EARTHQUAKES – TEST
Chapter 5
Name:__________________________ Period:____
Modifications:
1. If the locations of earthquakes over the past 10 years were plotted on a world map, which of the following would be observed?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Earthquakes occur with the same frequency everywhere on Earth.
Earthquakes generally occur along the edges of tectonic plates.
Earthquakes most frequently occur near the middle of continents.
Earthquakes do not seem to occur in any consistent pattern.
2. The risk of earthquakes is high along the Pacific coast of the United States, including California, because
a. there have been no earthquakes there lately.
b. serious earthquakes are rare east of the Rockies.
c. satellites have detected increasing elevation of the ground surface.
d. that’s where the Pacific and North American plates meet.
3. The study of “earthquakes” is to __________________.
a. locate and measure magnitudes to attempt predictions
c. illustrate the structure of the Earth
b. understand faults, plate tectonics, and plate motion
d. all of these
4. The record of an earthquake obtained from a seismic instrument is a(n)_______________.
a. seismograph
b. seismogram
c. time-travel graph
d. epigraph
5. What type of earthquake wave can travel through both liquids and solids?
a. P waves
b. S waves
c. focus waves
d. surface waves
6. A geologist checks her seismograph for activity after an earthquake that occurs on the other side of Earth. The instrument
records P-waves, but not S-waves.
What statement explains why S-waves are not recorded?
a. Seismographs do not record evidence of S-waves.
b. S – waves travel in a different direction than P – waves
c. The earthquake was not strong enough to produce S –waves.
d. The S – waves were stopped by a liquid interior layer.
7. Which of the following sequences correctly lists the different arrivals from first to last?
a.
b.
c.
d.
P waves
Land waves
P waves
S waves
S waves
P waves
Land waves
P waves
Land waves
S waves
S waves
Land waves
8. The distance between a seismological recording station and the earthquake source is determined from the ___________.
HINT - think back to the worksheet that we completed that showed the distances from New York, Chicago, and London.
a. earthquake magnitude
c. length of the seismic record
b. intensity of the earthquake
d. arrival times of P and S waves
Use the following picture to answer questions 9 - 12
9. What causes the up-and-down wiggles on the seismogram shown above?
a. variations in air pressure
b. ground vibrations
c. tsunami waves
d. electromagnetic pulses
10. On a typical seismogram, ________________ will show the highest amplitudes.
a. P waves
b. S waves
c. surface waves
d. body waves
c. C
d. they are all P waves
c. C
d. they are all S waves
11. Which set of waves are the P waves?
a. A
b. B
12. Which set of waves are the S waves?
a. A
b. B
Use the following graph to answer questions 13 – 16
13. How long does it take for a primary wave to travel 2000 miles?
a. 6 minutes
b. 8 minutes
c. 11 minutes d. 15 minutes
14. How far does a secondary wave travel in 9 minutes?
a. 500 miles
b. 1000 miles c. 1500 miles
d. 3000 miles
15. How much time lag at 1500 miles will there be between these two waves?
a. 2 minutes
b. 4 minutes
c. 6 minutes
d. 8 minutes
16. Suppose both waves start together and travel for 5 minutes, which wave will
travel the farthest?
a. P - wave
b. S- wave
17. The point deep beneath Earth’s surface where rock breaks under stress and triggers an earthquake is called the
a. syncline.
b. footwall.
c. epicenter
d. focus
18. Where is the focus with respect to the epicenter:
a. directly below the epicenter
c. in the P wave shadow zone
b. directly above the epicenter
d. in the S wave shadow zone
Use the following picture to answer questions 19 & 20.
19. Point A, where slip initiated during the earthquake, is called the __________.
a. dip
b. epicenter
c. focus
d. scarp
20. Point B is called the earthquake ________________.
a. dip
b. epicenter
c. focus
d. scarp
21. The _______________ magnitude scale is a measure of the energy released. It does not directly measure the extent of
building damage.
a. Gutenberg
b. Reid
c. Mercalli
d. Richter
22. Which of the following measures an earthquake’s intensity based on the observed effects on people and structures?
a. Richter scale
b. Modified Mercalli Scale
c. the Centigrade scale
d. the moment magnitude scale
23. The Mercalli Scale is a scale from ____________________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
1 to 12 that rates the energy required for faulting to occur
1 to 10 that rates the energy released by an earthquake
I to XII that rates the structural damage due to an earthquake
I to X that rates the total energy released during the main quake and all aftershocks
24. Which would produce the most severe earthquake damage along the surface of Earth?
a. an earthquake with a deep focus and a magnitude of 2.5
b. an earthquake with a shallow focus and a magnitude of 2.5
c. an earthquake with a deep focus and a magnitude of 4.5
d. an earthquake with a shallow focus and a magnitude of 4.5
Use the diagram below to answer questions 25 & 26.
25. “Hi. This is Jo from Southside City Junior High School. Students felt it and did the drop, cover and hold on drill. We only had
slight damage to the building, but the teacher’s desk moved.”
Using the Mercalli scale above, what level would you assign to the earthquake at Southside City Junior High School.
a. I
b. III
c. VI
d. X
26. If Southside City Junior High School was the epicenter of the earthquake, what would you expect the level of the earthquake
to be at Blue Lake Resort?
a. The same as South City Junior High School.
c. Higher than South City Junior High School.
b. Lower than South City Junior High School.
d. They would not feel the earthquake at all.
27. How often do magnitude 8 earthquakes occur? (use page 141)
a. about 5-10 times per year
c. about every 5 to 10 years
b. about once a year
d. about 50 to 100 years
28. Earthquake A has a Richter magnitude of 8 as compared with earthquake B’s 5. The amount of ground motion is one measure
of earthquake intensity:
a. A is 10 X more intense than B
c. Richter magnitude does not measure intensity
b. A is 100 X more intense than B
d. A is 1000 X more intense than B
29. _____________ counteract pressure that pushed and pulls at the side of a building during an earthquake.
a. Base isolators
b. Mass dampers
c. Active tendon systems
d. Cross braces
30. A weight that is placed on a building to make the building earthquake resistant is called a(n)
a. active tendon system.
b. cross brace.
C. mass damper.
d. base isolator.