Technological Institute of the Philippines

Quezon City
Civil Engineering Department
CE407EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING
PRELIM EXAMINATION
(09January 2018)

NAME: _________________________________________________SECTION: ____________

INSTRUCTIONS: Read the question carefully. Discuss/calculate in detail and clearly the
following questions mentioned below. Use a clear letter size bond paper and do not write at the
back of your answer sheet. Any personal electronic devices (i.e. Mobile phone, Laptop
computers, etc.) are considered cheating devices and are therefore not allowed to be with the
examinees during the examination. Anyone caught with the above mentioned will his or her
examination results be given a transmuted grade below fifty (50). Good Luck!

Question:
1. Defines the type of seismic sources in the Philippines?
2. Defines the Soil Profile Types in the Philippines?
3. How many seismic zones in the Philippines? What are seismic zone factor?
4. Discuss the seismic coefficients for Ca & Cv as per seismic zone category in the
Philippines?
5. Distinguish the static force design base shear equation in the Philippines?

Mark-up with circle the correct answer

1. With which of the following is an increase in earthquake magnitude correlated?
A. An increase in acceleration
B. An increase in duration
C. A decrease in acceleration and duration
D. Magnitude, accelerated, and duration are not necessarily correlated
2. Which of the following characteristics influence the effect of an earthquake?
A. Frequency
B. Duration
C. Ground acceleration
D. All of the above
3. Liquefaction is best described as
A. A sudden drop in the shear strength of a soil
B. A decrease in pore water pressure of a soil
C. An increase in the bearing capacity of a soil
D. An increase in the effective stress of a soil
4. When liquefaction occurs, which of the following soil conditions are likely to exist?
 A. The soils are made of saturated
B. The soils have zero shear strength and the soils are made of cohesion particles
C. The soils are made of cohesion particles
D. The soils have zero shear strength and the soils are made of saturated
5. Which of the following sites is most likely to amplify ground motion?
A. a dense soil site
B. a rock site
C. a stiff clay site
D. a soft clay site
6. Spectral velocity is best described as
A. The velocity of seismic energy
B. The velocity of a secondary wave
C. The velocity of a structure
D. The velocity of a structure relative to the ground
7. For a single-degree-of freedom system, the natural period, T1is
A. The inverse of the natural frequency
B. Equivalent to the linear natural frequency
C. Expressed in Hz
D. The inverse of the natural frequency and Expressed in Hz
8. What is the spectral acceleration of a single-degree-of-freedom system?
A. It is the minimum acceleration experienced by the system in response to a
perturbation.
B. It id the average acceleration experienced by the system in response to a
perturbation.
C. It is the maximum acceleration experience by the system in response to a
perturbation.
D. It is the absolute acceleration experienced by the system in response to a
perturbation.
9. For the following harmonic oscillator, how is the stiffness best described?
A. As the force acting on the ideal linear spring
B. As the force deflecting the spring a distance of 1 unit
C. As the magnitude of the spring deflection
D. As the reciprocal of deflection
10. When does the natural building period coincide with the earthquake period?
A. When the natural frequency is at its maximum
B. When the acceleration is at its maximum
C. When the displacement is at its maximum
D. All of the above
11. The period of a structure is correlated with the
A. Mass of the structure
B. Stiffness of the structure
C. Mass of the structure and Stiffness of the structure
 D. All of the above are true
12. What is the maximum considered earthquake motion at a site?
A. It is the motion intensity with a 10% probability of being exceeded in a 100-year
time period.
B. It is based on presently available data and knowledge of the site.
C. It is the maximum level of earthquake ground motion expected at the site.
D. All of the above are true
13. Consider the natural period, T, and acceleration, a, of a single-degree-of-freedom system.
When the mass, m, of the system increase, how are T and a affected?
A. T increases and a increases
B. T increases and a decreases
C. T decreases and a increases
D. T decreases and a decreases
14. Where K is the stiffness and ∆ is the deflection, which of the following relationships best
describes the rigidity, R?
A. 1/K B. K∆ C. ∆ D. 1/∆
15. A mass hangs on two ideal springs as shown. What is the total composite spring constant
for the system?
A. K1 + K2
B. K1K2
C. 1/K1 + 1/K2
𝐾1 𝐾2
D.
𝐾1 +𝐾2

16. Each of the following pendulums (equal in mass) are hanging on an

ideal spring. The periods of vibration for the pendulums are 1.73 sec and 3.0 sec,
respectively. Assume the pendulums are on frictionless
pivots. What is the stiffness of the second pendulum’s
spring?
A. 1/3 K1
B. 1/2K1
C. K1
D. 1.33K1
17. Each of the following columns supports a block of identical mass, m. The columns are fixed
at the bottom and free at the top. The height of the second column is twice the height of the
first column. The modulus of elasticity, E, and moment of
inertia, I, for both columns are the same. The system has
natural periods of vibration of T1 and T2, respective. Neglecting
the weight of the columns, what is the natural period of
vibration for the second system?
A. 0.5T1
B. 2T1
C. 3T1
D. 4T1
18. A force is acting at the top of a building
frame as shown. The supporting columns
are equal height and are fixed at the base.
The modulus of elasticity, E, is the same
for each column. Assuming the top place is
1 1
rigid and 𝐼1 = 3 𝐼2 = 6 𝐼3 , what is the shear
distributed to the first column?
A. 1/10 F
B. 1/5 F
C. 2/3 F
D. 1/3 F
19. How is the term damping described?
A. The ratio of one cycle’s amplitude to the subsequent cycle
B. The dissipation of energy from an oscillating system
C. The ratio of one cycle’s amplitude to the subsequent cycle and the dissipation of
energy from an oscillating system
D. The dynamic magnification factor and the dissipation of energy from an
oscillating system
20. How is the term flexibility define?
A. Stiffness
B. The reciprocal of stiffness
C. Rigidity
D. Static deflection
21. Which of the following terms describe the location of an earthquake? Epicenter; Focal
depth; Dip angle
A. Epicenter
B. Focal depth
C. Epicenter & Focal depth
D. Epicenter &Dip angle
22. There is a footwall facing a hanging wall prior to an earthquake. The hanging wall moves
up during the earthquake. Which type of fault occurred?
A. Strike-dip fault
B. reverse fault
C. normal fault
D. oblique fault
23. The process where an oceanic plate slides beneath a continental plate is known
A. Lithosphere
B. Mantle
C. Subduction
D. Strike-slip
24. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
A. Compression, shear, and surface waves are seismic waves
 B. S-waves are at right angles to the compression waves
C. S-waves can be expressed as horizontal and vertical components
D. None of the above are incorrect
25. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
A. S-waves travel more slowly than P-waves
B. S-waves transmit more energy than P-waves
C. S-waves cause less damage to structures than P=waves
D. All of the above are incorrect.
26. Which of the following activities occurs as seismic sea wave approach land?
A. Waves velocity increases
B. Waves height decreases
C. Both wave velocity and height increase.
D. Wave velocity decreases and wave height increases.
27. How are seismic waves generated?
A. by volcanic eruptions & by deep artificially induced explosions
B. by deep artificially induced explosions & by sudden dislocations within the earth’s
crust
C. by volcanic eruptions & by sudden dislocations within the earth’s crust
D. by volcanic eruptions; by deep artificially induced explosions &.by sudden
dislocations within the earth’s crust
28. What does a seismometer measure?
A. components of ground motion
B. reference points
C. attenuation
D. actual displacement
29. What is a tsunami?
A. a seismic sea waves
B. a tidal wave
C. a surface-water wave
D. all of the above
30. Which of the following statements are correct?
A. The Richter scale measures earthquake strength & The magnitude of an
earthquake can be determined from the logarithm of the recorded amplitude.
B. The Richter scale measures earthquake strength & The magnitude of an
earthquake does not depend on the length of the fault slip.
C. The magnitude of an earthquake can be determined from the logarithm of the
recorded amplitude & The magnitude of an earthquake does not depend on the
length of the fault slip.
D. The Richter scale measures earthquake strength; The magnitude of an
earthquake can be determined from the logarithm of the recorded amplitude &
The magnitude of an earthquake does not depend on the length of the fault slip
31. What does the modified Mercalli Intensity scale measure?
 A. Magnitude & Apparent severity at particular location.
B. Apparent severity at particular location &Intensity
C. Magnitude &Intensity
D. Magnitude, Apparent severity at particular location & Intensity
32. How many levels of intensity are associated with the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale?
A. 8 B. 10 C. 12 D. 14
33. What is the definition of the term attenuation?
A. ground motion
B. a decrease in seismic energy
C. a geologic formation
D. the orientation of a fault
34. Attenuation is not influenced by
A. Path line and length
B. Geologic formation
C. Focal depth
D. Earthquake magnitude.
35. Which of the following periods share the same definition?
A. The period of an earthquake & the period of a site
B. The period of an earthquake & the period of a building
C. the period of a site & the period of a building
D. none of the above.
36. Which of the following characteristic influence the amount of structural damage caused by
an earthquake?
A. Peak ground acceleration and duration of motion & soil condition at the site and
period of the site
B. Distance between the epicenter and the structure & natural period and damping
of the structure
C. Peak ground acceleration and duration of motion, soil condition at the site and
period of the site & distance between the epicenter and the structure
D. All of the above.
37. When does resonance occur?
A. When the building period coincides with the earthquake period & when the
earthquake period coincides with the site period
B. When the building period coincides with the earthquake period & when the site
period coincides with the building period
C. when the earthquake period coincides with the site period &when the site period
coincides with the building period
D. When the building period coincides with the earthquake period, when the
earthquake period coincides with the site period & when the site period coincides
with the building period
38. Permanent, heavy air-condition equipment is installed on top of a building. How will affect
the fundamental period of the building?
 A. It will increase
B. It will decrease
C. It will remain the same
D. It will increase the acceleration
39. How are seismic waves generated?
A. by volcanic eruptions & by deep artificially induced explosions
B. by deep artificially induced explosions & by sudden dislocations within the earth’s
crust
C. by volcanic eruptions & by sudden dislocations within the earth’s crust
D. by volcanic eruptions; by deep artificially induced explosions &.by sudden
dislocations within the earth’s crust
40. What does a seismometer measure?
A. components of ground motion
B. reference points
C. attenuation
D. actual displacement
PROBLEMS:
1. Determine the fundamental period of vibration of the two-story frame, which is located in an
area with a value forSD1 exceeding 0.4. The force system shown in the following illustration
may be used; the effective seismic weight at each level and the total stiffness of each story
are indicated.

Using NSCP or ASCE/SEI7 𝑇 = 2𝜋√∑ 𝑤𝑖 𝛿𝑖2 /𝑔 ∑ 𝑓𝑖 𝛿𝑖 = 𝑜. 32√∑ 𝑤𝑖 𝛿𝑖2 /𝑔 ∑ 𝑓𝑖 𝛿𝑖

The fundamental period, in accordance with NSCP or ASCE/SEI7 Sec. 12.8.2, is limited to
𝑇 = 1.4𝑇𝑎

F
i
g
u
r
e

2. The two-story, reinforced concrete, special moment resisting frame is used for a residential
building. Calculate the seismic response coefficient by using the alternative value for the
fundamental period shown.
𝑆𝐷𝑆 = 1.0𝑔 ; 𝑆𝐷1 = 0.7𝑔 ; 𝐼𝑒 = 1.0; 𝑇 = 0.479 𝑠𝑒𝑐 ; 𝑇𝑠 = 𝑜. 70𝑔; 𝑅 = 8; ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 = 15 𝑓𝑡.