Final answer:
The statement is true; taller buildings tend to have a lower resonance frequency and longer periods of oscillation. Earthquakes can cause resonance in buildings, matching their natural frequency, and leading to significant damage. Advanced engineering practices such as tuned-mass dampers help alleviate these resonance effects.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that, in general, for a building, the taller the building the lower the frequency at which it resonates, and the longer the period of oscillation is true. This is because taller buildings are like inverted pendulums and their increased height results in a lower natural frequency of vibration or resonance. When an earthquake occurs, its waves can match the natural frequency of a building, creating a resonance condition that can greatly amplify the building's response to the seismic activity, potentially leading to substantial damage if the energy isn't dissipated properly.
A building's natural period, or resonance, is the number of seconds it takes for the building to naturally vibrate back and forth. The period is the time it takes to complete one oscillation. When the driving frequency of earthquake waves matches a building's natural frequency, the effects of resonance and standing waves can sometimes result in destructive interference, causing significant damage or even collapse, while neighboring buildings may be unharmed.
Advanced approaches use tuned-mass dampers to mitigate these resonant effects in tall structures by providing damping to match the building's resonance and reduce its amplitude, as in the case of the Comcast Building and its tuned liquid-column mass damper.