Earthquakes Reading Comprehension
Earth’s surface is made of tectonic plate which are always
moving. Earthquakes happen when two tectonic plates
interact at their boundaries, which are made up of faults.
These faults are where most of the world’s earthquakes
occur. This movement creates a lot of energy, which is
released as an earthquake.
If these plates move against each other on land, you feel
the Earth shake. If it happens in the Ocean, it can make a
huge wave known as a tsunami.
A seismograph is used to detects earthquakes. The
base of the seismograph is on the ground, and over that
a weight hangs from a string. When there is an
earthquake the base shakes with the ground but the
weight does not, and it draws a line to show how much
the ground shook.
How strong an earthquake is, is shown by its position
on the Richter scale which goes from 0 – 9 with 9 being
highly destructive and 3 being minor.
A strong earthquake can knock over buildings and leave people are without shelter, food, water,
and medical supplies until help can arrive.
Reading Comprehension Questions:
1. What causes an earthquake?
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2. What is used to measure the strength of an earthquake?
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3. How does this instrument work?
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4. Earthquakes affect an area even after the Earth stops shaking. Explain.
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5. Why do you think some locations more prone to earthquakes then others?
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