Earthquakes

Which of these factors is involved in earthquake formation?

• plates getting larger

• rocks breaking

• stress that decreases

• faults that remain stationary

What happens when stress builds at faults?

• Energy is absorbed.

• Rock can bend and break.

• Plates form on the lithosphere.

• Earthquakes develop at Earth’s surface.

Which statement describes the focus of an earthquake?

• It creates stress in rock.

• It develops in the lithosphere.

• It lies above the surface where rock breaks.

• It begins about 5 kilometers below Earth’s surface.

Which phrase describes a feature of an earthquake’s epicenter?

• starting point of an earthquake

• place around the center of an earthquake

• region directly above the focus

• point about 100 kilometers deep in the lithosphere

How are S waves and P waves similar?

• They shake the ground.

• They travel through liquids.

• They arrive at the same time.

• They vibrate from side to side.

Which statement describes P waves?

• They start as surface waves.

• They travel through liquids.

• They vibrate from side to side.

• They move slower than S waves.

Which statement describes S waves?

• They move side to side.

• They arrive before P waves.

• They travel through liquids.

• They occur at Earth’s surface.

Which statement describes surface waves?

• They arrive before S waves.

• They travel faster than P waves.

• They are produced by P and S waves.

• They travel deep below Earth’s surface.

Which statement describes the Mercalli scale?

• This scale measures seismic waves based on their size.

• This scale rates an earthquake according to how much damage it causes.

• This scale produces a single rating for earthquakes that reach the surface.

• This scale measures the magnitude of an earthquake based on the size of seismic waves.

Which statement describes the Richter scale?

• It cannot account for fault movement during an earthquake.

• It measures large earthquakes far from the seismograph.

• It estimates the total energy released from an earthquake.

• It increases in magnitude as amount of damage increases.