Name: __________________________________________________________________ Date: _______ Entry: _______
Directions:
1. Visit the following website: http://tinyurl.com/NatGeoFON
2. When you arrive at the site click the
icon to open the
Earthquakes portion of the web quest.
3. As you click through the web activity, answer the following questions.
Part 1: What is an earthquake?
1. What is an earthquake: _______________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
2. How many earthquakes happen each year? _______________________________
3. Where was the worst Earthquake in history? ______________________________
a. Year? ____________
b. Death Toll? ____________
Part 2: Where do earthquakes occur?
1. Where do most earthquakes occur? ______________________________________________________________
2. Where is an intraplate quake zone in the United States? ______________________________________________
Part 3: What causes Earthquakes?
1. Describe the process of how an earthquake is caused. You may write in sentence fragments, bullets or
numbering.
Part 4: Types of Faults
1. According to what you have learned and/or after viewing the graphics in Part 3, which type of fault is the San
Andreas Fault classified as? _____________________________________________________________________
2. You can read through this part if you are interested, otherwise skip to Part 5.
Part 5: Measurement and Recording
1. Define hypocenter (aka, focal point) of an earthquake: _______________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Define epicenter of an earthquake: ______________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What is the name of the instrument used to measure seismic waves? __________________________________
Part 6: Locate and Earthquake
1. Click “Trigger the Earthquake” and watch the 3 seismograms. What do you notice about the arrival of the
waves to each seismograph? ___________________________________________________________________
2. How many seismic wave measurements do you need to determine the epicenter of an earthquake? _________
3. What is the location of the earthquake you created? _______________________________________________
Name: __________________________________________________________________ Date: _______ Entry: _______
Part 7: Trigger an Earthquake Test a building on each ground type and record the damage that would result.
Bedrock
Low Magnitude
High Magnitude
Damage
Damage
Landfill
Low Magnitude
Damage
High Magnitude
Damage
Fault Zone
Low Magnitude
High Magnitude
Damage
Damage
What is the safest Ground type to be on during an earthquake? _____________________________________________
Case Study: Pick one of the 6 earthquakes. Read about it and record information below. You may need to search the
web for some of the information.
NAME OF
EARTHQUAKE:
DATE OCCURRED:
EPICENTER:
DEATHS:
INJURIES:
DAMAGE: