Earth Science Test: Earthquakes
Name _________________ Date _______ Period _____
1. ______ When friction prevents the rocks on either side of a fault from moving past each other, the
fault is said to be _________.
a. fractured
b. subducting
c. locked
d. elastic
2. ______ The place where slippage first occurs is called an earthquake’s
a. focus
b. epicenter
c. magnitude
d. intensity
3. ______ Geologists use the elastic rebound theory to explain
a. the cause of tsunamis
b. the intensity of an earthquake
c. the magnitude of tsunamis
d. the cause of an earthquake
4. ______ Which of the following best describes aftershocks?
a. a series of small tremors occurring after a major earthquake
b. seismic waves that cannot travel through liquids
c. areas along a fault where slippage and fracturing first occur
d. giant ocean waves that originate at a fault zone
5. ______ Deep-focus earthquakes usually occur in areas in which one plate
a. slides past another
b. remains stationary against another
c. moves apart from another
d. subducts under another
6. ______ Ninety percent of continental earthquakes have
a. the same depth
b. a shallow focus
c. the same type of eruptions
d. a deep focus
7. ______ How far below the earth’s surface do intermediate-focus earthquakes occur?
a. 10 to 30 km
b. 30 to 70 km
c. 70 to 300 km
d. 300 to 650 km
8. _____ Which of the following generally causes the most damage?
a. shallow-focus earthquakes
b. deep-focus earthquakes
c. intermediate-focus earthquakes
d. aftershocks
9. ______ The force that can change the shape and size of rocks is called
a. stress
b. magnitude
c. elasticity
d. friction
10. _____ Most earthquakes occur along or near the edge of the
a. North American plate
b. earth’s oceans and lakes
c. Eurasian plate
d. earth’s lithospheric plates
11. _____ The Pacific Ring of Fire is an earthquake zone that forms a ring around
a. the Atlantic Ocean
b. South America
c. the Pacific Ocean
d. North America
12. _____ Surface waves are especially destructive when traveling through
a. water
b. solid rock
c. a fault zone
d. loose earth
13. _____ What type of seismic wave travels the fastest?
a. tsunami
b. P wave
c. S wave
d. surface wave
14. ______ How many separate sensing devices make up a seismograph?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
15. ______ S wave can travel only through
a. gases
b. solids
c. liquids
d. gases and liquids
16. ______ Which type of seismic wave causes rock particles to move at right angles to the direction
which the wave is traveling?
a. S waves
b. P waves
c. surface waves
d. primary waves
17. ______ Which of the following generally causes the most damage during an earthquake
a. aftershock
b. primary wave
c. secondary wave
d. surface wave
18. _____ What is the minimum number of seismograph stations a scientist must have data from in
order to locate the epicenter of an earthquake?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
19. _____ If a seismograph station detects S waves shortly after it detects P waves, then the
earthquake was
a. far away
b. nearby
c. very weak
d. very strong
20. ______ To determine how far away from a seismograph station an earthquake occurred, scientists
plot the difference in arrival times between
a. P and S waves
b. S and surface waves
c. P and surface waves
d. seismic waves and tsunamis
21. ______ A major earthquake has a magnitude of
a. 2.5 to 3.5
b. 3.5 to 6
c. less than 2.5
d. 7 or higher
22. ______ The Mercalli Scale is used to express the
a. magnitude of an earthquake
b. distance of an earthquake from a seismograph
c. intensity of an earthquake
d. depth of an earthquake’s focus
23. ______ What does the Mercalli Scale describe
a. the energy of an earthquake
b. the intensity of an earthquake
c. the focus of an earthquake
d. the likelihood of an earthquake
24. ______ The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issues warnings of
a. tsunamis
b. earthquakes
c. aftershocks
d. landslides
25. ______ Tsunamis result from earthquakes with epicenters located
a. on the ocean floor
b. in loose soil
c. along coastlines
d. in continental faults
26. ______ What is a tsunami?
a. a deep-focus earthquake
b. a shallow-focus earthquake
c. a type of seismic waves
d. a giant ocean wave
27. ______ Zones of immobile rock along faults are called
a. epicenters
b. seismic gaps
c. ridges
d. subduction zones
28. ______ A seismic gap is a region in which
a. there are no seismographs
b. tsunamis never occur
c. a fault is locked
d. only deep-focus earthquakes occur