stop shaking (d) they look nice
2. 2.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) keeping a simple shape (d) leaving out steel bars
3. 3.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) using flexible joints (d) using a heavy roof
4. 4.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) using a light roof (c) making brittle joints (d) adding steel to concrete
5. 5.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
6. 6.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) adding cross bracing (c) making brittle joints (d) building tall and narrow
7. 7.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
8. 8.🏚️ 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 10 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
9. 9.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
10. 10.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 150 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
11. 11.🏚️ 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 240 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
12. 12.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) using a heavy roof (c) building tall and narrow (d) fitting rubber base pads
13. 13.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on the very top (b) low down (c) on a thin pole (d) hanging outside
14. 14.🏚️ 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 240 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 100 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.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) using a light roof (c) using flexible joints (d) leaving out steel bars
16. 16.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a microscope (b) a fridge (c) a telescope (d) a shake table
17. 17.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
18. 18.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
19. 19.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) making brittle joints (b) using a light roof (c) adding steel to concrete (d) adding cross bracing
20. 20.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
21. 21.🏚️ 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 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
22. 22.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) using a heavy roof (c) adding steel to concrete (d) using a light roof
23. 23.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
24. 24.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
25. 25.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
26. 26.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
27. 27.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is colourful (b) it is lighter (c) it is harder to tip over (d) it is taller
28. 28.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) building tall and narrow (c) adding steel to concrete (d) using flexible joints
29. 29.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) stacking loose bricks (c) using a light roof (d) using flexible joints
30. 30.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
31. 31.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
32. 32.🏚️ 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 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 10 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
33. 33.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
34. 34.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) leaving out steel bars (c) adding steel to concrete (d) building tall and narrow
35. 35.🏚️ 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 140 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest 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 60 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
37. 37.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
38. 38.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
39. 39.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
40. 40.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe

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