In October 2013
EARTHQUAKES
Shaking Grounds
Essential Questions
What is an earthquake?
What is a fault?
Earthquake
A natural geological phenomena caused by
sudden and rapid movement of a large volume
of rock
Fault
A fracture in a rock
formation along which
there has been
movement of the blocks
of rock on either side of
the plane of fracture
Anatomy of a Fault
Kinds of Fault
Normal Fault
Reverse Fault
Strike-Slip Fault
How earthquakes
are formed?
Anatomy of an Earthquake
Seismology
The Science of Earthquakes
Seismology
Dates back to
attempts made by
Chinese almost 2000
years ago to
determine the
direction from which
these waves
originated
Seismology
Seismograms
Records obtained from seismographs
Provide useful information about the nature of
seismic waves
Seismic Waves
A form of elastic energy that causes vibrations
in the material that transmits them
Body Waves
P-wave
S-wave
Surface Waves
Body Waves
Seismic waves that travel through the Earths
interior
P-waves
Characteristics of pwaves
Longitudinal
Fastest in terms of speed
S-waves
Characteristics of swaves
Transverse
Can change the shape of the material that
transmits them
Characteristics of l-waves
Motion is restricted to near the Earths surface
Combination of longitudinal and transverse
motion
Lets wrap it up
What is an earthquake?
What is a fault?