Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 930 · 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.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) building tall and narrow (b) leaving out steel bars (c) stacking loose bricks (d) having a wide base
2. 2.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they bend, not break (b) they are cheap (c) they stop shaking (d) they look nice
3. 3.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) making brittle joints (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) using a heavy roof
4. 4.True or false: keeping a simple shape makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
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) using flexible joints (b) leaving out steel bars (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) adding cross bracing
7. 7.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) having a wide base (d) using flexible joints
8. 8.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is taller (b) it is colourful (c) it is harder to tip over (d) it is lighter
9. 9.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) building tall and narrow (c) using a heavy roof (d) adding steel to concrete
10. 10.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 30 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
11. 11.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a light roof (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) adding cross bracing (d) raising heavy tanks high
12. 12.True or false: stacking loose bricks makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
13. 13.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
14. 14.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) on a thin pole (b) hanging outside (c) low down (d) on the very top
15. 15.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
16. 16.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) having a wide base (c) using a heavy roof (d) leaving out steel bars
17. 17.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) adding cross bracing
18. 18.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
19. 19.🏚️ 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 20 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 A (c) tower C
20. 20.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding cross bracing (b) keeping a simple shape (c) fitting rubber base pads (d) making brittle joints
21. 21.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) adding steel to concrete (c) using flexible joints (d) building tall and narrow
22. 22.🏚️ 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 80 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
23. 23.🏚️ Does adding steel to concrete make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
24. 24.🏚️ Does building tall and narrow make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
25. 25.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
26. 26.🏚️ Does using a light roof 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 40 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 60 cm tall on a 20 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
28. 28.True or false: building tall and narrow makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
29. 29.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) raising heavy tanks high (b) using a heavy roof (c) using a light roof (d) stacking loose bricks
30. 30.🏚️ 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 60 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower A (c) tower C
31. 31.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
32. 32.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) having a wide base (d) building tall and narrow
33. 33.True or false: using flexible joints makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
34. 34.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) adding steel to concrete (c) keeping a simple shape (d) stacking loose bricks
35. 35.True or false: having a wide base makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
36. 36.True or false: having a wide base 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 60 cm tall on a 20 cm wide base, tower B is 80 cm tall on a 20 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
38. 38.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a fridge (b) a telescope (c) a shake table (d) a microscope
39. 39.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 20 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 B (c) tower A
40. 40.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False

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