Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 700 · 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 look nice (c) they are cheap (d) they stop shaking
2. 2.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) leaving out steel bars (c) making brittle joints (d) adding steel to concrete
3. 3.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
4. 4.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 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 C (c) tower A
5. 5.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
6. 6.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
7. 7.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
8. 8.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) hanging outside (b) on the very top (c) low down (d) on a thin pole
9. 9.🏚️ 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 180 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 C (b) tower B (c) tower A
10. 10.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof 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 less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) having a wide base (c) adding cross bracing (d) leaving out steel bars
12. 12.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a microscope (b) a telescope (c) a fridge (d) a shake table
13. 13.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) adding cross bracing (c) keeping a simple shape (d) using flexible joints
14. 14.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
15. 15.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) using a light roof (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) using a heavy roof
16. 16.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
17. 17.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) using a heavy roof (d) adding cross bracing
18. 18.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) having a wide base (c) adding steel to concrete (d) leaving out steel bars
19. 19.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) keeping a simple shape (d) adding cross bracing
20. 20.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 150 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 10 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
21. 21.🏚️ 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 30 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
22. 22.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) building tall and narrow (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) adding cross bracing
23. 23.True or false: stacking loose bricks makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
24. 24.🏚️ 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 60 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 C (c) tower B
25. 25.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
26. 26.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) building tall and narrow (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) using a light roof
27. 27.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
28. 28.🏚️ 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 140 cm tall on a 20 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 A (c) tower B
29. 29.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
30. 30.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
31. 31.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
32. 32.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 240 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
33. 33.🏚️ 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 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
34. 34.🏚️ 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
35. 35.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
36. 36.🏚️ 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 180 cm tall on a 30 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
37. 37.🏚️ 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 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
38. 38.🏚️ 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 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
39. 39.🏚️ 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 50 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 A (b) tower C (c) tower B
40. 40.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True

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