Parts of an Earthquake
Seismic Waves
Scales
General Questions
Review
100
The split in the earth created by an earthquake is called
a fault
100
The fastest seismic wave is...
P-wave
100
The Richter scale measures
size of seismic waves
100
At least ____ seismic stations are needed to find an epicenter
3
100
The lithosphere floats on what layer of the Earth?
aesthenosphere
200
The spot on the surface, directly above the focus is called
the epicenter
200
The seismic wave that has side-to-side motion is
S-wave
200
The Mercalli Intensity scale measures
damage done
200
The instrument that measures and records seismic waves is the...
seismograph
200
How do you find the volume of an irregularly shaped object.
Put it in a graduated cylinder and measure how much the water went up
300
Which type of plate boundary is most likely to causes earthquakes?
transform boundary
300
The seismic wave that does the most damage is
L-wave (surface wave)
300
Name the 3 types of scales that measure earthquakes
Richter, Moment Magnitude, and Mercalli Intensity
300
We experience a lot of earthquakes because we live on the ____________ fault
San Andreas
300
Why is the inner core solid even though it's so hot?
the pressure keeps the inner core solid
400
Stress (potential energy) is released as _____________ during an earthquake
seismic waves
400
Which seismic wave from an earthquake will reach a seismic station first?
P-wave
400
How much more powerful is a 7.0 earthquake than a 4.0 earthquake on the Richter scale?
1000 times more powerful
400
What do scientists measure to determine how far an epicenter is from the seismic station?
the arrival time difference between P-waves and S-waves
400
The rocks in the lower mantle are heated by the _______ and become _____ dense and rise. Those same rocks are then cooled by the _______ and become more dense and sink.
heated by core, becomes less dense. cooled by the lithosphere, becomes more dense.
500
Seismic waves begin at...
the focus
500
Name 2 differences between body waves and surface waves
Body waves are faster and do less damage than surface waves.
500
Why can two 6.0 Richter scale earthquakes have different Mercalli Intensity ratings?
They could occur at different locations and do different damage.
500
Assume that P-waves travel at an average of 6 km/s and S-waves travel at an average of 4 km/s. The P-waves from an earthquake reach a seismic station in 8 seconds. How long will it take the S-waves to arrive at this same station?
12 seconds
500
Topographic and bathymetric maps both use...
contour lines
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