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Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 713 · 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.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
  2. 2.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) using a light roof (c) adding cross bracing (d) using a heavy roof
  3. 3.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) using a heavy roof (c) having a wide base (d) using flexible joints
  4. 4.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  5. 5.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a fridge (b) a telescope (c) a microscope (d) a shake table
  6. 6.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  7. 7.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) making brittle joints (c) leaving out steel bars (d) raising heavy tanks high
  8. 8.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 180 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  9. 9.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) using flexible joints (c) keeping a simple shape (d) raising heavy tanks high
  12. 12.🏚️ 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 40 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 B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  13. 13.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding cross bracing (b) leaving out steel bars (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) using flexible joints
  15. 15.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a light roof (b) adding steel to concrete (c) using flexible joints (d) building tall and narrow
  16. 16.True or false: having a wide base makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.True or false: stacking loose bricks makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is colourful (b) it is taller (c) it is lighter (d) it is harder to tip over
  19. 19.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  21. 21.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) adding steel to concrete (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) leaving out steel bars
  22. 22.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) having a wide base (d) using flexible joints
  23. 23.🏚️ 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 200 cm tall on a 40 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 A (c) tower B
  24. 24.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they stop shaking (b) they are cheap (c) they look nice (d) they bend, not break
  25. 25.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 20 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
  26. 26.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) making brittle joints (c) leaving out steel bars (d) using a heavy roof
  28. 28.🏚️ 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 20 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  29. 29.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) adding steel to concrete (c) building tall and narrow (d) using a heavy roof
  30. 30.🏚️ 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 30 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 B (c) tower C
  31. 31.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  32. 32.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) having a wide base (d) using a light roof
  33. 33.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  35. 35.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.🏚️ 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 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 20 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 120 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
  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 120 cm tall on a 40 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 A (c) tower B
  39. 39.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) stacking loose bricks (d) fitting rubber base pads
  40. 40.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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