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Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 723 · 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) using a heavy roof (b) having a wide base (c) keeping a simple shape (d) adding cross bracing
  2. 2.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a shake table (b) a telescope (c) a fridge (d) a microscope
  3. 3.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  4. 4.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing 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 40 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 20 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  6. 6.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) having a wide base (c) using a heavy roof (d) making brittle joints
  7. 7.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) adding cross bracing (c) building tall and narrow (d) making brittle joints
  8. 8.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) adding cross bracing (c) building tall and narrow (d) using a heavy roof
  9. 9.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) making brittle joints (c) having a wide base (d) using a light roof
  10. 10.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  11. 11.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) building tall and narrow (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) adding cross bracing
  12. 12.🏚️ 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 240 cm tall on a 30 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 C (c) tower B
  13. 13.True or false: having a wide base makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) adding cross bracing (c) stacking loose bricks (d) using flexible joints
  15. 15.True or false: stacking loose bricks makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 30 cm tall on a 30 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 B (b) tower A (c) tower C
  17. 17.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) adding steel to concrete (d) having a wide base
  18. 18.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 30 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 40 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 B (b) tower A (c) tower C
  19. 19.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) using flexible joints (d) building tall and narrow
  20. 20.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  21. 21.🏚️ 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 60 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
  22. 22.True or false: building tall and narrow makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  23. 23.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.🏚️ 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
  25. 25.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) building tall and narrow (c) adding steel to concrete (d) making brittle joints
  26. 26.🏚️ 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 10 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 B (b) tower A (c) tower C
  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 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  28. 28.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  29. 29.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  30. 30.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  31. 31.🏚️ 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 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
  32. 32.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  33. 33.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) leaving out steel bars (c) building tall and narrow (d) keeping a simple shape
  34. 34.True or false: using a light roof 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 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 160 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
  36. 36.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a light roof (b) adding cross bracing (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) using flexible joints
  37. 37.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is lighter (b) it is colourful (c) it is harder to tip over (d) it is taller
  38. 38.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) adding steel to concrete (c) stacking loose bricks (d) making brittle joints
  39. 39.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  40. 40.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) leaving out steel bars (c) building tall and narrow (d) using a heavy roof

Answer key

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

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