8

SCIENCE
Guided Learning Activity Kit
Intensity and Magnitude
Quarter 2 - Week 3

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Science – Grade 8
Guided Learning Activity Kit
Intensity and Magnitude
Quarter 2- Week 3

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Guided Learning Activity Kit Development Team

Writer: Jacqueline V. Vento
Editors: Annaliza S. Silvino
Ailyne T. Renojo
Hazel F. Luna
Reviewer: Christian Ordillas
Graphic Artists: Ramil B. Rabaca
John Paul C. Paje EdD
Management Team: Leonardo D. Zapanta EdD, CESO V
Michelle Ablian-Mejica EdD
Manolito B. Basilio EdD
Evelyn D. Tarrayo EdD
Garry M. Achacoso
Rachelle C. Diviva

Printed in the Philippines by Department of Education

Region III
Schools Division of Zambales
Zone 6, Iba, Zambales
Tel./Fax No. (047) 602 1391
E-mail Address: zambales@deped.gov.ph
Website: www.depedzambales.gov.ph
 INTENSITY AND MAGNITUDE

Introduction

Imagine that you were in a library located on the third floor of a building.
You’ve decided to read the day’s newspaper. Across the table is one of your friends
who is always into mischief.
With your arms on the table, you held the newspaper and began to read the
headline. When, suddenly, you felt the table rocking. You were about to get mad at
your friend, sitting across the table, because you thought your friend was teasing
you by rocking it. But when you look up, you saw the hanging fluorescent lamps
rocking violently. You also noticed that some of the books on the shelves have fallen
to the ground. An earthquake! Your friend began to duck under the table and held
one of its feet. You did the same thing.
After a minute or so, the shaking stop, the people in the library began to walk
towards the hallway and down the staircase. You noticed that the chandelier from
the ceiling of the top floor that extends up to the ground floor that adorned the
building is still swaying. You felt nauseous.
What you have felt and observed is the intensity of the earthquake. How
much energy was released from the ground is the magnitude of the earthquake.
Either way, you’ll know how strong the shaking had been.

Learning Competency

• Differentiate the intensity of an earthquake from its magnitude

(S8ES-IIa-15).

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 Objectives

At the end of this guided learning activity kit, you are expected to:

1. differentiate the intensity of an earthquake from its magnitude;

2. determine the intensity of an earthquake from the description given in

the PEIS (PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale); and

3. distinguish the intensity of an earthquake from its magnitude from

the way they are written.

Review

Draw a fault showing the focus and the epicenter of an earthquake.

Discussion

There are two ways in which we can tell how weak or strong an earthquake
is: intensity and magnitude.

We can have an idea of how weak or strong a shaking is by its intensity.

PHIVOLCS (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology), the government
agency that monitors volcano, earthquake, and tsunami activity, and issues
warnings as necessary, uses the following scale to describe the intensity of
earthquakes in the Philippines.

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Table 1. PEIS (PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale)
Intensity Shaking Description
Scale
I Scarcely Perceptible to people under favorable circumstances.
Perceptible Delicately balanced objects are disturbed slightly. Still
water in containers oscillates slowly.
II Slightly Felt by a few individuals at rest indoors. Hanging
Felt objects swing slightly. Still water in containers
oscillates noticeably.
III Weak Felt by many people indoors especially on the upper
floors of buildings. Vibration is felt like the passing of a
light truck. Dizziness and nausea are experienced by
some people. Hanging objects swing moderately. Still
water in containers oscillates moderately.
IV Moderately Felt generally by people indoors and by some people
Strong outdoors. Light sleepers are awakened. Vibration is felt
like a passing of a heavy truck. Hanging objects swing
considerably. Dinner plates, glasses, windows, and
doors rattle. Floors and walls of wood-framed buildings
creak. Standing motor cars may rock slightly. Water in
containers oscillates strongly. A rumbling sound may
sometimes be heard.
V Strong Generally felt by most people indoors and outdoors.
Many sleeping people are awakened. Some are
frightened, some run outdoors. Strong shaking and
rocking felt throughout the building. Hanging objects
swing violently. Dining utensils clatter and clink, some
are broken. Small, light, and unstable objects may fall
or overturn. Liquids spill from filled open containers.
Standing vehicles rock noticeably. The shaking of
leaves and twigs of trees are noticeable.
VI Very Strong Many people are frightened, many run outdoors. Some
people lose their balance. Motorists feel like driving in
flat tires. Heavy objects or furniture move or may be
shifted. Small church bells may ring. Wall plaster may
crack. Very old or poorly built houses and man-made
structures are slightly damaged though well-built
structures are not affected. Limited rockfalls and rolling
boulders occur in hilly to mountainous areas and
escarpments. Trees are noticeably shaken.
VII Destructive Most people are frightened and run outdoors. People
find it difficult to stand on the upper floors. Heavy
objects and furniture overturn or topple. Big church
bells may ring. Old or poorly-built structures suffer
considerable damage. Some well-built structures are
slightly damaged. Some cracks may appear on dikes,
fish ponds, road surface, or concrete hollow block walls.
Limited liquefaction, lateral spreading, and landslides

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 are observed. Trees are shaken strongly. (Liquefaction
is a process by which loose saturated sand lose
strength during an earthquake and behave like liquid).

VIII Very People are frightened and alarmed. People find it

Destructive difficult to stand even outdoors. Many well-built
buildings are considerably damaged. Concrete dikes
and foundations of bridges are destroyed by ground
settling or toppling. Railway tracks are bent or broken.
Tombstones may be displaced, twisted, or overturned.
Utility posts, towers, and monuments may tilt or topple.
Water and sewer pipes may be bent, twisted, or broken.
Liquefaction and lateral spreading cause man-made
structure to sink, tilt, or topple. Numerous landslides
and rockfalls occur in mountainous and hilly areas.
Boulders are thrown out from their positions
particularly near the epicenter. Fissures and faults
rupture may be observed. Trees are violently shaken.
Water splash or slop over dikes or banks of rivers.
IX Devastating People are forcibly thrown to the ground. Many cry and
shake with fear. Most buildings are totally damaged.
Bridges and elevated concrete structures are toppled or
destroyed. Numerous utility posts, towers, and
monuments are tilted, toppled, or broken. Water sewer
pipes are bent, twisted, or broken. Landslides and
liquefaction with lateral spreadings and sand boils are
widespread. The ground is distorted into undulations.
Trees are shaken very violently with some toppled or
broken. Boulders are commonly thrown out. River
water splashes violently or slops over dikes and banks.
X Completely Practically all man-made structures are destroyed.
Devastating Massive landslides and liquefaction, large scale
subsidence and uplift of landforms, and many ground
fissures are observed. Changes in river courses and
destructive seiches in large lakes occur. Many trees are
toppled, broken, and uprooted.
According to www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph
We can determine the intensity of an earthquake by observing the effects of
the earthquake on different places especially, the effects on people, houses,
buildings, and other structures within the epicenter and away from the epicenter.
People are interviewed on what they saw, how they felt, and/or what they did.

Another way to determine how strong or weak an earthquake is by

magnitude. Remember, that faults release energy as they move. The amount of
energy released by an earthquake is calculated by scientists through a seismograph
and is called the magnitude of the earthquake. The quantitative measure of an
earthquake’s magnitude is called the Richter Scale.

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 When the magnitude of an earthquake is 2, it may or may not be felt.
Generally, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4 is felt. An earthquake with a
magnitude of 6 may lead to a lot of damage in highly populated areas. A magnitude
7 earthquake may cause severe damage. Earthquakes with a magnitude 8, such as
the Moro Gulf quake, and with a magnitude 9 may lead to widespread destruction.

To distinguish the two: magnitude is represented by Arabic Numbers (1, 2,

3, etc.) while intensity is represented by Roman Numerals (I, II, III, etc.).
Magnitude is a measure of an earthquake’s strength and remains unchanged with
distance from the earthquake. Intensity describes the degree of shaking caused by
an earthquake at a given place and decreases with distance from the epicenter.

Activities

General Directions: All answers in the activities should be written on a

separate sheet of paper.

Guided Practice 1
Directions: Determine whether the following statements describe intensity
or magnitude.

1. Represented by Roman Numerals.

2. Represented by Arabic Numbers.

3. Determined by observing the effects of the earthquake on different

places.

4. The measured energy released by the fault.

5. Determined by scientists using a seismograph.

6. To determine this, people are interviewed on what they saw, how they
felt, and what they did.

7. A measure of the earthquake’s strength.

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8. Remains unchanged with distance from the earthquake.

9. The degree of shaking caused by an earthquake at a given place.

10. Decreases with distance from the epicenter.

Guided Practice 2

Directions: Write the correct numeral system in answering the questions.

1-5. The intensity of an earthquake is determined by observing the effects on

different places. Which intensity is it if the observed effects are the following?

1. Dizziness and nausea are experienced by some people.

2. People are forcibly thrown to the ground.

3. All man-made structures are destroyed.

4. Many trees are toppled, broken, and uprooted.

5. Motorists feel like driving in flat tires.

6-10. The destruction caused by an earthquake would depend upon its magnitude.
What is the earthquake’s magnitude if the results are the following?

6. It is not quite felt.

7. It is felt.

8. It leads to a lot of damage.

9. It causes severe damage.

10. It leads to widespread destruction.

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Independent Practice

Directions: Refer to Table 1 PEIS in filling out the missing information on the table.

Intensit Shaking Observed Effects

y Scale People Structur Liquids/Bodie Land/Landform
e s of Water s
(1) (2) Many (3) Destructive Massive
people die. seiches in landslides and
large lakes liquefaction.
occur.
(4) Very (5) Railway (6) Boulders are
Destructiv tracks thrown out from
e are bent their positions
or particularly
broken. near the
epicenter.
V (7) Many (8) Liquids spill None recorded.
sleeping from filled
people are open
awakened. containers.
I (9) People may None (10) None recorded.
or may recorded
have not .
felt the
earthquake
.

Assessment

Directions: Write the letter of the correct answer.

1. The letter I in the acronym – PHIVOLCS stands for _________.
a. Intensity b. Institute
c. Industry d. Independent

2. What is the numeral system used to represent intensity?

a. Roman b. Hebrew
c. Chinese d. Arabic

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3. What is the numeral system used to represent magnitude?
a. Roman b. Hebrew
c. Chinese d. Arabic

4. The letter P in the acronym – PEIS stands for _________.

a. Philippines b. Philharmonic
c. President d. PHIVOLCS

5. What is one way of determining how weak or strong an earthquake is,

that is represented by Roman Numerals?
a. magnitude b. distance
c. height d. intensity

6. What is one way of determining how weak or strong an earthquake is,

that is represented by Arabic Numbers?
a. magnitude b. distance
c. height d. intensity

7. the amount of energy released by an earthquake?

a. anemometer b. magnetograph
c. seismograph d. barometer

8. Which government agency monitors volcano, earthquake, and tsunami

activity, and issues warnings as necessary?
a. PAGASA b. BIR
c. PHIVOLCS d. DOLE

9. ______________is a measure of earthquake’s strength.

a. magnitude b. distance
c. height d. intensity

10. The degree of shaking caused by an earthquake at a given place is called

_____________.
a. magnitude b. distance
c. height intensity

11. What is the Richter Scale?

a. A method of measuring an advanced civilization’s level of
technological advancement
b. The quantitative measure of an earthquake’s magnitude
c. A method to approximately determine the color of bodies of water,
used in limnology and oceanography.
d. A method of measuring the progression of male pattern baldness

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12. ___________ decreases with distance from the epicenter.
a. magnitude b. distance
c. height d. intensity

13. ____________ remains unchanged with distance from the earthquake.

a. magnitude b. distance
c. height d. intensity

14. What is the intensity of an earthquake that is felt by many people

indoors especially on upper floors of buildings?
a. I b. II
c. III d. IV

15. What magnitude can cause widespread destruction?

a. 2 b. 4
c. 6 d. 9

Reflection

Fill in the blanks with the correct word/words. Choose your answers from
the word/sets of words inside the box. You may use the same word/sets of
words as many times as needed.

intensity unchanged PHIVOLCS seismograph Richter Scale

magnitude effects fault

PEIS Roman decreases energy Arabic

There are two ways in which we can tell how weak or strong an
earthquake is: (1) ________________ and (2) ________________ .

(3) _______________ describes the severity of an earthquake in terms of

its effects in different places while (4) _______________ is the strength of the
earthquake.

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 (5) __________________ is the government agency that monitors
volcano, earthquake, and tsunami activity, and issues warnings as
necessary.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology uses the (6) ____________ to

describe the intensity of earthquakes in the Philippines.
We can determine the intensity of an earthquake by observing the (7)
_________________ of the earthquake on different places. It is represented by
(8) __________________ Numerals. It (9) _______________ with distance from
the epicenter

The amount of (10) _________________ released by the movement of a

(11) __________________ is the strength of the earthquake – its magnitude. It
is calculated by scientists using a (12) _______________ and its quantitative
measure is called the (13) ________________. It remains (14) ________________
with distance from the earthquake and is represented by (15)
_______________ Numbers.

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 References

Department of Education. 2014. "Science 8 Learner's Module". Pasig City.

Staff, PHIVOLCS. 2020. "Introduction To Earthquake". Phivolcs.Dost.Gov.Ph.

https://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/index.php/earthquake/introduction-to-
earthquake.

Staff, PHIVOLCS. 2020. "PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale

(PEIS)". Phivolcs.Dost.Gov.Ph.
https://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=ar
ticle&id=40&Itemid=146.

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Review
Assessment An illustration of a fault showing the focus
and the epicenter
1. b
2. a
3. d Guided Practice 1
4. d
5. d 1. intensity
6. a 2. magnitude
7. c 3. intensity
8. c 4. magnitude
9. a 5. magnitude
10. d 6. intensity
11. b 7. magnitude
12. d 8. magnitude
13. a 9. intensity
14. c 10. intensity
15. d
Guided Practice 2
Reflection
1. intensity 1. III
2. magnitude 2. IX
3. intensity 3. X
4. magnitude 4. X
5. PHIVOLCS 5. VI
6. PEIS 6. 2
7. Effects 7. 4
8. Roman 8. 6
9. Decreases 9. 7
10. Energy 10. 8 or 9
11. Fault
12. Seismograph Independent Practice
13. Richter Scale
14. Unchanged 1. X
15. Arabic 2. Completely Devastating
3. All man-made structures are
Note: (1 & 2 can be vice versa) destroyed.
4. VIII
5. People are frightended and alarmed.
People find it difficult to stand even
outdoors.
6. Water splash or slop over dikes or
banks of rivers.
7. Strong
8. Strong shaking and rocking felt
throughout building. / Hanging
objects swing violently. / Small,
light, and unstable objects may
overturn.
9. Scarcely Perceptible
10. Still water in containers oscillates
slowly.
Key to Corrections
 Acknowledgment

The Schools Division of Zambales would like to express its heartfelt gratitude
to the following, who in one way or the other, have contributed to the successful
preparation, development, quality assurance, printing, and distribution of the
Quarter 2 Guided Learning Activity Kits (GLAKs) in all learning areas across grade
levels as a response to providing the learners with developmentally-appropriate,
contextualized and simplified learning resources with most essential learning
competencies (MELCs)-based activities anchored on the principles of guided learning
and explicit instruction:

First, the Learning Resources (LR) Development Team composed of the writers
and graphic artists for devoting much of their time and exhausting their best efforts
to produce these indispensable learning kits used for the implementation of learning
delivery modalities.

Second, the content editors, language reviewers, and layout evaluators

making up the Division Quality Assurance Team (DQAT) for having carefully
evaluated all GLAKs to ensure quality and compliance to DepEd standards;

Third, the Provincial Government of Zambales, for unceasingly extending its

financial assistance to augment the funds for the printing of these learning resources
for use by learners and parents at home;

Fourth, the teacher-advisers and subject teachers, in close coordination with

the school heads, for their weekly distribution and retrieval of the GLAKs and for
their frequent monitoring of the learners’ progress through various means; and

Finally, the parents and other home learning facilitators for giving the learners
the needed guidance and support for them to possibly accomplish the tasks and for
gradually helping them become independent learners.

To deliver learning continuity in this challenging circumstance would not be

possible without your collective effort and strong commitment to serving our
Zambaleño learners.

Again, our sincerest thanks!

The Management Team

 For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – Region III - Schools Division of Zambales

Learning Resources Management Section (LRMS)
Zone 6, Iba, Zambales
Tel./Fax No. (047) 602 1391