Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 912 · 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.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
2. 2.True or false: making brittle joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
3. 3.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they look nice (b) they stop shaking (c) they bend, not break (d) they are cheap
4. 4.🏚️ Does fitting rubber base pads make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
5. 5.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
6. 6.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) building tall and narrow (c) adding cross bracing (d) using a heavy roof
7. 7.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a telescope (b) a microscope (c) a fridge (d) a shake table
8. 8.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) raising heavy tanks high
9. 9.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) building tall and narrow (c) using a heavy roof (d) adding cross bracing
10. 10.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
11. 11.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
12. 12.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) using a heavy roof (c) leaving out steel bars (d) keeping a simple shape
13. 13.🏚️ 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 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
14. 14.🏚️ 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 20 cm base and tower C is 240 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
15. 15.🏚️ 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 40 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
16. 16.🏚️ 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 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 40 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
17. 17.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
18. 18.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) making brittle joints (b) using a heavy roof (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) building tall and narrow
19. 19.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) making brittle joints (b) building tall and narrow (c) leaving out steel bars (d) using a light roof
20. 20.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
21. 21.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 140 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
22. 22.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) leaving out steel bars (d) stacking loose bricks
23. 23.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) leaving out steel bars (c) keeping a simple shape (d) using a heavy roof
24. 24.🏚️ 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 70 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 240 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
25. 25.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) using a heavy roof (c) adding cross bracing (d) fitting rubber base pads
26. 26.🏚️ Does keeping a simple shape make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
27. 27.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B
28. 28.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is harder to tip over (b) it is lighter (c) it is colourful (d) it is taller
29. 29.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) leaving out steel bars (b) making brittle joints (c) stacking loose bricks (d) using a light roof
30. 30.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a light roof (b) using flexible joints (c) building tall and narrow (d) adding steel to concrete
31. 31.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) building tall and narrow (b) adding steel to concrete (c) having a wide base (d) using a light roof
32. 32.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
33. 33.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
34. 34.🏚️ 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 10 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower A (c) tower B
35. 35.🏚️ Does using flexible joints make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
36. 36.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
37. 37.🏚️ 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 200 cm tall on a 40 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
38. 38.🏚️ 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 280 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 80 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
39. 39.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
40. 40.True or false: fitting rubber base pads makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True

Free engineering lessons, practice and worksheets at talentjr.in/engineering-for-kids