TOPICAL TEST 9 : STRENGTH AND STABILITY

Section A
This question paper consists of 25 questions. Answer all questions. Every question is followed by four options A, B, C 
and D. Choose the correct answer.

1 Which of the following shapes is most suitable to be

used for the base area of a building?
A C

Diagram 3
B D Arrange the containers beginning from the least stable
to the most stable.
A J, K, L C L, K, J
B J, L, K D K, L, J

2 Diagram 1 shows two basic shapes. 7 Diagram 4 shows three similar of cuboids placed in
different ways on a table.

Diagram 1
Diagram 4
Which of the following is the shapes of P and Q?
What can be concluded about the three cuboids?
P Q A They have the same stability.
B T is more stable than U and S.
A Pyramid Cone
C They have the same strength.
B Cone Cylinder D S is more stable than U and T.
C Cone Sphere
8
D Pyramid Sphere

3 Diagram 2 shows an igloo.

Diagram 2 Diagram 5 shows a tall and

What is the shape of the igloo? strong building. What is your
A Cone C Sphere reason (inference) regarding its
B Pyramid D Hemisphere strength?
A It has small base.
4 Which of the following is correctly matched? B It has ideal height.
Shape Object C It has suitable shapes.
D It is made up of steel
A Cylinder Pillar and concrete.
B Hemisphere Dice
C Pyramid Tissue box 9 Diagram 6 shows a double-decker bus.
D Cone Can

5 Which of the following is the strongest structure?

A C

Diagram 6
B D
Passengers are not allowed to sit at the upper part
before filling up the seats at the bottom part. Explain
6 Diagram 3 shows three containers. why.

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 A It is dangerous to sit at the upper part. A C
B Passengers who sit at the bottom part will not get
injured if an accident occurs.
C Passengers who sit at the upper part has a higher
risk to get injured if an accident occurs. B D
D The mass of the passengers at the bottom part of
the bus will make the bus more stable.

10 Which of the following characteristics does a stable 16 Diagram 8 shows a chair.

object have?
A Wide base area C Small base area
B Maximum height D Made up of plastic

11 Diagram 7 shows four cuboidal of boxes made of

different materials.

Diagram 8
The chair is stable because it
A has a table stand.
B is made of metal.
C has a wide base area.
Diagram 7 D has a circular cushion seat.
Which of the cuboidal boxes is the strongest?
A M C P 17 Diagram 9 shows four cylinder blocks represented by
B N D Q S, T, U and V.

12 Table 1 shows the heights of four buildings.

Building F G H I
Height (cm) 226 178 134 97
Table 1 Diagram 9
The buildings are built of the same materials with
same base area. Which of the following statements are Which of the following arrangement of cylinder
true? blocks that shows the increasing of stability?
I Building I is the most stable. A S, T, U, V
II Building H is more stable than building G but less B U, V, T, S
stable than building I. C T, S, V, U
III Building H will fall down first when the D V, U, T, S
earthquake occurs.
IV Building I is less stable than H and G. 18 Rajan wants to keep five boxes of candle in his display
A I and II C II and III rack. Which of the following arrangement of the boxes
B I and III D III and IV is the most stable?
13 Which of the following tunnel is the strongest? A C
A C

B D B D

14 Choose the following which will affect the strength of 19 The bar graph in Diagram 10 shows the height of four
a structure. buildings.
I The way the structure is placed
II Type of material used
III Its colour
IV Its height
A I and II C II and III
B I and III D III and IV

15 Which of the following models is the most stable?

Diagram 10
40
 Which of the following buildings is the least stable? Cylinder S and T are made of paper whereas U and V
A J are made of metal. Which of the arrangements is the
B K most stable?
C L A C
D M

20 Diagram 11 shows four cylinders of the same size.

B D

Diagram 11

Section B
Answer all the questions. Write your answers in the spaces provided.

1 Diagram 1 shows four models of cuboids, P, Q, R

and S, of different heights. They have the same base 2 Diagram 2 shows an investigation carried out by a
area and they are made up of same materials on a group of pupils. Three similar pieces of paper were
table. A fan is used to blow towards the cuboids. folded into shapes as shown in Diagram 2.

Diagram 2
Diagram 1 The result of the investigation is as shown in Table 2.
Table 1 shows the time taken to topple the four
Number of 20 sen coins
cuboids. Model
supported by the models
Height of the Time taken to
Cuboid S 17
cuboid (cm) topple (s)
P 48 20 T 5
Q 64 15 U 12
R 32 25 Table 2
S 16 30 (a) Predict which model will damage first if an
Table 1 object of mass 200 g is placed on it.
(a) What is the purpose (aim) of this investigation? _______________________________________
_______________________________________ [1 mark]
[1 mark]
(b) Give one reason (inference) to support your
(b) Based on the investigation, state answer in (a).
(i) what is changed (manipulated variable): _______________________________________
___________________________________ [1 mark]

(ii) what is observed (responding variable):
___________________________________
[2 marks]
(c) What is the relationship between the height of
the cuboids and the time taken for the cuboids to
topple?
_______________________________________
[1 mark]
(d) Arrange the cuboids in the decreasing order of
stability.
_______________________________________
[1 mark]
(c) Arrange the models in increasing order of
stability.
_______________________________________
[1 mark]
(d) What can be done to the least stable model to
increase its stability?
_______________________________________
[1 mark]
(e) State another factor that affects the strength of a
structure.
_______________________________________
[1 mark]

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