Patrick Vinz Ang

10 - Duerr

Experiment 1:
When are there earthquakes?

Introduction:
Earthquakes can happen along faults. Do you know that there are prerequisites before an earthquake
can happen at these areas? Explore the embedded simulation below to learn! At the end of this
experiment, you are expected to describe conditions necessary for an earthquake to happen.

Materials:
Earthquake Simulator

Procedure:
1. Move the yellow bars to set specific value to the parameters.
2. After setting the parameters, click on the “Calculate” tab to estimate the magnitude and to
determine if an earthquake will occur given those set conditions.
3. Set the parameters according to the values in each column of the table below. Then provide the
resulting magnitude and determine if an earthquake has occurred.
4. Record your data on the table
5. Answer the questions in the analysis part briefly.
6. Provide a conclusion that is based on the objective.

Data:
Parameters Values
Length of Fault 0 km 40,000 km 300 km 40 km 40 km 40 km 40 km 0 km
Depth of Fault 0 km 35 km 10 km 5 km 5 km 5 km 0 km 5 km
Slip 0 km 350 m 6m 2m 2m 0m 2m 2m
Strength of Rocks 0 km 1,200 32 20 0 20 20 20
Resulting -- 11.8 7.8 6.6 -- -- -- --
Magnitude
Is there an No Yes Yes Yes No No No No
earthquake?

Analysis:

1 What are needed for an earthquake to occur along faults?

The length and depth of a fault, the slip, and the strength of the rocks are needed for
an earthquake to occur.

2 Based on the data, when will there be no earthquakes? Provide 5 instances.

Based on the data, there will be no earthquakes when there is no (1) length of the
fault, (2) depth of the fault, (3) slip, (4) strength of the rocks. (5) An earthquake will
also not occur if all 4 of these factors are not present.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, earthquakes can only occur along the fault lines. The magnitude of an
earthquake is influenced by the length of the fault, depth of the fault, slip, and
strength of the rocks. The length of the fault measures how long the fault is, the
depth of the fault measures how deep the fault is, the slip measures the length of
the movement of 2 plates with a transform boundary, and the strength of the rocks
refers to the type of rock that is “slipping” between boundaries.
If any of the four factors increase, then the magnitude will also increase.