Self-study
Wood-frame houses withstand earthquakes far better than masonry houses do, because wooden frames have some flexibility; their walls can better handle lateral forces. ██ █ ██████ ███████████ ████████ █ ██████████ █████ ███ ██████████ █████ ███ ███████ █████ ████ ████ ███ ██████████
"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why did the masonry house withstand the recent earthquake better than the adjacent wood-frame house, when wood-frame houses are generally better-equipped to withstand earthquakes?
Objective
The correct answer will help explain why, in this certain situation, the two houses didn’t demonstrate what we know about masonry and wood-framed houses in general. The explanation will present some potential difference between the houses that allowed the masonry house to withstand the earthquake better than the wood-frame house.
6.
Which one of the following, ██ █████ ████ █████ ██ ███████ ███ ███████ ██ ███ ██████████ █████████ ██████
a
In earthquake-prone areas, █████ ███ ████ ████ ██████████ ██████ ████ ███████ ███████
We need to know why the wood-frame house didn’t perform as well as the masonry house, despite what we know about the two house types. The comparative number of types of houses doesn't reveal anything about the two houses we're interested in.
b
In earthquake-prone areas, █████ ███ ████ ████ ███████ ██████ ████ ██████████ ███████
We don’t care about earthquake zones in general. We need to know about these specific houses.
c
The walls of ███ ██████████ █████ ███ ████ ████ ███████ ██ █ ██████
If the walls of the wood-frame house had been damaged in a flood, this could explain why it had a reduced ability to withstand earthquakes. This helps explain why it didn’t hold up as well as the masonry house did.
d
The masonry house ███ ███ ████ █████████ ████ ███ ██████████ ██████
We don’t care how much the masonry house cost. A masonry house is still a masonry house, and those shouldn’t hold up as well as wood-frame houses during earthquakes.
e
No structure is ██████████ ██████████ ██ ███ ███████████ ███████ ██████ ███████ ██ ████████████
This would be true for both houses. We need something that explains why the wood-frame house underperformed versus the masonry house.