Causes: human factors, magma, faults (elastic rebound and energy release)
Location: epicenter, focus (hypocenter), depth, origin underground, scarp, surface break (rupture)
Seismic waves: seismogram; surface waves (damage), body waves, P-waves, compression, primary waves, fastest, S-waves, secondary waves, slower, not through liquid
Locating earthquake: time - distance graph, arrival time of S & P waves, three stations to locate
Magnitude: Richter scale, M 0-7?, Magnitude moment scale, Mw7-10?, amplitude, ground motion, 10X amplitude, Mercalli, I‑XII, damage done, subjective
Damage: ground rupture, ground motion, fire, landslides, tsunamis, liquefaction
Compare and contrast
the Richter scale and the Mercalli Scale
in terms of
range of values, what is measured, and effectiveness. Explain how the
values on
the Richter scale relate in terms of wave amplitude.
Why has a new scale (Moment scale) been
introduced to replace the Richter scale for large earthquakes? When is each scale
most useful?
Explain the
relationship between epicenter and hypocenter of an earthquake. Why is the ground rupture not always located at the
epicenter?
What types of damage
can be caused by an earthquake?
Explain the difference
between p-waves and s-waves. Which
doesn’t travel through liquid? How are
they used to determine the location of an earthquake?
Given several seismograms, be able to explain
which is closest to the epicenter.