People and Earthquakes Note Guide
Name:
1. What is a seismologist?
2. What are 2 specialty areas that seismologists go into to help reduce the impact of quakes on people?
A.
B.
3. What is the difference between the magnitude and intensity of an earthquake?
Richter Scale:
4. What does the Richter scale measure?
5. The Richter scale goes from zero to ~ ________
6. For every order of magnitude you increase in the Richter scale, what happens to the:
A. Wave amplitude B. Amount of Energy released
7. How much more powerful is a 6.0 earthquake compared to a 4.0 earthquake?
_______ times stronger (bigger wave amplitude)
_______ times more energy released
8. The largest quake ever recorded was around 9.5 on the Richter scale, this is equivalent to what?
9. How would the following magnitude earthquakes affect people and approximately how many of them are
there every year?
Earthquake Magnitude
Affect on People
Approximate # occuring on Earth
per year
< 2.0
6.0 to 6.9
> 8.0
10. Name these 2 things:
A. _____________________________
B. ___________________________
Mercalli Scale11. What does the Mercalli Scale measure?
12. How are Mercalli values
determined?
13. Could there be an earthquake with
a high Richter value and a low
Mercalli value? Explain.
Problems caused by earthquakes:
14. What is liquefaction?
15. Sometimes developers build houses on top of old landfills, why might this be a problem in earthquake
fault zones?
16. What is a tsunami?
17. Where do most tsunamis happen?
18. Label what is happeing in each of the 4 diagrams below showing how a tsunami forms.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Are tsunamis always really tall?
19. What are 2 ways that builders can help strengthen buildings?