Q13: Earthquakes

Front

What is an earthquake?

Back

An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-2

Front

What is the epicenter of an earthquake?

Back

The epicenter is the point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-2

Front

What are P waves?

Back

P waves, or primary waves, are the fastest seismic waves and are the first to be detected by seismic stations. They travel through solids, liquids, and gases.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

Front

What are S waves?

Back

S waves, or secondary waves, are seismic waves that follow P waves. They are slower and can only travel through solids.

Front

What are surface waves?

Back

Surface waves are seismic waves that travel along the Earth's surface. They are slower than P and S waves and usually cause the most damage during an earthquake.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-2

Front

What is the focus of an earthquake?

Back

The focus, or hypocenter, is the point within the Earth where an earthquake originates.

Front

How do seismic waves travel?

Back

Seismic waves travel through the Earth in all directions from the focus, causing the ground to shake.

Front

What is the relationship between distance from the epicenter and the time between P and S waves?

Back

The farther a seismic station is from the earthquake, the longer the time between the arrival of P waves and S waves.

Front

What is a seismic station?

Back

A seismic station is a facility equipped with instruments to detect and record seismic waves from earthquakes.

Front

What is the Richter scale?

Back

The Richter scale is a logarithmic scale used to measure the magnitude of an earthquake based on the amplitude of seismic waves.