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Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 669 · 40 questions
TalentJR

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. 1.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) building tall and narrow (c) using flexible joints (d) adding steel to concrete
  2. 2.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  3. 3.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  4. 4.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is harder to tip over (b) it is taller (c) it is colourful (d) it is lighter
  5. 5.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  6. 6.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
  7. 7.True or false: keeping a simple shape 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 60 cm tall on a 10 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 hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
  9. 9.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  11. 11.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) leaving out steel bars (c) keeping a simple shape (d) using a heavy roof
  12. 12.🏚️ 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 30 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  13. 13.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) making brittle joints (d) using flexible joints
  14. 14.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) having a wide base (d) adding steel to concrete
  15. 15.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) having a wide base (d) using a light roof
  16. 16.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) having a wide base (c) adding cross bracing (d) using a heavy roof
  17. 17.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  18. 18.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  19. 19.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.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) stacking loose bricks
  21. 21.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) making brittle joints (d) adding steel to concrete
  22. 22.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) using flexible joints (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) leaving out steel bars
  23. 23.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  25. 25.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 240 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 240 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  26. 26.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  27. 27.🏚️ 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 20 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 A (b) tower B (c) tower C
  28. 28.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a light roof (b) building tall and narrow (c) stacking loose bricks (d) using a heavy roof
  29. 29.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 80 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 240 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 B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  30. 30.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
  31. 31.🏚️ 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 30 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
  32. 32.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  33. 33.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.🏚️ 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
  36. 36.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
  37. 37.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  38. 38.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) using a heavy roof (c) using flexible joints (d) stacking loose bricks
  39. 39.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  40. 40.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a fridge (b) a microscope (c) a shake table (d) a telescope

Answer key

  1. building tall and narrow
  2. True
  3. True
  4. it is harder to tip over
  5. safer in earthquakes
  6. tower A
  7. False
  8. tower B
  9. True
  10. safer in earthquakes
  11. keeping a simple shape
  12. tower C
  13. making brittle joints
  14. building tall and narrow
  15. stacking loose bricks
  16. using a heavy roof
  17. less safe
  18. safer in earthquakes
  19. False
  20. having a wide base
  21. adding steel to concrete
  22. leaving out steel bars
  23. False
  24. True
  25. tower A
  26. less safe
  27. tower C
  28. using a light roof
  29. tower C
  30. tower A
  31. tower A
  32. less safe
  33. False
  34. True
  35. they bend, not break
  36. tower B
  37. safer in earthquakes
  38. using flexible joints
  39. safer in earthquakes
  40. a shake table

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