Seismology

The epicenter of an earthquake is

• The point below the surface where rock begins to break and the first motion occurs
• The seismic station closest to the earthquake
• The place where the greatest damage occurs
• The point on the surface directly above the focus

This famous transform fault is located in the western United States creates significant earthquake activity for California

• New Madrid
• Denali Fault
• Ramapo Seismic Zone
• San Andreas

The Richter scale measures:

• the amount of radon gas released
• the movement of plates
• the strength of an earthquake
• the weight of tectonic plates

The Modified Mercalli scale rates the amount of damage from an earthquake

• true
• false

Which travels fastest, always being the first detected by seismic stations?

• P waves
• S waves

An earthquake scored high on the Richter scale but low on the Mercalli scale. Why?

• it probably happened in an area with no people
• it was a fast earthquake
• because it damaged a lot
• impossible to tell

Liquefaction is when...

• the soil behaves like liquid
• the ground becomes liquid
• magma rises to the surface
• buildings are damaged, crumbling like liquid

How much bigger is a magnitude 8 earthquake compared to magnitude 7 one on the Richter Scale?

• 1 time bigger
• 10 times bigger
• 100 times bigger
• 1000 times bigger

A break in the lithosphere along which movement has occurred is a(n)

• fault
• earthquake
• epicenter
• volcano

The motion caused by earthquakes travels outward from the focus in the form of

• Electromagnetic waves
• Seismic waves
• Gravity waves
• Chemical energy