How Earthquakes Make Buildings Vibrate 2 - Resonance in
Buildings

The picture shows two buildings. Imagine
the tall building has a fundamental
frequency of 5.5 Hertz
and
the small building has a fundamental frequency of 7.5 Hertz.
If the ground moved to
and fro with a frequency of 5.5 Hertz, the tall building
would vibrate strongly, or resonate, while
the short building hardly moved at all.
(See
Animation)
If the ground moved to
and fro with a frequency of 7.5 Hertz, the small building
would resonate while the tall building hardly moved at all.
(See
Animation)
During an earthquake, the ground shakes
with a mixture of frequencies
of vibration.
If the frequencies ranged between 5.0 and 6.0 Hertz, which
of the two model buildings would you expect to vibrate most?
(Answer)
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