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Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 787 · 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.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  2. 2.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 20 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  3. 3.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they bend, not break (b) they stop shaking (c) they are cheap (d) they look nice
  4. 4.🏚️ Does having a wide base make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  5. 5.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) adding cross bracing (c) building tall and narrow (d) using flexible joints
  6. 6.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 280 cm tall on a 40 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 C (b) tower A (c) tower B
  7. 7.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is colourful (b) it is harder to tip over (c) it is lighter (d) it is taller
  8. 8.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a telescope (b) a microscope (c) a shake table (d) a fridge
  9. 9.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.🏚️ 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 140 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
  12. 12.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) building tall and narrow (c) using flexible joints (d) stacking loose bricks
  13. 13.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 70 cm tall on a 10 cm wide base, tower B is 160 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 C (b) tower A (c) tower B
  14. 14.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  15. 15.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) using flexible joints (c) using a heavy roof (d) adding steel to concrete
  16. 16.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) stacking loose bricks
  17. 17.🏚️ 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 100 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
  18. 18.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) having a wide base (c) using a heavy roof (d) adding cross bracing
  19. 19.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding cross bracing (b) making brittle joints (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) using flexible joints
  20. 20.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  21. 21.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using a heavy roof (d) adding cross bracing
  23. 23.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding cross bracing (b) using a light roof (c) adding steel to concrete (d) stacking loose bricks
  24. 24.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) making brittle joints (c) adding steel to concrete (d) building tall and narrow
  25. 25.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  26. 26.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) adding cross bracing (c) making brittle joints (d) using a heavy roof
  27. 27.True or false: stacking loose bricks makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) using flexible joints (c) adding steel to concrete (d) raising heavy tanks high
  29. 29.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 280 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 60 cm tall on a 10 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
  31. 31.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  32. 32.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  33. 33.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 20 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 80 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 C (c) tower A
  34. 34.🏚️ Does making brittle joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  35. 35.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  36. 36.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  38. 38.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) using flexible joints (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) building tall and narrow
  40. 40.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) adding steel to concrete (c) building tall and narrow (d) raising heavy tanks high

Answer key

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

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