Earthquake Travel Times

Earthquake S-waves do not pass through which two interior Earth layers?

• rigid mantle and asthenosphere

• asthenosphere and stiffer mantle

• stiffer mantle and outer core

• outer core and inner core

Which statement correctly compares seismic P-waves with seismic S-waves?

• P-waves travel faster than S-waves and pass through Earth's liquid zones.

• P-waves travel faster than S-waves and do not pass through Earth's liquid zones.

• P-waves travel slower than S-waves and pass through Earth's liquid zones

• P-waves travel slower than S-waves and do not pass through Earth's liquid zones.

The epicenter of an earthquake is located 6,500 kilometers away from a seismic station. If the first S-wave arrived at this seismic station at 1:30 p.m., at what time did the first P-wave arrive?

• 1:20 p.m.

• 1:22 p.m.

• 1:38 p.m.

• 1:40 p.m.

What is the approximate time difference between the first P-wave and the first S-wave recorded at a seismic station located 8000 kilometers from an earthquake's epicenter?

• 8 minutes 40 seconds

• 9 minutes 20 seconds

• 11 minutes 20 seconds

• 20 minutes 40 seconds

A seismic station is located 7600 kilometers from the epicenter of this earthquake. How many minutes did it take the first S-wave to reach point A?

• 9 min

• 11 min

• 16 min

• 20 min

Base your answer on the map below, which shows seismograph recording stations at locations A, B, and C. Location D is an earthquake epicenter. The distances from locations A and B to this epicenter are given in kilometers.

Approximately how long did the S-wave take to travel from the epicenter to location A?

• 11 min 15 sec

• 9 min 35 sec

• 5 min 20 sec

• 4 min 20 sec

At which location is the arrival-time difference between the P-wave and the S-wave greatest?

• A

• B

• C

• D

In 8 minutes, an earthquake P-wave travels a total distance of

• 2,100 km

• 4,700 km

• 6,600 km

• 11,300 km

A strong earthquake that occurs on the ocean floor could result in the formation of

• a tsunami

• a delta

• an El Niño event

• an ocean current

The diagram below represents three seismograms showing the same earthquake as it was recorded at three different seismic stations, A, B, and C. Which statement correctly describes the distance between the earthquake epicenter and these seismic stations?

• A is closest to the epicenter, and C is farthest from the epicenter.

• B is closest to the epicenter, and C is farthest from the epicenter.

• C is closest to the epicenter, and A is farthest from the epicenter.

• A is the closest to the epicenter, and B is the farthest from the epicenter.