Deck 11: Earthquakes

Question 1

Which of the following best describes a seismic gap?

A)Unusually quiet zones along typically active faults
B)A downdropped valley bound by normal faults
C)Faults that have not been active for several million years
D)An erosional valley that has developed in an inactive fault

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What is the definition of the focus?

A)The exact location on the fault where slippage occurs
B)The location where three monitoring stations overlap
C)The location on Earth's surface directly above the point of slippage
D)The build-up of potential energy in a new location after an earthquake

Answer 2

A

Question 3

________ are instruments that sense earthquake waves and transmit them to a recording device.

A)Seismology
B)Seismograms
C)Seismometers
D)Seismic relays

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What information is needed to determine the distance from the focus of an earthquake to the seismic receiving station?

A)The velocity of the P and S waves
B)The amplitude of the seismic waves on a seismogram
C)The magnitude of the earthquake
D)The time interval between the P and S waves

Question 5

Which tectonic boundary is responsible for the most powerful and destructive earthquakes recorded?

A)Transform
B)Divergent
C)Convergent

Question 6

Which of the following researchers coined the term elastic rebound after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake?

A)Charles Richter
B)Giuseppe Mercalli
C)Zhang Heng
D)H)F.Reid

Question 7

________ are smaller earthquakes of lesser magnitude that follow a major earthquake.

A)Aftershocks
B)Ripples
C)Foreshocks
D)Displacement

Question 8

________ is a measurement of displacement on the fault surface.

A)Fault propagation
B)Fault creep
C)Divergence
D)Fault slip

Question 9

What is the term for stored-up energy released by earthquakes?

A)Tectonic
B)Seismic
C)Geophysical
D)Structural

Question 10

Which seismic waves are released first during an earthquake?

A)P waves
B)S waves
C)L waves
D)R waves

Question 11

The elastic rebound associated with earthquakes is an example of ________ deformation.

A)elastic
B)ductile
C)brittle
D)permanent

Question 12

As of 2015, which of the following earthquakes was observed to have the greatest displacement, exceeding 40 meters?

A)Christchurch, New Zealand (2010)
B)Sumatra (2004)
C)Tohoku, Japan (2011)
D)New Madrid, Missouri (1812)

Question 13

The ________ is a newer scale that measures the total energy released during an earthquake by determining the average amount of slip on the fault, the area of the fault surface that slipped, and the strength of the faulted rock.

A)Mercalli Intensity Scale
B)Richter Scale
C)Beaufort Scale
D)Moment Magnitude Scale

Question 14

What is the term used to describe slow, gradual displacement along a fault without the accumulation of significant strain?

A)Megathrusting
B)Fault creep
C)Fault propagation
D)Elastic rebound

Question 15

Which tectonic boundary is associated with megathrust faults?

A)Transform
B)Divergent
C)Convergent

Question 16

________ are records of seismic waves.

A)Seismographs
B)Seismograms
C)Seismometers
D)Seismic relays

Question 17

Where was the earliest seismograph developed?

A)China
B)Japan
C)Italy
D)United States

Question 18

When going from a 5 to a 6 on the Richter Scale, what is the increase in amplitude of seismic waves?

A)1 time
B)2 times
C)10 times
D)32 times

Question 19

You are watching TV with a friend when there is a special bulletin about a city in California being devastated by an earthquake.The news anchor reports that the epicenter of the earthquake is 45 miles east of Los Angeles.How would you explain the definition of the epicenter to your geologically impaired friend?

A)The exact location on the fault where slippage occurs
B)The contact point between two tectonic plates
C)The location on Earth's surface directly above the point of slippage
D)The location of migrating magma in the crust

Question 20

Generally speaking, which seismic waves will have the greatest amplitude on a seismogram?

A)P waves
B)S waves
C)Surface waves

Question 21

Which tectonic plates are responsible for the majority of seismic activity in the Alpine-Himalayan Belt, extending through the Mediterranean Sea and through the Himalayas?

A)African, Antarctic, and Eurasian plates
B)Eurasian, North American, and Pacific plates
C)North American, South American, and Cocos plates
D)Eurasian, African, and Indian plates

Question 22

Which of the following earthquake disasters was associated with a megathrust fault?

A)1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
B)2011 Tohoku earthquake (Japan)
C)2004 Indian Ocean earthquake (Sumatra)
D)2015 Nepal earthquake
E)2011 Tohoku and 2004 Indian Ocean earthquakes

Question 23

As of 2012, which was the only ocean basin to have significant tsunami warning buoy coverage?

A)Pacific Ocean
B)Atlantic Ocean
C)Indian Ocean
D)Arctic Ocean

Question 24

Which of the following would be the most unstable during an earthquake?

A)Sedimentary strata
B)Unconsolidated sediments
C)Crystalline bedrock
D)Concrete foundations

Question 25

As of 2015, what was the strongest earthquake on record, and when did it occur?

A)1960 Chilean Earthquake
B)1964 Good Friday Earthquake (Alaska)
C)1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake (California)
D)2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake (Sumatra)

Question 26

Which of the following does not contribute to destruction from seismic vibrations?

A)Intensity and duration of vibrations
B)Geologic material beneath the structure
C)Building materials and practices
D)Proximity to water sources

Question 27

The ground shaking produced by large earthquakes is not only ________, but takes a ________ time than shaking produced by slippage along small fault segments.

A)stronger; longer
B)stronger; shorter
C)weaker; longer
D)weaker; shorter

Question 28

Seiches are dangerous to begin with, but which of the following situations is particularly dangerous during seiche formation?

A)Lake
B)Reservoir behind an earthen dam
C)Restricted bay
D)In-ground swimming pools

Question 29

Earthquake A is classified as a 3 on the Richter Scale.Earthquake B is classified as a 6.How many times more energy has Earthquake B released than Earthquake A?

A)3 times
B)96 times
C)1,000 times
D)33,000 times

Question 30

What are the two categories of seismic waves?

A)Primary wave and secondary waves
B)Body waves and surface waves
C)Air waves and ground waves
D)Compression waves and tension waves

Question 31

When the entire length of a fault ruptures during a single seismic event, the slip will propagate at a speed of ________ kilometers per second.

A)10-12
B)8-9
C)5
D)2-4

Question 32

What is the highest level on the Mercalli Intensity Scale?

A)IX
B)X
C)XII
D)XV

Question 33

Monitoring foreshocks has become a reliable indicator for predicting earthquakes.

Question 34

Liquefaction will ________.

A)amplify the power of seismic waves
B)lessen the power of seismic waves
C)do nothing to the power of seismic waves

Question 35

The Denali Pipeline in ________ was designed to withstand displacement from earthquakes in order to prevent oil spills.

A)California
B)Hawaii
C)Alaska
D)Mexico

Question 36

Which of the following zones has the greatest seismic activity on Earth?

A)Circum-Pacific Belt
B)Alpine-Himalayan Belt
C)San Andreas Fault
D)Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Question 37

Which plate boundary along the Circum-Pacific Belt is responsible for the majority of that belt's earthquakes?

A)Convergent
B)Divergent
C)Transform

Question 38

Earthquakes occur along preexisting faults only.

Question 39

During an earthquake, energy waves radiate outward in all directions through the interior from the ________ whereas energy waves radiate outward in all directions along the surface from the ________.

A)epicenter; focus
B)megathrust; fault
C)hypocenter; focus
D)focus; epicenter

Question 40

You are monitoring a seismograph in Seattle.One morning, your instrument records an earthquake approximately 2000 km away.From that information, can you determine where the earthquake occurred?

A)Yes, because seismographs can indicate direction as well as distance.
B)Yes.You could take the distance and match it up with known fault lines to find the epicenter.
C)No, because seismographs can't pick up earthquakes from that far away.
D)No, because you would need information from more than one seismograph to plot the epicenter.

Question 41

Explain how a seismograph records earthquakes?

Question 42

S waves will not travel through liquids.

Question 43

Short-range earthquake predictions are reliable and widely used to get people to safety.

Question 44

An urban legend that states that all it would take is one good, strong earthquake for California to fall off into the sea.Is this true? Explain why this may or may not be the case.

Question 45

How does elastic rebound work to create earthquakes?

Question 46

Slippage along faults occurs all at once.

Question 47

Tsunamis travel as a single wave across the ocean.

Question 48

Most faults are locked in place, except for brief, abrupt movements when sudden slippage produces earthquakes.

Question 49

Normal faulting is generally not associated with massive earthquakes.

Question 50

Compare and contrast an earthquake's magnitude and intensity.

Question 51

There is no theoretical upper limit to the Richter Scale.

Question 52

Earthquakes with a Richter magnitude less than 2.0 are generally not felt by humans.

Question 53

Rupture along a fault can stop if there is a large kink in the fault.

Question 54

The year 2010 was a big one for major earthquakes: Haiti (M 7.0), Chile (M 8.8), Turkey (M 6.1), and New Zealand (M 7.1).With so many major earthquakes in a short time, many people began to wonder about the status of the planet.One major author (name withheld for privacy)even got on TV and stated that these earthquakes were related and were triggering each other.Was this author correct? Why or why not?

Question 55

Surface waves will move equally in all directions away from the focus.

Question 56

The New Madrid earthquakes of the early nineteenth century were some of the largest in American history.At their greatest, they caused buildings and bluffs to collapse, caused land subsidence, and displaced parts of the Mississippi River.Could another earthquake of this magnitude happen near New Madrid again? Explain how the earthquake devastation today would compare to that of the early nineteenth century.

Question 57

The first sign of a tsunami's approach is a rapid retreat of water from the shoreline.

Question 58

On January 12, 2010, the country of Haiti was rocked by a violent M 7.0 earthquake.This quake caused widespread devastation and resulted in the death of over 300,000 people.A month later, an M 8.8 earthquake rocked central Chile, where over 80 percent of the country's population was concentrated.However, only 525 people were reported dead for this disaster.Why would Chile's earthquake, with a higher magnitude, have a lower death toll than Haiti's earthquake?

Question 59

A tsunami is a tidal wave.

Question 60

Explain why using intensity alone as a measurement of seismic power can pose problems for truly understanding the energy released by the earthquake.

Question 61

Approximately how much energy was released in the Mexico City earthquake in 1980?

A)56,000,000,000,000 kg worth of explosives
B)1,800,000,000,000 kg worth of explosives
C)1,800,000,000 kg worth of explosives
D)56,000 kg worth of explosives

Question 62

How might climate change predictions of sea level in the next century affect the severity of future tsunamis?

Question 63

Which of the following events released more energy?

A)Northern New York earthquake of 1994
B)Charleston earthquake of 1886
C)New Madrid earthquake of 1812
D)Maine earthquake of 2006

Question 64

Which seismic waves will cause the greatest damage to buildings?

Question 65

Using the arrival times in this image, determine the S-minus-P interval for this earthquake.

A)6)0 minutes
B)4)1 minutes
C)10.1 minutes
D)3)7 minutes

Question 66

Assuming your S-P interval was 10 seconds and the maximum amplitude of the largest wave on the seismogram was 20 mm, what is the magnitude of this earthquake?

A)M 1
B)M 4.3
C)M 5
D)5)3

Question 67

Chart of the Mercalli Intensity Scale, starting with an intensity of 1 and going up to an intensity of 13. This table is an abridged copy of the Mercalli Intensity Scale.Use the following eyewitness account to determine the damage inflicted by this seismic event:
I was driving home when the earthquake hit.It's a good thing I wasn't far from home, because I had to pull over to the side of the road.The entrance to my neighborhood was blocked because of fallen trees and telephone polls.Thank goodness the school was built according to the earthquake codes! Although the school survived with a few cracks in the walls, most of the houses in the neighborhood had significant damage.The bricks from my chimney were all over the driveway.I had to crawl in through a window because I couldn't get the door open.Once I was in, I saw that it was blocked by one of my bookcases that had fallen over.

A)III
B)VI
C)VIII
D)IX