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Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 840 · 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 safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) building tall and narrow (c) adding steel to concrete (d) making brittle joints
  2. 2.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a microscope (b) a shake table (c) a telescope (d) a fridge
  3. 3.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  4. 4.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) building tall and narrow (c) keeping a simple shape (d) making brittle joints
  5. 5.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) adding cross bracing (c) leaving out steel bars (d) making brittle joints
  6. 6.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 30 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
  7. 7.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  8. 8.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
  9. 9.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) hanging outside (b) low down (c) on a thin pole (d) on the very top
  10. 10.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
  11. 11.🏚️ 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 10 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
  12. 12.🏚️ 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 70 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  13. 13.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) stacking loose bricks (c) having a wide base (d) keeping a simple shape
  14. 14.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 320 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
  15. 15.True or false: stacking loose bricks makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  16. 16.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
  17. 17.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  18. 18.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) using flexible joints (c) stacking loose bricks (d) adding cross bracing
  19. 19.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  20. 20.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  21. 21.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  23. 23.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  24. 24.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) adding cross bracing (d) leaving out steel bars
  25. 25.True or false: using a light roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  26. 26.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) using a heavy roof (c) adding steel to concrete (d) using flexible joints
  27. 27.True or false: stacking loose bricks makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they are cheap (b) they bend, not break (c) they stop shaking (d) they look nice
  30. 30.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  31. 31.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) leaving out steel bars (c) having a wide base (d) fitting rubber base pads
  32. 32.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) leaving out steel bars (c) stacking loose bricks (d) using a heavy roof
  33. 33.True or false: building tall and narrow makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) using flexible joints (d) adding steel to concrete
  35. 35.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) building tall and narrow (c) using flexible joints (d) using a light roof
  36. 36.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) making brittle joints (c) using a light roof (d) having a wide base
  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 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
  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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
  39. 39.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) making brittle joints (c) stacking loose bricks (d) using flexible joints
  40. 40.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) adding cross bracing (c) using a light roof (d) raising heavy tanks high

Answer key

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

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