Earthquakes

Liquefaction occurs when

• large waves wash over coastal areas and destroystructures

• earthquakes occur in the ocean and damage ships at sea.

• loose, saturated soil turns into liquid that can’t support buildings.

• mud slides downhill and buries buildings.

Earth’s thin, rocky outer layer is its

• core

• mantle

• crust

• outer core

A seismogram shows that P waves travel

• at the same speed as surface waves

• more slowly than S waves.

• at the same speed as S waves

• faster than S waves.

Most earthquakes are produced by the rapid release of which kind of energy stored in rock subjected to great forces?

• kinetic

• thermal

• elastic

• mechanical

What does Earth’s crust and uppermost mantle form?

• asthenosphere

• hydrosphere

• lithosphere

• atmosphere

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of S waves?

• They travel more slowly than P waves.

• They are also called longitudinal waves

• They shake particles at right angles to their direction of travel.

• They cannot be transmitted through water or air.

What is an earthquake’s epicenter?

• the place on the surface directly above the focus

• a spot halfway between the focus and the surface

• the spot below the focus

• any spot along the nearest fault

An earthquake’s magnitude is a measure of the

• size of seismic waves it produces.

• amount of shaking it produces.

• size of surface waves it produces.

• damage it causes.

The Earth’s core is made of an alloy of

• iron and nickel.

• copper and iron.

• zinc and magnesium.

• iron and zinc.

What is the Moho?

• the boundary between the outer and inner core

• the boundary between the crust and the mantle

• the material of which the mantle is composed

• an area of the mantle that will not transmit seismic waves