Deck 5: Earthquakes

Question 1

An example of a transform plate boundary is:

A) East African rift valley.
B) San Andreas fault in California.
C) the Nazca plate below South America.
D) the Basin and Range province of Nevada.
E) the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Will an earthquake cause California to fall off into the ocean?

A) No. The San Andreas Fault System in California is the boundary between the Pacific Plate and North American Plate. The plates are moving horizontally past one another, so California is not going to fall into the ocean
B) Yes. Eventually a large enough earthquake will occur along the San Andreas Fault in the Los Angeles area, causing the entire state of California to fall into the ocean.
C) Yes. People in California should move to Oklahoma, or another state where no earthquakes happen.
D) Yes. Crevasses can form during earthquake, and a magnitude 8 earthquake can trigger one as big as the State of California.
E) Yes. Earthquakes can trigger volcanoes, which can erupt and cause tsunamis, causing California to fall into the ocean.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The largest earthquake ever recorded happened along the:

A) East African rift valley.
B) San Andreas fault in California.
C) the Nazca plate below South America.
D) the Basin and Range province of Nevada.
E) the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What is the theory for how earthquakes work in which rocks are strained and then suddenly break?

A) elastic rebound
B) plate tectonics
C) creepy faults
D) seismology
E) epicenter

Question 5

The Basin and Range province and the East African Rift valley both experience crustal:

A) convergence.
B) transform.
C) extension.
D) epicenter.
E) focus.

Question 6

Earthquakes occur everywhere except within plates.

Question 7

P-waves arrive first at a seismometer.

Question 8

All of the following are names for earthquake waves except:

A) P-wave.
B) S-wave.
C) Love wave.
D) Rayleigh wave.
E) Focus wave.

Question 9

What is triangulation?

A) a type of plate boundary
B) a theory that describes how earthquakes break rocks
C) an instrument used to measure earthquake waves
D) a method to locate an earthquake's epicenter
E) a scale used to measure the intensity of earthquake waves

Question 10

The minimum number of seismic stations needed to locate an earthquake epicenter is:

A) one.
B) two.
C) three.
D) four.
E) more than four.

Question 11

What is the name of the instrument that measures ground motions caused by passing seismic waves?

A) triangulation
B) Richter magnitude scale
C) Modified Mercalli scale
D) seismometer
E) liquefaction

Question 12

Match the following options to its correct definition.
-height of seismic waves as recorded on a seismogram

A) amplitude
B) frequency
C) magnitude
D) intensity
E) period

Question 13

Match the following options to its correct definition.
-degree of shaking of an earthquake and its effects at a particular location

A) amplitude
B) frequency
C) magnitude
D) intensity
E) period

Question 14

Match the following options to its correct definition.
-term used to convey the size of an earthquake

A) amplitude
B) frequency
C) magnitude
D) intensity
E) period

Question 15

Match the following options to its correct definition.
-number of vibrations a seismic wave completes in one second, measured in hertz

A) amplitude
B) frequency
C) magnitude
D) intensity
E) period

Question 16

Match the following options to its correct definition.
-time it takes for one complete peak to peak vibration of a seismic wave to pass the seismometer

A) amplitude
B) frequency
C) magnitude
D) intensity
E) period

Question 17

Earthquakes can occur up to 435 miles below the surface of the Earth.

Question 18

The deepest earthquakes ever to occur are associated with subduction zones.

Question 19

Which seismic scale is based on the amount of energy released by the earthquake as measured on a seismogram?

A) Modified Mercalli scale
B) Richter scale
C) Earthquake station scale
D) P-wave scale
E) S-wave scale

Question 20

Which of the following could possibly occur due to earthquakes?

A) ground shaking can knock buildings off their foundations
B) fires can occur because of broken gas mains and electrical lines
C) ground liquefaction can destroy entire cities
D) ground rupture can occur because of fault movement
E) all of the above

Question 21

What is a tsunami?

A) a type of earthquake
B) a giant sea wave that can be triggered by an earthquake
C) a type of instrument used to measure earthquakes
D) a type of plate boundary
E) the distance from a fault plane to the focus of an earthquake

Question 22

Loose, unconsolidated sediment on bedrock can amplify ground shaking during an earthquake.

Question 23

What is liquefaction?

A) a process that occurs when rocks fall from a cliff
B) a process that occurs when rocks slide past each other along a transform plate boundary
C) a giant sea wave that can be triggered by an earthquake
D) a large change in elevation that occurs during an earthquake
E) the behavior of soils that, when shaken by an earthquake, suddenly cannot bear loads and act as a liquid

Question 24

Good construction design can help to minimize the destructive nature of an earthquake.

Question 25

Fires are not considered a major hazard in urban areas that can be affected by earthquakes.

Question 26

Can scientists predict earthquakes?

A) No. Scientists do not know how, and they do not expect to know how any time in the foreseeable future.
B) Yes. Changes in animal behavior can be used to predict earthquakes. A reproducible connection between a specific behavior and the occurrence of an earthquake has been made.
C) Yes. There is a scientific explanation for the health symptoms some people claim to have preceding an earthquake.
D) Yes. Earthquakes usually occur in calm, cloudy conditions, and are usually preceded by strong winds, fireballs, and meteors.
E) Yes. The moon, sun, and other planets have an influence on the earth in the form of perturbations to the gravitational field. Significant correlations have been identified between the rate of earthquake occurrence and tides.

Question 27

In designing structures to resist earthquake shaking, engineers must take into account:

A) the likely intensity of an earthquake shaking.
B) the direction the shaking would come from.
C) the types of rocks the structures would be located on.
D) the probability of shearing ground motions that could occur to structures.
E) all of the above.

Question 28

Match the following options to its correct definition.
-a segment of a fault that has not ruptured recently in comparison to neighboring segments

A) fault trace
B) seismic gap
C) forecast
D) precursor
E) recurrence interval

Question 29

Match the following options to its correct definition.
-average time between major earthquakes

A) fault trace
B) seismic gap
C) forecast
D) precursor
E) recurrence interval

Question 30

Match the following options to its correct definition.
-prediction of the probability an earthquake will occur in the longer-term, including its magnitude

A) fault trace
B) seismic gap
C) forecast
D) precursor
E) recurrence interval

Question 31

Match the following options to its correct definition.
-an event that helps to develop a short-term prediction if an earthquake will happen

A) fault trace
B) seismic gap
C) forecast
D) precursor
E) recurrence interval

Question 32

Match the following options to its correct definition.
-the surface expression of an earthquake, which can look sometimes like a linear feature in the ground

A) fault trace
B) seismic gap
C) forecast
D) precursor
E) recurrence interval

Question 33

What is on the x-axis of a seismogram?

A) the Richter scale
B) a maximum magnitude of 2
C) the Modified Mercalli scale
D) time
E) the epicenter

Question 34

What is on the y-axis of a seismogram?

A) The P and S-wave distance.
B) It measures the amplitude, which is used to estimate the magnitude of the earthquake on the Richter scale.
C) The recurrence interval.
D) It measures the amplitude, which is used to estimate the magnitude of the earthquake on the Modified Mercalli scale.
E) All of the above.

Question 35

Which wave will arrive first at a seismic station during an earthquake?

A) the S-wave
B) the M-wave
C) the T-wave
D) the L-wave
E) the P-wave

Question 36

Which of the following are ways that engineers prevent earthquake damage?

A) elastic strain
B) seismic gap
C) base isolation
D) body waves
E) fault creep

Question 37

Surface waves travel slower than body waves and are a major cause of shaking and damage to structures.

Question 38

The point beneath the surface where the earthquake began is called the epicenter.

Question 39

You can purchase a Richter scale.

Question 40

The newest scale used to rank earthquakes based on the total amount of seismic energy they release is called the:

A) Richter magnitude scale.
B) Seismic gap theory.
C) Modified Mercalli scale.
D) Moment magnitude scale.
E) Recurrence interval.

Question 41

Which of the following statements is true?

A) A seismic gap is a region not likely to experience an earthquake.
B) The only cause of a tsunami is an earthquake.
C) The highest magnitude on the Richter Scale is 7.
D) P-waves are the first earthquake waves to arrive at a seismic station.
E) S-waves can travel through liquids.

Question 42

What is an earthquake's focus? Its epicenter? How do geologists find an earthquake's epicenter?

Question 43

What is a fault? What different types of faults are there?

Question 44

Describe at least 4 effects that earthquakes can have on buildings or freeways. What sort of measures do engineering geologists use to minimize damage?

Question 45

Can earthquakes be predicted? Some precursors are described in the textbook. Do you think they are useful for earthquake prediction?

Question 46

Do you think earthquakes can be prevented? Can humans find a way to stop earthquakes?

Question 47

There are different scales for measuring earthquakes. Describe the (1) Richter Scale and the (2) Modified Mercalli Scale. Why do geologists need different scales for measuring earthquakes? How are they useful?