Earthquakes Review

Base your answer(s) to the following question(s) on the map below. The map shows point X, which is the location of an earthquake epicenter, and point A, which is the location of a seismic station.

Which statement best describes the arrival of the initial S-wave at the seismic station?

• It arrived later than the P-wave because S-waves travel more slowly

• It arrived earlier than the P-wave because S-waves travel faster

• It arrived at the same velocity on Earth's surface

• It never reached location A because S-waves can travel only through a liquid medium

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS3-5

Base your answer(s) to the following question(s) on the Earth Science Reference Tables, the map and seismograms below, and your knowledge of Earth science. The map shows seismic stations in Chicago, Denver, Oklahoma City, and Tampa that recorded data from an earthquake. Seismograms A, B, C, and D show, in Greenwich time, the arrival times of the earthquake waves at the four stations.

What is the minimum number of seismic stations needed to locate most earthquake epicenters?

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

Through which materials can P-waves travel?

• solid rock, only

• magma and water, only

• magma, water, and natural gas, only

• solid rock, magma, water, and natural gas

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

Sort the differences between P-waves and S-waves

Groups:

(a) P-Waves

,

(b) S- Waves

• Arrive first

• Transmitted through the outer core

• NOT transmitted through the outer core

• Only travel through solids

• Arrive second

• Travel through solids and liquids

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

The map shows seismic stations X, Y, and Z that have recorded seismic waves from the same earthquake. The distances from seismic stations X and Y to the earthquake epicenter have been drawn on the map. Locations A, B, C, and D represent possible earthquake epicenters. The distance from seismic station Z to the earthquake epicenter has been deliberately omitted.

Compared to the speed of S-waves in a given Earth material, the speed of P-waves is

• always slower

• always faster

• always identical

• sometimes slower and sometimes faster

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

What is the direct cause of most earthquakes?

• gravitational pull on bedrock by the Moon

• deposition of sediment in lakes and oceans

• movement of bedrock along a fault line

• heat exchange between the crust and the atmosphere

Why is Earth's outer core inferred to be a liquid?

• P-waves can pass through the outer core.

• P-waves cannot pass through the outer core.

• S-waves can pass through the outer core.

• S-waves cannot pass through the outer core.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

What is the direct cause of most earthquakes?

• movement of bedrock along a fault line

• gravitational pull on bedrock by the Moon

• deposition of sediment in lakes and oceans

• heat exchange between the crust and the atmosphere

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-2

The map shows part of the earthquake damage field that resulted from the earthquake that occurred in Northridge, in southern California, in January 1994. Several sites associated with the earthquake and earthquake damage are shown.
Which surface location had the least damage?

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-2

A huge undersea earthquake off the Alaskan coastline could produce a

• tsunami

• cyclone

• hurricane

• thunderstorm

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-2