Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 682 · 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.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a microscope (b) a fridge (c) a telescope (d) a shake table
2. 2.🏚️ 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 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
3. 3.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) making brittle joints (b) having a wide base (c) stacking loose bricks (d) building tall and narrow
4. 4.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
5. 5.🏚️ 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 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 C (b) tower B (c) tower A
6. 6.🏚️ 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
7. 7.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they bend, not break (b) they stop shaking (c) they are cheap (d) they look nice
8. 8.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) leaving out steel bars (d) keeping a simple shape
9. 9.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
10. 10.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
11. 11.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) keeping a simple shape (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) stacking loose bricks
12. 12.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
13. 13.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) using flexible joints (c) having a wide base (d) using a light roof
14. 14.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) making brittle joints (b) using a light roof (c) stacking loose bricks (d) building tall and narrow
15. 15.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) using flexible joints (d) stacking loose bricks
16. 16.🏚️ 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 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 140 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
17. 17.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) making brittle joints (c) using a light roof (d) fitting rubber base pads
18. 18.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
19. 19.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 150 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
20. 20.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
21. 21.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
22. 22.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) using a heavy roof (c) adding steel to concrete (d) raising heavy tanks high
23. 23.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) keeping a simple shape (c) building tall and narrow (d) having a wide base
24. 24.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
25. 25.🏚️ 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 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 210 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
26. 26.🏚️ 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 160 cm tall on a 40 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
27. 27.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
28. 28.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is harder to tip over (b) it is lighter (c) it is colourful (d) it is taller
29. 29.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
30. 30.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) building tall and narrow (d) using a light roof
31. 31.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) leaving out steel bars (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) using a heavy roof
32. 32.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding cross bracing (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) having a wide base (d) raising heavy tanks high
33. 33.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) adding steel to concrete (c) using a light roof (d) having a wide base
34. 34.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
35. 35.🏚️ 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 150 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
36. 36.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
37. 37.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
38. 38.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
39. 39.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
40. 40.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True

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