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Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 772 · 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.

NameDateTime takenScore ___ / 40
  1. 1.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) using a light roof (c) building tall and narrow (d) adding cross bracing
  2. 2.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on the very top (b) hanging outside (c) low down (d) on a thin pole
  3. 3.True or false: using a light roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  4. 4.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) adding cross bracing (c) using a heavy roof (d) building tall and narrow
  5. 5.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  7. 7.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  8. 8.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) using a light roof (c) using flexible joints (d) having a wide base
  9. 9.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) using flexible joints (c) adding steel to concrete (d) building tall and narrow
  10. 10.True or false: stacking loose bricks makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a telescope (b) a fridge (c) a shake table (d) a microscope
  12. 12.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) building tall and narrow (d) using a light roof
  13. 13.🏚️ 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 40 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
  14. 14.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  15. 15.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they are cheap (b) they bend, not break (c) they look nice (d) they stop shaking
  16. 16.🏚️ 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 40 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 A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  17. 17.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) leaving out steel bars (c) keeping a simple shape (d) using a light roof
  18. 18.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  19. 19.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 30 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
  21. 21.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 240 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  22. 22.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 150 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
  23. 23.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  24. 24.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  25. 25.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) adding cross bracing (c) having a wide base (d) adding steel to concrete
  26. 26.🏚️ 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 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 20 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 safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) using flexible joints (c) making brittle joints (d) using a heavy roof
  28. 28.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) building tall and narrow (c) leaving out steel bars (d) raising heavy tanks high
  29. 29.🏚️ 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 90 cm tall on a 30 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 C (c) tower B
  30. 30.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  31. 31.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using flexible joints (b) keeping a simple shape (c) leaving out steel bars (d) using a light roof
  32. 32.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) keeping a simple shape (d) making brittle joints
  34. 34.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  35. 35.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  36. 36.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) adding cross bracing (c) using a light roof (d) raising heavy tanks high
  37. 37.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 20 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
  38. 38.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) using a heavy roof (c) keeping a simple shape (d) leaving out steel bars
  40. 40.🏚️ 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 20 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

Answer key

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

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