Name: _________________________________ Class: __________ Date: _________________

Bill Nye the Science Guy – Earthquakes KEY

Three things I already knew that were confirmed in the video:

A- ________________________________________________________________

B- ________________________________________________________________

C- ________________________________________________________________

Three things I didn’t know, but I now do because I watched the video:

A- ________________________________________________________________

B- ________________________________________________________________

C- ________________________________________________________________

1. Every year, there are (choose one) only a handful / thousands of

earthquakes all over the world.

2. Earthquakes occur when the big pieces of earth’s crust, called plates,
move a little.

3. In which directions do these plates move? Left, right, up, and down.

4. The earth’s surface is (choose one) inflexible / flexible.

5. The earth’s surface is floating on molten or melted rock.

6. The plates that make up the crust of the earth are known as tectonic
plates.

7. True or False: Continents and oceans are sitting on top of these

tectonic plates.
 8. When a plate cracks, the crack is called a fault or fault line. These
faults can store energy, just like a spring. When this energy is released,
you get an earthquake.

9. When plates of the earth’s crust lift or tilt, mountains are formed.

10. Scientists measure the shaking of the earth using a (choose one)
seismometer / telescope, and record this shaking using a (choose
one) telegraph / seismograph.

11. Lava is rock in molten form.

12. Whenever something gets hot, its molecules move (choose one)
slower / faster and take up more space.

13. Where tectonic plates are spreading apart, that’s where we get
volcanoes. Where the plates are coming together, that’s where we
get mountains.

14. Scientists can use the direction and time between seismic
measurements to determine the location of an earthquake.

15. The epicentre is the name of the middle of the earthquake.

16. Search and rescue dogs are sometimes used to rescue earthquake
victims.

17. True or False: The Richter Scale is used to compare the size and
intensity of one earthquake to that of another.

18. A magnitude three earthquake has 100 times as much power as a

magnitude one.