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Engineering Worksheet: Earthquake-Safe Buildings

Engineering lesson 21: Earthquake-safe buildings · Set 94 · 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.🏚️ Does adding cross bracing make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  2. 2.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) fitting rubber base pads (c) having a wide base (d) adding steel to concrete
  3. 3.🏚️ Why is a wide base safer? (a) it is colourful (b) it is lighter (c) it is harder to tip over (d) it is taller
  4. 4.🏚️ Where should heavy water tanks go in a quake zone? (a) hanging outside (b) on the very top (c) low down (d) on a thin pole
  5. 5.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding steel to concrete (b) keeping a simple shape (c) using flexible joints (d) leaving out steel bars
  6. 6.🏚️ 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 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 A (b) tower C (c) tower B
  7. 7.🏚️ Does using a heavy roof make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) less safe (b) safer in earthquakes
  8. 8.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) fitting rubber base pads (b) having a wide base (c) adding cross bracing (d) using a heavy roof
  9. 9.🏚️ 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 40 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 60 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
  10. 10.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) making brittle joints (c) building tall and narrow (d) adding cross bracing
  11. 11.True or false: raising heavy tanks high makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) stacking loose bricks (b) having a wide base (c) adding steel to concrete (d) adding cross bracing
  13. 13.True or false: using a light roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) adding cross bracing (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) having a wide base (d) keeping a simple shape
  15. 15.🏚️ Does leaving out steel bars make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  16. 16.🏚️ 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 120 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 20 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
  17. 17.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) having a wide base (c) building tall and narrow (d) fitting rubber base pads
  18. 18.🏚️ 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 20 cm base and tower C is 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
  19. 19.True or false: adding steel to concrete makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.🏚️ Why are flexible joints good in an earthquake? (a) they bend, not break (b) they look nice (c) they stop shaking (d) they are cheap
  21. 21.True or false: building tall and narrow makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a light roof (b) adding cross bracing (c) building tall and narrow (d) having a wide base
  23. 23.True or false: leaving out steel bars makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  24. 24.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) using a heavy roof (b) raising heavy tanks high (c) stacking loose bricks (d) using flexible joints
  25. 25.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) leaving out steel bars (c) making brittle joints (d) using a heavy roof
  26. 26.🏚️ Does raising heavy tanks high make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  27. 27.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 120 cm tall on a 20 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower C (b) tower B (c) tower A
  28. 28.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 80 cm tall on a 40 cm wide base, tower B is 30 cm tall on a 30 cm base and tower C is 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the hardest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  29. 29.Which of these makes a building safer in earthquakes? (a) using a heavy roof (b) making brittle joints (c) building tall and narrow (d) fitting rubber base pads
  30. 30.🏚️ 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 50 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower B (b) tower C (c) tower A
  31. 31.🏚️ What do engineers use to test models of buildings for earthquakes? (a) a fridge (b) a microscope (c) a telescope (d) a shake table
  32. 32.🏚️ Three solid model towers are made of the same material. Tower A is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm wide base, tower B is 80 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 B (b) tower A (c) tower C
  33. 33.True or false: having a wide base makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.True or false: adding cross bracing makes a building safer in earthquakes. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.True or false: using a heavy roof makes a building less safe in earthquakes. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.🏚️ Does stacking loose bricks make a building safer or less safe in an earthquake? (a) safer in earthquakes (b) less safe
  37. 37.🔍 Which is the odd one out? (a) keeping a simple shape (b) using flexible joints (c) raising heavy tanks high (d) adding steel to concrete
  38. 38.Which of these makes a building less safe in earthquakes? (a) using flexible joints (b) using a light roof (c) making brittle joints (d) having a wide base
  39. 39.🏚️ 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 160 cm tall on a 40 cm base and tower C is 90 cm tall on a 30 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower B (c) tower C
  40. 40.🏚️ 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 30 cm tall on a 10 cm base and tower C is 10 cm tall on a 10 cm base. Which is the easiest to tip over? (a) tower A (b) tower C (c) tower B

Answer key

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

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