Earthquakes

What is a fault?

• a place on Earth where earthquakes cannot occur

• a fracture in Earth where movement has occurred

• the place on Earth’s surface where structures move during an earthquake

• another name for an earthquake

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

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

• kinetic

• thermal

• elastic

• mechanical

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.

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.

A travel-time graph can be used to find the

• focus of an earthquake.

• strength of an earthquake

• damage caused by an earthquake

• epicenter of an earthquake.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

Where do most earthquakes occur?

• in the mountains of Africa

• around the edge of the Pacific Ocean

• around the edge of the Atlantic Ocean

• on the western lowlands of Europe

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-2

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.

What measurement for earthquake do scientists use most often today?

• seismic scale

• Richter scale

• moment magnitude scale

• epicenter magnitude scale

The moment magnitude is calculated using all of the following factors EXCEPT for the

• surface area of a fault

• magnitude of past earthquakes in the area.

• average displacement along a fault.

• rigidity of rock in the area.