Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 768 · 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 is a wide base safer? (a) it is lighter (b) it is taller (c) it is colourful (d) it is harder to tip over
2. 2.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
3. 3.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) building tall and narrow (c) adding steel to concrete (d) using a light roof
4. 4.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
5. 5.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 160 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
6. 6.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) using a light roof (d) leaving out steel bars
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 20 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
8. 8.True or false: having a wide base makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
9. 9.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
10. 10.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
11. 11.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) having a wide base (c) building tall and narrow (d) fitting rubber base pads
12. 12.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) making brittle joints (c) stacking loose bricks (d) keeping a simple shape
13. 13.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
14. 14.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) using a light roof (c) making brittle joints (d) fitting rubber base pads
15. 15.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
16. 16.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads 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) adding steel to concrete (c) using a light roof (d) stacking loose bricks
18. 18.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) building tall and narrow (c) using flexible joints (d) stacking loose bricks
19. 19.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) building tall and narrow (c) adding steel to concrete (d) making brittle joints
20. 20.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
21. 21.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a microscope (b) a fridge (c) a telescope (d) a shake table
22. 22.🏚️ 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 280 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
23. 23.🏚️ 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 20 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
24. 24.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
25. 25.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
26. 26.🏚️ 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 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 10 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
27. 27.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) stacking loose bricks (c) adding cross bracing (d) using flexible joints
28. 28.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
29. 29.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) using a light roof (d) using a heavy roof
30. 30.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 240 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 60 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
31. 31.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
32. 32.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) using a heavy roof (c) adding cross bracing (d) leaving out steel bars
33. 33.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
34. 34.True or false: adding steel to concrete 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 90 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 80 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 A (b) tower B (c) tower C
36. 36.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 100 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
37. 37.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) leaving out steel bars (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) making brittle joints
38. 38.True or false: using a light roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
39. 39.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they look nice (b) they are cheap (c) they stop shaking (d) they bend, not break
40. 40.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on a thin pole (b) hanging outside (c) low down (d) on the very top

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