SEISMIC WAVES

1.What are seismic waves?

Describe the motion of each
wave?

2. What information body waves

could give us?

Body Waves 3-6. Give the needed information.

• Travel through the interior of the Earth 3 4 5 6

• Follow ray paths refracted by the varying density and modulus (stiffness) of
the Earth's interior (density and modulus, in turn, vary according to
temperature, composition, and phase similar to the refraction of light
waves)
• two types are P-waves and S-waves
Primary-waves
 Primary (they arrive first), Pressure, or Push-Pull. Material expands and
contracts in volume and particles move back and forth in the path of the
wave.
• P waves can travel through any medium. In solids, these waves generally Give at least two difference
travel almost twice as fast as S waves. In air, these pressure waves take the
form of sound waves; hence they travel at the speed of sound. between Body waves from surface
waves.
 P waves carry energy through the Earth as longitudinal waves, moving
particles in the same line as the direction of the wave. 7.
 P-waves are essentially sound waves and travel through solids, liquids or
gases.  P waves are generally felt by humans as a bang or thump.
Secondary-waves
8.
 S waves, also called secondary or shear waves, are transverse in nature
 Material does not change volume but shears out of shape and snaps back. 9-16. differentiate secondary from
Particle motion is at right angles to the path of the wave.
primary waves in terms of:
 S WAVES unlike P waves, S waves can only travel through solids.
 Also, these waves travel at a slower rate but with greater amplitude. 1. Arrival
 S waves travel transversely to the direction of propagation and involves the 2. Type of waves
shearing of the transmitting rock causing the rock particles to move back 3. Speed
and forth perpendicular to the direction of propagation. 4. Type of medium where it
 These waves move more slowly than P wave, but in an earthquake they are travel.
usually bigger.
 Since the material has to be able to "remember" its shape, waves travel
only through solids S-
Surface Waves 17-20. Differentiate Rayleigh
Two main types. Love & Rayleigh. waves from Love waves in terms
Slower than body waves; rolling and side-to-side movement.
 Cause most of the damage during earthquakes , Travel only in the shallow of:
portions of the Earth
Surface Waves 1.arrival in seismograph
 Ocean waves are a type of surface wave (known as a Rayleigh wave) and
the energy they transmit usually comes from winds blowing across the
surface of the water.
 The rolling waves we experience during earthquakes are Rayleigh waves,
exactly analogous to ocean waves.
Rayleigh Waves
2. Behavior
 Typical velocity: ~ 0.9 that of the S
wave
 Behavior: Causes vertical together
with back-and-forth horizontal
motion.
 The motion in this kind of wave is a combination of longitudinal and 3. damages
vertical vibration that give elliptical motion to the rock particles.
 Motion is similar to that of being in a boat in the ocean moves past.
 Arrival: They usually arrive last on a seismogram. when a swell

Love Waves
 Typical velocity: Depends on earth 21-24. Arrange the arrival of
structure, but less than velocity of S seismic waves in a seismograph
waves. station. Start from the first waves
 Behavior: Causes shearing motion to the last to arrives. Number it
(horizontal) similar to S- waves.
from 1-4.
 Arrival: They usually arrive after the S wave and before the Rayleigh
wave. ____S wave ____P wave
 Love Waves Locating an Earthquake’s Epicenter Seismic wave behavior
 P waves arrive first, then S waves, then L and R ____Love wave ___Rayleigh wave
 After an earthquake, the difference in arrival times at a seismograph
station can be used to calculate the distance from the seismograph to
the epicenter
Seismic waves also tell us a great deal about the core. 25. Which type of waves travels
only in solid part of the Earth
The P waves can travel through liquids whereas S waves cannot. layer?
When an earthquake occurs, both S and P waves radiate from the focus.

26. Which type of waves travels in

both solid and liquid layer of the
Earth?

27. Explain why S waves do not

travel in the outer core?

Because the rocks get denser as depth increases the path of the waves suffers
refraction - it bends - see the diagram.
28-31. Identify the types of waves
The S waves are detected over a little more than one-quarter of the earth's surface travel in different layer of the
(103° to be exact) . Beyond that, no S waves are seen. This tells us then that for Earth. Write P wave or S wave.
some reason, the S waves do not travel through the core. Hence, the core must be
made of liquid. A large, quiet S wave shadow zone is created on the other side of 28. ________ Inner core
the Earth.
29. ________ outer core
In contrast, the P waves are detected on the opposite side of the Earth as the focus.
A shadow zone from 103° to 142° does exist from P waves, though. 30. ________ mantle

31. ________ Crust