Name : ______________________________ Date : ________________

Grade and Section: ____________________ Teacher : ____________

Activity 1
Science 10
Find the Center

Content Standard
The learners demonstrate understanding of...
● the relationship among the locations of volcanoes, earthquake epicenters, and
mountain ranges

Performance Standard
The learners should be able to...
● demonstrate ways to ensure disaster preparedness during earthquakes,
tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions
● suggest ways by which he/she can contribute to government efforts in reducing
damage due to earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions

Most Essential Learning Competencies

Describe and relate the distribution of active volcanoes, earthquake epicenters, and
major mountain ranges to Plate Tectonic Theory

Objective:
Locate the epicenter of an earthquake using the triangulation method.
Materials:
● hypothetical records of earthquake waves
● Philippine map
● drawing compass and ruler
Procedure:
1. Study the data showing the difference in the arrival time of P-wave and S-wave on three
seismic recording stations.

Time difference in the Distance of epicenter

Recording station arrival time of P-wave from the station (km)
and S-wave(seconds)

Batangas 40.0 s

Puerto Princesa 46.4 s

Davao 32.8 s

2. Compute the distance of the epicenter from each of the stations using this formula:
 d= Td x 100 km
8 seconds
Where: d = distance (km)
Td = time difference in the arrival time of P-wave and S-wave (seconds)
This formula is suited because 8 seconds is the interval between the times of arrival of
the P-wave and S-wave at a distance of 100 km.

3. Choose one of the recording stations and measure the computed distance on the map
scale (the scale of the map in Figure 3 is 1.0 cm: 100 km). Set your compass for that
computed distance.

How to compute the Computed distance on

Recording station distance on the map The map (mm)

Batangas

Puerto Princesa

Davao

4. Center your compass on the station you have chosen. Draw a circle.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the rest of the stations. You should get three circles that
intersect or nearly intersect at a point. This intersection is the epicenter.

Q1. Where is the epicenter of this hypothetical earthquake?

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Q2. What difficulty will you encounter if you only have data from two recording stations?
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In the previous activity, the hypothetical earthquake happened locally, that is why
we use the formula stated in the procedure. But, if the earthquake took place at a far
greater distance, seismologists use the distance-time graph similar to the figure below in
determining the location of the epicenter.

Q3. What is the distance of the epicenter from the seismic station?
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Q4. What do you think is the importance of determining the epicenter of an earthquake?
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 http://stream2.cma.gov.cn/pub/comet/Environment/TsunamiWarningSystems/comet/tsunami/
warning system/print.htm

Figure 4. Distance-time graph

The distance-time graph above shows that the S-P interval is about 10 minutes.

Determining the location of earthquake epicenters plays a vital role in laying the foundations of
plate tectonics. Let us see how early geologists used the plotted positions of earthquake
epicenters throughout the world in conceptualizing crustal movements.

Generalization and Conclusion:

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 http://earthquake.usgs.gov
Figure 3. Map of the Philippines