Use the word bank below to complete the statements that summarize how water in a

Question

Use the word bank below to complete the statements that summarize how water in a sandy substrate beneath a home can be beneficial or hazardous.

Word Bank

The stability of buildings on sandy substrate during an earthquake will be increased if the substrate is (a.) ___________ because (b.)___________ adds cohesion to the sediment. When the sandy substrate is (c.) ______________, (d.) ___________ contributes to decrease the strength of the sediment to bear weight, making it behave like a mobile fluid.

Explanation / Answer

Ans. a) Slightly wet b) surface tension c) wet to saturation d) liquefaction

A building's ability to withstand earthquakes is dependent upon structural integrity and the substrate on which the building is constructed. While structural integrity during an earthquake is important, designing a building to stay level (not sink or tip or lean) is equally as important. In fact, during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco, this was considered the major cause of damage in the Marina District.

The reason for this that during an earthquake, the underlying substrate tends to shift and act more like a thick liquid than it does a solid surface; this process is termed liquefaction.

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