Mena+kaylee+1st+hour

All About Earthquakes.

Mena Ames & Kaylee Ayers.

Mrs. Smith.

3rd Hour.

April 8, 2011.

Basic Background Information

What is an earthquake?A series of vibrations in the earth’s crust by the abrupt

rupture and rebound of rocks in which elastic strain has been slowly accumulating.

How are earthquakes measured?Earthquakes are measured by a Richter scale.What does magnitude mean?The measurement of earthquakes strength based on seismic

waves and movement along faults. Or the magnitude.How is magnitude measured?Magnitude is measured with the Mercalli scale or the Richter

scale.

Damage Caused by Earthquakes

Tsunami occurred.

Nuclear Power Plant blew up.

Thousands of homes destroyed.

Families lost.

WavesWhat are earthquake waves called?Seismic waves.

What two types of seismic waves are there?Primary waves and Secondary waves, or P waves and

S waves.

What two types of body waves are there?Primary and Secondary waves.

Body Waves

How do P waves travel?P waves travel through solids and liquids, while they

compress and expand.

How do S waves travel?S waves only travel through solids, while moving side to

side.

Which move faster?P waves move faster because they are the first to

arrive.

Elastic Rebound

Mechanism used by geologists to explain earthquakes and surface ruptures seen when a deep fault movement breaks through to Earth’s surface.

The Tohoku Earthquake

This quake occurred at :

2:46 p.m. on Friday.

This quake occurred

Near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.

The magnitude of this quake was9.0

Effects on the environment/earth

Japan’s coastline may have shifted by as much as 4m (13ft) to the east.

The quake probably shifted Earth on it’s axis by 6.5 inches.

Caused the planet to rotate somehow faster shortening the length of the day by 1.8 millionths of a second.

.

Effects on the People of Japan

• Many lost family members and loved ones.

• Destroyed homes.• Lost cars.• Contaminated food

resources.

Effects on the Economy of Japan

• They can no longer export as many goods.

• Costs a lot of money to rebuild what was destroyed.

• Can no longer receive goods.

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GPS Sensors

• One interesting fact about this earthquake is that it moved several GPS sensors. This will require massive movement of the earth’s crust.

• How does elastic rebound explain this movement?

Elastic strain on the tectonic plates builds up along their edges in the rocks along fault planes.

Tsunamis

• What is a tsunami?A giant wave caused by an earthquake on the ocean floor.

• How do tsunami waves appear at sea?

• How high can tsunami waves be?A tsunami wave can get as high as 40 feet.

• How fast can tsunami waves move?A tsunami wave can move as fast as 500 miles per hour.

Websites Used

http://www.diigo.com/user/richardsj/earthquake

http://peer.berkeley.edu/course_modules/eqrd/EQDef/eqdef2.htm