When an earthquake occurs, seismic waves move out in all directions. When P waves hit the outer core (liquid), they slow down and bend (change direction a little bit) When S waves get to the outer core, they are deflected off because they cannot travel through a liquid. This causes a HUGE S wave Shadow Zone to stretch from one side of the earth to the other side.
When an earthquake occurs, seismic waves move out in all directions. When P waves hit the outer core (liquid), they slow down and bend (change direction a little bit) When S waves get to the outer core, they are deflected off because they cannot travel through a liquid. This causes a HUGE S wave Shadow Zone to stretch from one side of the earth to the other side.
When an earthquake occurs, seismic waves move out in all directions. When P waves hit the outer core (liquid), they slow down and bend (change direction a little bit) When S waves get to the outer core, they are deflected off because they cannot travel through a liquid. This causes a HUGE S wave Shadow Zone to stretch from one side of the earth to the other side.
For students who missed/are going to miss the instruction about Shadow
Zones Study notes (attached) Read Page 322 in your textbook (Shadow Zones) and study the attached diagram.
Shadow Zone Overview (study diagram as you read over the following notes) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
When an earthquake occurs, seismic waves move out in all directions
Surface waves move out from the epicenter along the surface Body waves (P and S waves) move through the body of the earth P waves move in curved paths out from the epicenter When P waves hit the outer core (liquid), they slow down and bend (change direction a little bit). They do this anytime they move through a new type of material (solid to liquid or liquid to solid). So this means they change speed and direction when they move from the mantle to the outer core, from the outer core to the inner core.and so on. 6. The bending of P waves causes two P wave Shadow Zones to form on the earth. These are labeled on the diagram. These are areas where NO P WAVES can be detected by seismographs. Notice there is an area between the 2 shadow zones where there ARE P waves! This is because they are able to travel all the way through all of earths layers. Remember P waves can travel through solids, liquids, and gases. 7. When S waves start moving through the earth, they start off in the same way, moving in curved paths away from the epicenter. However, when S waves get to the outer core, they are deflected off because S waves cannot travel through a liquid. This causes a HUGE S wave Shadow Zone to stretch from one side of the earth, through the P wave shadow zones..to the other side of the earth. This shadow zone is also labeled on the diagram. 8. By studying how P and S waves move through the earth, and also understanding what parts of the earth they DONT move through, scientists have concluded that the earth has a liquid outer core.