Earthquakes

Liz LaRosa http://www.middleschoolscience.com 2009

for my 5th grade science class 2009
 What is an earthquake?
• Used to describe both sudden slip on a fault,
and the resulting ground shaking and radiated
seismic energy caused by the slip
• Caused by volcanic or magmatic activity,
• Caused by other sudden stress changes in the
earth.
Three Types of Faults

Strike-Slip
Thrust

Normal
 What causes earthquakes?
• Tectonic plates move past each other causing
stress. Stress causes the rock to deform
– Plastic deformation – does not cause earthquakes
– Elastic deformation – rock stretches then reaches
a breaking point, releasing energy.
Elastic Rebound – deformed rock goes
back to its original shape

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/EarthSC-102VisualsIndex.HTM
Focus – point inside the Earth where an
earthquake begins
Epicenter – point on Earth’s surface above focus
 How Seismographs Work

the pendulum remains

fixed as the ground
moves beneath it

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/EarthSC-102VisualsIndex.HTM
 Typical Seismogram

http://isu.indstate.edu/jspeer/Earth&Sky/EarthCh11.ppt
 Primary Waves (P Waves)

• A type of seismic wave that compresses

and expands the ground

• The first wave to arrive at an earthquake

http://daphne.meccahosting.com/~a0000e89/insideearth2.htm
 Secondary Waves (S Waves)

• A type of seismic wave that moves the

ground up and down or side to side

http://daphne.meccahosting.com/~a0000e89/insideearth2.htm
Comparing Seismic Waves
 Surface Waves
• Move along the Earth’s surface
• Produces motion in the upper crust
– Motion can be up and down
– Motion can be around
– Motion can be back and forth
• Travel more slowly than S and P waves
• More destructive
How do scientists calculate how far a location is
from the epicenter of an earthquake?

• Scientists calculate the difference

between arrival times of the P waves
and S waves

• The further away an earthquake is, the

greater the time between the arrival of
the P waves and the S waves
Locating Earthquakes

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/EarthSC-102VisualsIndex.HTM
Locating Earthquakes

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/EarthSC-102VisualsIndex.HTM
Locating Earthquakes

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/EarthSC-102VisualsIndex.HTM
How are Earthquakes Measured?
Richter Scale
 How are Earthquakes Measured?
Mercalli Intensity Scale

Click Link for Interactive Demo

http://elearning.niu.edu/simulations/images/S_portfolio/Mercalli/Mercalli_Scale.swf
Earthquake Waves & Earth’s Interior
 Seismic
Waves in
the Earth

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/EarthSC-102VisualsIndex.HTM
 Tsunamis

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/EarthSC-102VisualsIndex.HTM
 Formation of a tsunami

http://isu.indstate.edu/jspeer/Earth&Sky/EarthCh11.ppt
 Tsunami Warning System

http://isu.indstate.edu/jspeer/Earth&Sky/EarthCh11.ppt