ACTIVITY 1

Fault Model
1. Color the fault model that is included according to the color key provided.
2. Paste or glue the fault model onto a piece of folder or cartolina.
3. Cut out the fault model and fold each side down to form a box with the drawn features on top.
4. Tape or glue the corners together. This box is a three-dimensional model of the top layers of
the Earth's crust.
5. The dashed lines on your model represent a fault. Carefully cut along the dashed lines. You will
end up with two pieces. Tape or glue a piece of construction paper on the side of the two fault
blocks along the fault face.
6. Slide Block A upward while keeping B stationary.
a) Which way did point B move relative to point A?
b) What happened to rock layers X, Y and Z?
c) Are the rock layers still continuous?
d) What would likely happen to the river? the road? the railroad tracks?
e) What landform could have been formed?
7. Slide Block B upward while keeping A stationary.
a) Which way did point B move relative to point A?
b) What happened to rock layers X, Y and Z?
c) Are the rock layers still continuous?
d) What would likely happen to the river? the road? the railroad tracks?
e) What landform could have been formed?
8. Slide Block A sideward while keeping B stationary.
1) Which way did point B move relative to point A?
2) What happened to rock layers X, Y and Z?
3) Are the rock layers still continuous?
4) What would likely happen to the river? the road? the railroad tracks?

QUESTIONS:
1) What happens to the layer as one of the blocks is moved?
2) What landforms could it have formed?

REGIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS (RTOT) on SCIENCE CRITICAL CONTENT

Grade 8 – EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE
EARTHQUAKES AND FAULTS
 ACTIVITY 2

DO THE FOLLOWING:
1. Tape several matching sheets of sandpaper together to form a long strip with smooth
connections between each sheet.
2. Tack the strip onto the wooden board.
3. Attach a rubber band to the block (through the eyehook as shown).
4. Place the block on one end of the strip of sandpaper and place a weight on top of the block.
Refer to the set-up below:

5. Place the meterstick along the strip of sandpaper, starting at the edge of the block.
6. Advance the end of the rubber band slowly and record both the position of block edge and
time.
7. Repeat for 3 additional trials using more rubber bands, different types of sandpaper, or weight
on top of the block.
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
1. In the activity, what does the block of wood represent?
2. What does the rubber band represent?
3. What does the sand paper represent?
4. What does the moving block represent?
5. Record the distance traveled by the block with respect to time.
6. Plot the distance vs time and describe.
a. Does the block always move the same distance with each jump in motion?
7. Predict what will happen when we pull the block along a strip with varying sandpaper types.
8. Explain how the activity might model the cause of real earthquake.

REGIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS (RTOT) on SCIENCE CRITICAL CONTENT

Grade 8 – EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE
EARTHQUAKES AND FAULTS
 ACTIVITY 3
Seismic Slinky
Part 1
1. Divide participants into pairs and provide them a slinky and a masking tape.
2. Instruct the pairs to mark a spot on their slinky near the center with masking tape at the top of
the loop.
3. Ask the two participants hold each end of the slinky. Stretch out the slinky along a table.
4. Tell the participants to take turn in compressing 15 coils and then releasing them rapidly while
they hold the end of the slinky, making sure to observe the energy wave travel the length of the
slinky.
QUESTIONS

 Describe your observations of the coil and tape.

 What kind of seismic wave this slinky motion represents?

Part 2
1. Tie one end of a 2-meter rope to the door knob of the room.
2. Ask one participant to hold the free end of the rope.
3. Ask the participant to back away from the door until the rope is straight with a little slack and
shake the rope up and down.
QUESTIONS
What can you say about the motion of the rope?
What kind of seismic wave this resembles?

REGIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS (RTOT) on SCIENCE CRITICAL CONTENT

Grade 8 – EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE
EARTHQUAKES AND FAULTS
 ACTIVITY 4
Seismic Waves Analysis
1. Analyze the graph showing velocities of seismic waves at varying depth.
2. Label each of the zones to show how the wave velocity changes
(example write “wave velocity increasing”)

QUESTIONS

 What do you think causes such change in wave velocity?

 Why does S-wave velocity drop to zero at a depth of 2900 km?

 Describe the properties of the different layers of the earth based from the changes in the
seismic velocity.

REGIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS (RTOT) on SCIENCE CRITICAL CONTENT

Grade 8 – EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE
EARTHQUAKES AND FAULTS
REGIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS (RTOT) on SCIENCE CRITICAL CONTENT
Grade 8 – EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE
EARTHQUAKES AND FAULTS