Understanding earthquakes

Understanding earthquakes
By the end of the end of the lesson you should
be able to:
• Define the terms: earthquake, seismic wave, focus,
epicentre, seismometer, magnitude, Richter scale.

• Explain what causes an earthquake and why everything

shakes.

• Discover what the Richter scale is and how an

earthquake’s power can be measured.

• Give examples of damage caused by earthquakes

 What are Earthquakes?
Convergent
Earthquakes are vibrations
caused by earth movements
at plate boundaries and at
major fault lines (cracks in
the earth’s surface).

Transform

They can occur at all

major plate margins but
the most severe
earthquakes are normally
found at Convergent and
Transforn boundaries.
 Why do earthquakes happen?
1. The two plates at a plate boundary
cannot move past each other easily.

2.The two plates

lock together.
Friction causes
pressure to build up.

3. Suddenly the pressure

is released and the plates
jolt into a new position. 4. This causes seismic waves.
The vibrations they cause
are called an earthquake.
 Anatomy of an Earthquake
An Earthquake is the shaking of the ground
caused by sudden motions along faults, or
fractures in the Earth’s crust.

Fault
Plates
A fracture in the rocks that
make up the Earth’s crust. Massive rocks that
make up the outer
layer of the Earth’s
surface and whose
Epicentre movement along faults
trigger earthquakes.
The point at the Earth’s
surface directly above
the focus.
Seismic Waves
Waves that
Focus
transmit the
The point within the Earth energy released by
where an Earthquake an earthquake.
rupture starts.
 A
Forest
Town

Epicentre Focus

An earthquake has occurred along this fault line. Match the

letter with the correct label.
 How are earthquakes measured?

1
The Richter Scale measures the magnitude of a
2
tremor (how powerful it is) using an instrument
3
called a seismometer
4
5
6
The Richter Scale is measured 7
on a scale from 1 to 10. 8
9
10
It is a logarithmic scale which means
that a size ‘6’ on the Richter Scale is 10 Richter
times more powerful than a size ’5’ and Scale
100 times more powerful than a size ‘4’. The largest earthquake
(go up or down by a factor of 10) ever recorded was in
Chile. It measured 9.5
on the Richter Scale.
 1
2
The earthquake in 3
Italy (August 2016) 4
measured 6.2 on the 5
Richter Scale. 6
7
8
9
10
The Japan earthquake
Richter (March 2011) measured
Scale 9.0 on the Richter
Scale.

How many times greater was the Japan earthquake?

Damage caused by Earthquakes
 Show what you have learned

1. Explain what causes an earthquake and why everything shakes.

2. Draw and label a cross section of a Convergent margin showing

the following information.
a. The location of the fault line and the two tectonic plates.
b. Where the epicentre and focus of an earthquake are likely to occur.
c. Show the pattern of the seismic waves caused by an earthquake.

3. Define the terms epicentre, focus and seismic waves.

4. Explain what a seismometer is used for and how the magnitude

of an earthquake can be measured.

5. Give some examples of damage caused by earthquakes