2. Lesson 10: Introducing
Earthquakes
Objectives:
Brainstorm possible causes and effects of
earthquakes and techniques for monitoring
and predicting them.
Review your group’s Catastrophic Events
World Map to update your original thinking
about where most earthquakes occur.
View a video of actual earthquakes and
discuss the destruction that earthquakes
can cause.
3. What is an Earthquake?
1. Earthquakes are
__________________________________
__________________________________
2. The outermost layer of the earth is called
the ___________.
3. Displacement is another word for
______________.
4. A fault is a
__________________________________
4. 5. Approximately 90% of all earthquakes are
the result of
_____________________________.
6. Only about 5% of all earthquakes are
related to _____________________.
5. The Lithosphere
1. The lithosphere is the
_________________________________.
2. It is made up of the __________ and the
_____________.
3. The lithosphere is broken into many large
pieces of earth, called
______________________, that are
always moving.
4. When two plates move against one
another, _____________ builds up
between them.
6. 5. As the rock within the plate deforms, it
stores energy and _________.
6. Eventually the rock becomes so deformed
that it ______________, releasing energy
in the form of a
_______________________ that radiate
outward in all directions.
7. 7. Scientists who study earthquakes are called
_________________.
8. Seismologists also study precursors, which
are _____________________________.
9. Examples of precursors include:
__________________________________
8. Lesson 11: When the Earth Shakes
Objectives:
Observe the formation and movement of
waves in water.
Use a spring scale to simulate different
kinds of waves.
Relate wave movement in a spring to
earthquake waves.
Use a spring scale to model possible
damaging effects of earthquake waves.
Design and build a model house that is
resistant to shaking.
9. Wave Motion
1. A wave is
_____________________________
2. Properties of a wave:
a. ________________________________
b. ________________________________
3. A focus is _____________________
4. Scientists refer to earthquake waves
as ___________________.
10. 5. Body waves
_____________________________
6. Surface waves
_____________________________
7. Types of Body Waves:
a. P-waves: ___________________
_____________________________
b. S-waves: ___________________
____________________________
11. 8. Types of Surface Waves:
a. __________________
b. __________________
9. Ground Motion
a. When P-waves reach the surface, they
cause ____________ shaking.
b. When S-waves reach the surface, they
cause _____________ shaking.
12. Fill in the chart below with the different
kinds of seismic waves.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17. Lesson 12: Recording Earthquake
Waves
Objectives:
Record vibrations using a model
seismograph.
Analyze earthquake wave patterns on
an actual seismogram.
Locate the epicenter of an earthquake
using data from three seismograph
stations.
18. A Brief History of Earthquake
Detection
1. The first earthquake detector was invented
by a ___________ astronomer in AD 132.
2. But it was not until 1880 that instruments
could effectively __________ the
vibrations from earthquakes.
3. Seismologists began using mechanical
_______________ to detect, record, and
measure the vibrations produced by an
earthquake.
4. The record made by the seismograph,
called a __________, was created on a
rotating drum.
19. 5. Today, most
seismographs
are
___________,
recording data
directly into a
computer.
A replica of Chang Heng’s earthquake vase
20.
21. Define the following terms in the space
below.
2. Aftershock:
_____________________________
_____________________________
3. Epicenter:
_____________________________
_____________________________
22. The Alaska Earthquake of 1964
1. The seismogram used in Inquiry 12.2 was
recorded during which major earthquake in
1964? _____________________________
2. How many aftershocks were triggered as a
result? ____________
3. Describe some of the destruction caused
by this earthquake.
__________________________________
__________________________________
4. Why did only 122 people die during this
earthquake?
__________________________________
23. Finding an Epicenter: the Tortoise
and the Hare
1. How can seismograph stations all over the
world record the same earthquake?
_____________________________
2. The point where the earthquake occurs is
called the _____________.
3. The point on the earth’s surface directly
above the focus is called the
______________.
4. To pinpoint an earthquake’s epicenter,
scientists plot the arrival times of the p-
and s-waves on a special graph called a
__________________.
24. 5. P-waves are (faster / slower) than S-waves.
6. An S-wave is like the (tortoise / hare).
7. By knowing when each wave arrives at the
seismograph station and ___________ the
difference, seismologists can determine
how far away the earthquake’s epicenter is
from their station.
25. 8. The greater the difference in time between
the P- and S-waves’ arrival, the
____________ the seismograph station is
from the epicenter.
9. Why is the information from one seismic
station not enough to pinpoint the exact
location of an earthquake?
______________________________
10. How many stations do you need to
determine the epicenter of an earthquake?
__________
26. Lesson 13: Plotting Earthquakes
Objectives:
Plot on a world map the locations of some
of the earthquakes that occurred during the
1990’s.
Analyze the locations of earthquakes
around the world.
Locate three areas of intense earthquake
activity on a map.
Hypothesize about the reasons for patterns
in the locations of earthquakes.
27. The Plate Tectonic Theory
Scientists have realized that most
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
occur _______________________.
The Plate Tectonic Theory states
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
28. Three main belts of earthquake activity on
earth are associated with plate boundaries:
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
More than ______% of all earthquakes
occur in these three seismic belts. The
remaining earthquakes occur far away from
plate boundaries and are considered
______________ (within the plate)
earthquakes.
29. The Circum-Pacific Belt (aka, The
Ring of Fire)
Not this kind of “Ring of Fire!”
Approximately _____% of all
earthquakes occur here.
It is an almost continuous chain of
______________ around the edges
of the Pacific Ocean.
In this area, the Pacific Plate
__________ past or ____________
with adjoining plates.
30.
31. The Mediterranean-Himalayan Belt
(aka, The Alpide Belt)
Approximately _____% of all
earthquakes occur here.
Extends west from _____________
through the Himalayas, across Iran
and Turkey, and west through the
_________________ region of
Europe.
Plate movement in this belt also led
to the formation of the
_______________ Mountains!
32.
33. The Mid-Ocean Ridge
The earth’s largest chain of volcanoes is
actually __________________!
The mid-ocean ridge consists of
__________________________________
__________________________________
__
These ridges circle the earth like an endless
seam of a _____________.
Together with intraplate earthquakes, the
mid-ocean ridge accounts for the remaining
_______% of all earthquakes.
34. They occur here because
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
This action of upwelling material
creates ___________________ and
accompanying ____________
activity.
37. Magnitude and Intensity
1. The Richter scale measures the
magnitude, or
_____________________________
_____________________________
2. The magnitude is determined by
measuring the amplitude, or “swing”
of ___________________________
3. It is open-ended, meaning
_____________________________
38. 4. The largest earthquake ever recorded
was __________________________
5. Each increase in a magnitude number
on the Richter scale represents a
____________ increase in the
amplitude seen on the seismogram.
(This equates to 32-fold increase in
energy released!)
39. 6. Scientists use the word intensity to describe
______________________________
7. Many factors affect intensity, such as:
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
____
8. The most common earthquake intensity
scale used in the US is known as the
__________________________________
_
40. Lesson 14: Using Earthquakes to
Study the Earth’s Interior
Objectives:
Examine the interior structure of some
common objects.
Discuss how scientists study the structure of
the earth’s interior.
Recognize that an understanding of the motion
of earthquake waves can help scientists
formulate hypotheses about the earth’s
interior.
Using computer images, identify and describe
the layers of the earth.
Plot the locations of volcanoes and compare
these locations with those of earthquakes.
41. Earth’s Interior
Scientists have learned that the earth
is made of ______________ (having
a common center) shells.
Scientists divide and analyze these
shells, or __________, in two ways:
____________________________
____________________________
45. Earth’s Interior
1. How long ago was Earth formed?
__________________________________
2. Ever since its formation, the Earth has
been (gaining / losing) heat.
3. How does temperature change as you go
deeper into the Earth?
__________________________________
4. How does pressure change as you go
deeper into the Earth?
__________________________________
46. 5. What are the two kinds of crust?
__________________________________
_
6. Describe the oceanic crust.
__________________________________
_
7. Describe the continental crust.
__________________________________
_
8. Describe the mantle.
__________________________________
_
9. How is the top part of the mantle different
from the bottom part?
47. 10. The lithosphere is made up of what two
parts?
__________________________________
_
11. How is the density of the lithosphere
different from the density of the
asthenosphere?
__________________________________
_
12. How is the outer core different from the
inner core?
__________________________________
48. Using Waves to Explore the Earth’s
Interior
The deepest that scientists have drilled into
the earth is ________. That’s less than
_____% of the distance from the surface to
the center!
Scientists study the ocean floor and the
inner earth using ___________.
For studying the ocean, they analyze
__________ waves, using a technique
called ____________.
To study the inside of the earth, they
analyze earthquake, or ___________
waves.
49. Sonar stands for
__________________________________.
Explain how a sonar machine works.
__________________________________
__________________________________
__
Earthquake waves behave (similarly /
differently) depending on what substance
they are traveling through.
They know that the outer core is
___________, because
__________________________________
_
50. Draw your own version of the diagram of the Earth on page 169.
Pay close attention to where the dotted lines and the solid lines
are. Label each layer as well.
