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Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 872 · 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) keeping a simple shape (b) adding steel to concrete (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) building tall and narrow
  2. 2.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  3. 3.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they are cheap (b) they stop shaking (c) they bend, not break (d) they look nice
  4. 4.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  6. 6.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) adding steel to concrete (c) adding cross bracing (d) using flexible joints
  7. 7.🏚️ 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 20 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
  8. 8.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) using flexible joints (c) making brittle joints (d) using a heavy roof
  9. 9.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) leaving out steel bars (c) using a heavy roof (d) using a light roof
  10. 10.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  11. 11.🏚️ Does using a light roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  12. 12.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  14. 14.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  15. 15.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) making brittle joints (d) keeping a simple shape
  16. 16.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) building tall and narrow (c) making brittle joints (d) adding cross bracing
  19. 19.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
  20. 20.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  21. 21.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) having a wide base (b) using a light roof (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) adding cross bracing
  23. 23.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) leaving out steel bars (d) keeping a simple shape
  24. 24.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  25. 25.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) keeping a simple shape (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) raising heavy tanks high
  26. 26.🏚️ 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 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 B (c) tower A
  27. 27.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  28. 28.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 40 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 80 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 B (b) tower A (c) tower C
  30. 30.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) using a heavy roof (c) adding steel to concrete (d) making brittle joints
  31. 31.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) having a wide base (b) stacking loose bricks (c) building tall and narrow (d) using a heavy roof
  32. 32.True or false: having a wide base makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.🏚️ 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 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 200 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
  34. 34.🏚️ 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 30 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
  35. 35.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
  36. 36.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) using a heavy roof (d) stacking loose bricks
  37. 37.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on the very top (b) on a thin pole (c) low down (d) hanging outside
  39. 39.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) having a wide base (c) using flexible joints (d) adding cross bracing
  40. 40.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe

Answer key

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

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