What Is an Earthquake?
What is an earthquake?
What is An earthquake is when the ground shakes suddenly.
What causes most earthquakes? (Two-word answer.)
Tectonic plate movement.
What is a tectonic plate?
What is large pieces of Earth’s crust that move slowly.
What tool do scientists use to measure earthquakes?
What is a seismograph?
Name one safety step to take during an earthquake. (One- or two-word answer.)
What is Drop, Cover, and Hold On.
Is an earthquake a slow movement or a sudden shaking of the ground?
What is a sudden shaking?
What do we call the large pieces of Earth’s crust that move and cause earthquakes?
What is a fault?
What is a crack in the Earth’s crust where earthquakes happen.
What word tells how strong an earthquake is?
What is magnitude?
Why should you stay away from windows during an earthquake? (One sentence.)
What is because glass can break and injure you if windows shatter.
Name one simple effect you might see right after an earthquake (one- or two-word answer).
What is Buildings fall / roads crack / landslide / cracks in ground (any one).
What happens at a fault that causes the ground to shake?
What is plates move suddenly or slip at a fault?
What is the epicenter of an earthquake?
What is the point on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus.
True or False: A seismograph records the shaking of the ground.
What is true?
List two types of damage earthquakes can cause (two separate answers).
What is buildings falling; roads cracking; landslides; tsunamis (any two).
Explain in one sentence why some earthquakes are felt more strongly than others.
What is because of magnitude, depth, and distance from the epicenter — stronger magnitude or closer distance feels stronger.
True or False: Earthquakes only happen when plates bump into each other (If false, briefly explain).
What is False — earthquakes can happen when plates move apart, slide past, or collide; also caused by sudden slips along faults.
What is the focus of an earthquake?
What is the place underground where the earthquake starts.
If a seismograph shows big waves, does that usually mean the earthquake had high or low magnitude?
What can happen if an underwater earthquake is very strong? (One sentence.)
What is a tsunami?
Describe how an earthquake that starts deep underground might feel different from one that starts near the surface.
What is deep earthquakes are often felt less on the surface and may be weaker at a location; shallow quakes usually cause stronger shaking nearby.
Describe, in one or two sentences, how the movement of tectonic plates leads to an earthquake.
What is when plates slowly move, stress builds at their edges; when the stress is released suddenly, the plates slip and cause the ground to shake.
What is a seismograph?
What is the device used to measure earthquakes?
Explain how scientists can tell where an earthquake started using seismograph recordings (one or two sentences).
What is comparing arrival times of seismic waves at different seismograph stations, scientists triangulate the location of the focus and epicenter.
Explain the “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” steps and why each step helps keep you safe during shaking (3–4 short sentences).
What is drop to the ground, take Cover under sturdy furniture to protect from falling objects, and Hold On to the furniture until shaking stops — these steps reduce injury from falling things and from being thrown by shaking.