Tectonics - Earthquakes

Tectonics - Earthquakes

By Joshua Morris

Multiple Choice

Earthquakes occur at which plate boundaries?

• All of them

• Constructive and destructive

• Constructive, Collision, Conservative

• Constructive and Destructive.

Multiple Choice

Volcanoes occur at which plate boundaries?

• All of them

• Constructive and Conservative

• Constructive and Destructive

• Destructive and Collision

Open Ended

Using the example of a conservative plate boundary describe how earthquakes happen. (include these words: slide, stuck, pressure, sudden, waves)

Impacts of earthquakes

Impacts are categorised as primary or secondary

​Primary effects:  Those that result directly from the earthquake.

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Primary effects:  Those that result directly from primary effects or are indirect.

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e.g. an earthquake doesn't cause homelessness.... an earthquake destroys houses which leads to homelessness

Open Ended

List as many different impacts of earthquakes as you can, write P or S to say whether you think they are primary or secondary impacts.

e.g. Bridges destroyed (P)

Fires from broken gas pipes

Interruption to water supply​

Psychological impacts

homelessness

Businesses closes

Economic problems in area due to cost of rebuilding

Lack of education as schools close

Communications fail ​

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Secondary Impacts

Buildings destroyed

Roads and bridges cracked/ destroyed​

Shattering and breaking glass of windows

Cracking of water and gas pipes

​Deaths and injuries resulting directly from the tremors

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Primary Impacts

How many of these did you include?

Multiple Choice

Which answer is correct?

• A - Focus

  B - Epicentre

  C - Fault line

• A - Epicentre

  B - Focus

  C - Point of seismicity

• A - Epicentre

  B - Focus

  C - Fault line

• A - Focus

  B - Epicentre

  C - Subduction zone

Multiple Choice

What scale is most commonly used to measure earthquakes?

• Richter scale

• Moment Magnitude Scale

• Mercalli Scale

• Earthquake Motion Scale

Measuring Earthquakes

​Earthquakes are generally measured according to the amount of energy released. The scale used these days is the Moment Magnitude Scale (Mw).

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The Richter Scale is commonly referred to but technically hasn't been used for 40 years (it will still be accepted by examiners though!)​

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The numbers relate to the amount of energy released, the amount of shaking.

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1 point on the scale equates to 32 times more energy!​

Multiple Choice

Maths! If 1 point is 32 times more energy. How much more energy is a magnitude 8 earthquake than a magnitude 6?

• 64

• 1024

• 224

• Absolutely no idea

Open Ended

Research task. There is also a scale called the Mercalli Scale. Using the power of google, find out what the difference is, and briefly write below the difference between the two scale. (The timer will allow 10 minutes - should be more than enough!)