Revised 5E
Lesson Plan
Title of Lesson: Virtual Earthquake – Finding the Epicenter and Magnitude of an Earthquake
UFTeach students’ Names: Julie Knox
Teaching Date and Time: Feb. 14, 2011
School and Mentor Teacher Name: Westwood Middle School, Ms. Burt
Length of Lesson: 50 minutes
Grade / Topic: 6th Grade General Earth Science/ (Plate tectonics and earthquakes)
Source of the Lesson: Virtual Earthquake Simulation (Given in Step 1 course as sample lesson)
"Electronic Desktop Project - Virtual Earthquake." Sciencecourseware.org. Web. 01 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.sciencecourseware.com/virtualearthquake/>.
Appropriateness for Middle School Students:
• Include active roles for all students during the exploration. Student’s actively involved in
exploration by working individually on activity
• Students are encouraged to ask advice from other students for help on exploration
activity.
• Actively involve students throughout direct teaching. Limit direct teaching to 5-10
minutes. Use power point to facilitate this. Encourage students to discuss concepts, do not
have list of facts for students to copy down.
• Make sure students understand your expectations for their behavior (listed in safety).
• Actively engage students in discussing their learning/discovery through questions and
discussion of results obtained for activity.
• Walk around the room and connect with all kids and check how they are progressing
through the simulation. Many students will need help with reading the graphs.
• Create name tags and USE STUDENTS’ NAMES!
Concepts
Earthquakes occur as pressure builds between the rocks beneath the earth’s surface
(tectonic plates) and as the energy builds and the stress builds up beyond what the rocks can
handle, they can break or shift alongside one another. Fault lines are the boundaries where
tectonic plates meet. Along a normal fault the plates are pulled apart because of tension forces,
along a reverse fault the plates are squeezed together due to compression forces, and along a
strike-slip fault the plates move past one another without much upwards or downwards
movement, as is the case with the first two scenarios. The point where the energy is released is
called the focus and this energy is released in the form of seismic waves. There are three types of
waves: primary waves (p-waves) are the fastest of the three and cause particles in rocks to move
back and forth in the same direction as the waves is traveling, secondary waves (s-waves) cause
particles to move at right angles to the direction of wave travel, and surface waves (Love or lwaves), which are caused when s and p waves reach the surface, are the slowest of the three and
are the most destructive. The latter travel outward from the epicenter of the earthquake, which is
the point on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus. Seismic waves are measured using an
instrument called a seismograph and the epicenter of the earthquake can be determined by
knowing the time interval between the arrival of the p and s waves at different seismograph
stations and then triangulating the distances to the epicenter. The Richter Scale(base 10) is used
to determine the magnitude of the earthquake by using the distance to the epicenter and the
amplitude of the S- wave.
Sources:
"Electronic Desktop Project - Virtual Earthquake." Sciencecourseware.org. Web. 01 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.sciencecourseware.com/virtualearthquake/>.
Feather, Ralph M., Susan L. Snyder, and Dinah Zike. "Earthquakes." Earth Science. New York,
NY: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2006. Print.
Performance Objectives
Students will be able to:
1. describe the major cause of earthquakes (the motion of tectonic plates against one
another releasing stored energy).
2. differentiate between the three types of seismic waves and between the epicenter
and focus.
2. locate the epicenter and magnitude of an earthquake using a seismograph and the
Richter scale.
Florida State Standards:
Grade 7, SC.7.E.6.5, Big Idea 6: Earth Structures - Explore the scientific theory of plate tectonics
by describing how the movement of Earth's crustal plates causes both slow and rapid
changes in Earth's surface, including volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and mountain
building.
Materials List and Student Handouts
 Per student:
o Computer with internet access (unless facilities do not allow. If this is the case
consider having two students share each computer. More than 2 students per
computer would not be practical)
o “Virtual Earthquake” worksheet
o One pre-test and one post-test
 One slinky (for use as demonstration, not per student)
Advance Preparations
 Make sure computer lab is available for use if there are not computers in the classroom.
 If possible have the computers ready to go (logged into) before students arrive. Students
do not always remember their passwords. If not possible to have computers logged into
ahead of time, make sure students know their passwords prior to coming to class that day.
 Make sure all videos, simulations, and power point presentations are compatible with the
school network. This will need to be set up prior to teaching the lesson.

Make sure to have enough copies of the pre-assessment, “virtual earthquake” worksheet,
and post-assessment for each student to have one prior to lesson. (Print extra in case)
Safety
 No food or drink in the computer lab
 Quietly move to the computer lab so as to not disturb other classrooms
Engage
What the teacher will do
Probing/Eliciting Questions
Give Pre-Test (ahead of time
if possible)
Make sure all food and drinks
are stored away in backpacks.
Explain that the video depicts
two different earthquakes and
that they should be paying
attention to the differences
between the two.
Have students log into system
if not already done so. (Make
sure students know their
passwords ahead of time)
http://video.nationalgeographi
c.com/video/
•
•
•
•
•
•
Environment
Natural disasters
Earthquakes
Earthquake montage
Pass the commercials
and pause at the video.
Full screen
Play
5 min
Student Responses and
Potential misconceptions
Play video
“We saw clips from two
different locations. Do you
think that earthquakes can
occur randomly over the
earth’s surface or that certain
areas are more prone to having
earthquakes? Why?”
Answers will probably vary.
May make observation that
earthquakes happen more
often in California as
compared to Florida.
(Students probably won’t be
able to identify that
earthquakes occur on
faultlines, thus they may
believe that earthquakes are a
phenomenon that can occur
everywhere. These concepts
will be discussed in the
explore and explanation)
“So these are pretty severe
earthquakes, are all
earthquakes the same? Do
they all have the same strength
or cause the same amount of
damage? Why do you think
this?”
Ideas may vary whether or not
they are all the same strength.
Show how the two
earthquakes shown gave
different outcomes. Second
clip was much more
devastating.
(Students may not realize that
not all earthquakes are
devastating. Many actually
occur every day that cannot be
felt)
Explain how the activity being
done today is a simulation to
find the epicenter of an
earthquake and the magnitude
(or the strength) of that
earthquake.
Key Questions:
How do we find the origin of
an earthquake?
How do we measure the
strength of an earthquake?
Explore
What the teacher will do
hand out worksheet
Earthquake simulation
http://www.sciencecourseware
.com/virtualearthquake/
Will guide the students
through the simulation by use
of a power point presentation
(broken down in the adjacent
column)
Probing/Eliciting Questions
20 min
Student Responses and
Potential misconceptions
Have students read first page
and fill in the questions on the
worksheet. Discuss basic
concepts to clarify: (have a
power point to assist if
facilities allow)
What causes an earthquake?
Movement on earth’s surface,
caused by tectonic plates
sliding against or hitting each
other, sudden release of stored
energy
(Possible misconceptions:
tectonic plates are the same
thing as continents)
What is the focus of an
earthquake?
Where the earthquake
originates, where the rocks
first break/move
(Possible misconception:
focus is the same thing as the
epicenter)
What does a seismogram
measure?
Seismic waves, p and s waves,
detection and strength of
waves
What are some of the
differences between P and S
waves?
P waves are faster, P waves
are less destructive
The first part of this
simulation will allow us to
find the epicenter of the
earthquake, what is the
difference between the
epicenter and focus?
This is not explicitly explained
in the tutorial. Some students
may be able to identify that
the epicenter is the point on
surface directly above the
focus.
Have students choose location
and move on to next page and
demonstrate how to measure
the s-p interval
What is the S-P Interval and
how do we measure it?
The time from when the P
wave is detected to when the S
wave is detected. Measured
graphically from the first
small peak to the first large
peak.
Students complete next page,
with assistance as necessary,
then go to next page.
Encourage students to ask
their neighbor, before asking
the teacher, for help if they do
not know how to read the
graphs. This applies for the
duration of the activity.
Demonstrate how to measure
the distance given the time
interval.
What is the distance traveled
related to an S-P time interval
of 55 seconds?
Let students complete then go
on to next page and unless the
epicenter is way off do not
have them re-compute s-p
interval and jump straight to
“view true epicenter” (if the
student’s measurements are
520 km
completely off the simulation
will force them to re-compute
the s-p interval)
Now move onto computing
magnitude, demonstrate how
to measure amplitude.
What is the amplitude of this
seismograph? (displayed on
power point)
190 mm
Go to next page and explain
how the nomogram works to
find the magnitude.
What is the magnitude if the
About 7
distance to the epicenter is 500
km and the amplitude is 200
mm?
Have students move onto next
page and measure amplitudes
and estimate magnitude on the
next page.
Explain
What the teacher will do
Probing/Eliciting Questions
Have students compare results
Have a student from each
location chosen share the
magnitude of their earthquake.
Do all these earthquakes have
the same strength or
magnitude?
Can anyone tell me what the
difference between the
epicenter and the focus is?
10 min
Student Responses and
Potential misconceptions
No
Focus- the location of where
rocks first break and move,
below the earth’s surface
Epicenter- directly above
focus, on surface, found in
order to measure magnitude
(Some students may not
realize there is a difference.
They may think that the
energy originates on the
surface)
What causes the seismic
waves that create
Earthquakes?
Tectonic plates moving over
one another
What do we call the boundry
where tectonic plates meet?
Fault lines
(Possible Misconception:
Earthquakes can happen just
by the movement of the
tectonic plates, not from the
energy released from the
forces between plates at fault
lines)
(have a picture showing the
major fault lines on earth so
that they can see these are the
areas most prone to having
earthquakes and that these
tectonic plates cover the entire
earth and are not just under
land mass but also the oceans)
In what ways can these plates
interact to release energy?
Use your hands(each
representing a tectonic plate)
to demonstrate each of these
motions)
Separating from one another
(normal fault)
Compressing together (reverse
fault)
Sliding along one another
(strike slip fault)
(Some students may think that
the tectonic plates are just
moving quickly and hitting
each other head on to create
these seismic waves)
What are the two types of
P and S waves
seismic waves that the
simulation introduced to us?
What’s the difference between P waves are faster
these waves?
(Also introduce L-waves
which are the waves that move
along the surface and cause
the most damage and are also
the slowest)
Do a slinky demonstration to
show the difference in how the
waves move. (push and pull =
p waves; up and down or side
to side = s waves)
( The slinky visual will help to
show them how P waves are
faster and also how S waves
are more destructive)
What scale is commonly used
to measure the magnitude of
earthquakes?
Richter scale, may say
something about seismographs
then clarify that seismographs
are used to determine the s-p
time interval and the
amplitude, which are
incorporated into the Richter
scale to determine magnitude.
The Richter scale is a base ten
scale. Can anyone explain
what that means?
Each interval means a 10
times increase in magnitude.
(i.e. an earthquake measuring
3 is 10x stronger than an
earthquake measuring 2 on the
Richter scale)
Elaborate
What the teacher will do
Probing/Eliciting Questions
http://videos.howstuffworks.c
om/howstuffworks/236-howearthquakes-work-video.htm
(Play video summarizing info
learned and adding a little bit)
Are earthquakes the only
natural disaster caused by the
movement of tectonic plates?
Evaluate
What the teacher will do
Probing/Eliciting Questions
Administer post-test
Virtual Earthquake
5 min
Student Responses and
Potential misconceptions
No, volcanoes, tsunamis
10 min
Student Responses and
Potential misconceptions
Name_________________________________________________
Date_______________
1.
Go to this site: http://www.sciencecourseware.com/virtualearthquake/
2.
Click on execute virtual earthquake (at the bottom of the screen).
3.
Read the information carefully and answer the following questions.
Earthquakes occur because of a sudden release of __________________.
The point of origin of an earthquake is called the __________________.
P, or primary, waves are ________________ (slower/faster) than S, or secondary, waves.
Below is a sample seismogram. Label the arrows with the appropriate terms:
A)
B)
C)
D)
P-Wave Arrival Time
S-Wave Arrival Time
S-P Interval
Amplitude
4. Which region of the world did you choose? __________________________________
5. As you progress through the simulation, record your data in the chart below. (Include units)
Recording station
S-P time
Distance to epicenter
6. It takes an S-wave approximately 70 seconds
to travel 300 km (labeled by red lines). How long
does it take a P-wave to travel this same distance
of 300 km? (Remember P-waves travel faster)
_______________ Seconds
3. What was the epicenter of your earthquake? (If it wasn’t an exact city, then
describe the area)
4. The ____________________ of an earthquake is an estimate of the total amount
of energy released during fault rupture.
9. What was the magnitude of your earthquake?
Pre-Test
Name_________________________________________________
Date_______________
1. (True/False)________ All earthquakes that occur are of the same strength and are always
very destructive.
2. What is the difference between the focus of an earthquake and its epicenter?
a) There is no difference, they are both terms used to describe the same thing
b) The focus of an earthquake is the point on the earth’s surface directly above
the epicenter
c) The epicenter of an earthquake is the point on the earth’s surface directly
above the focus
3. Which of the following are true about earthquakes? (circle all that apply)
a) Earthquakes occur where two tectonic plates meet (on a fault line)
b) Earthquakes originate on the surface of the earth
c) Earthquakes are caused by a release of stored energy between tectonic plates
d) Earthquakes can only occur on land and not under the oceans
4. What is the difference between the speed of P(primary) waves and S(secondary waves)?
a) P waves are faster than S waves
b) P waves are slower than S waves
c) There is no difference between the speed of the two waves
5. The magnitude of an earthquake is determined most accurately by which of the
following:
a) The amount of ground shaking
b) The cost of repairs resulting from damage
c) Measurements made on seismographs
d) How long the earthquake lasts
Post-Test
Name_________________________________________________
Date_______________
1. (True/False)________ All earthquakes that occur are of the same magnitude and are
always very destructive.
2. What is the difference between the focus of an earthquake and its epicenter?
a) The epicenter of an earthquake is the point on the earth’s surface directly
above the focus
b) The focus of an earthquake is the point on the earth’s surface directly above
the epicenter
c) There is no difference, they are both terms used to describe the same thing
3. What is the difference between the speed of P(primary) waves and S(secondary waves)?
a) P waves are faster than S waves
b) P waves are slower than S waves
c) There is no difference between the speed of the two waves
4. The magnitude of an earthquake is determined most accurately by which of the
following:
a) How long the earthquake lasts
b) Measurements made on seismographs
c) The amount of ground shaking
d) The cost of repairs resulting from damage
5. Which of the following are true about earthquakes? (circle all that apply)
a) Earthquakes are caused by a release of stored energy between tectonic plates
b) Earthquakes can only occur on land and not under the oceans
c) Earthquakes originate on the surface of the earth
d) Earthquakes occur where two tectonic plates meet (on a fault line)
Answer Keys
Pretest, Posttest, and
Student Worksheet
Pre-assessment
Name_________________________________________________
Date_______________
1. (True/False)________ All earthquakes that occur are of the same strength and are always
very destructive.
2. What is the difference between the focus of an earthquake and its epicenter?
a) There is no difference, they are both terms used to describe the same thing
b) The focus of an earthquake is the point on the earth’s surface directly above
the epicenter
c) The epicenter of an earthquake is the point on the earth’s surface directly
above the focus
3. Which of the following are true about earthquakes? (circle all that apply)
a) Earthquakes occur where two tectonic plates meet (on a fault line)
b) Earthquakes originate on the surface of the earth
c) Earthquakes are caused by a release of stored energy between tectonic plates
d) Earthquakes can only occur on land and not under the oceans
4. What is the difference between the speed of P(primary) waves and S(secondary waves)?
a) P waves are faster than S waves
b) P waves are slower than S waves
c) There is no difference between the speed of the two waves
5. The magnitude of an earthquake is determined most accurately by which of the
following:
a) The amount of ground shaking
b) The cost of repairs resulting from damage
c) Measurements made on seismographs
d) How long the earthquake lasts
Post-assessment
Name_________________________________________________
Date_______________
1. (True/False)________ All earthquakes that occur are of the same magnitude and are
always very destructive.
2. What is the difference between the focus of an earthquake and its epicenter?
a) The epicenter of an earthquake is the point on the earth’s surface directly
above the focus
b) The focus of an earthquake is the point on the earth’s surface directly above
the epicenter
c) There is no difference, they are both terms used to describe the same thing
3. What is the difference between the speed of P(primary) waves and S(secondary waves)?
a) P waves are faster than S waves
b) P waves are slower than S waves
c) There is no difference between the speed of the two waves
4. The magnitude of an earthquake is determined most accurately by which of the
following:
a) How long the earthquake lasts
b) Measurements made on seismographs
c) The amount of ground shaking
d) The cost of repairs resulting from damage
5. Which of the following are true about earthquakes? (circle all that apply)
a) Earthquakes are caused by a release of stored energy between tectonic plates
b) Earthquakes can only occur on land and not under the oceans
c) Earthquakes originate on the surface of the earth
d) Earthquakes occur where two tectonic plates meet (on a fault line)
Student Worksheet:
Virtual Earthquake
Name_________________________________________________
Date_______________
4.
Go to this site: http://www.sciencecourseware.com/virtualearthquake/
5.
Click on execute virtual earthquake (at the bottom of the screen).
6.
Read the information carefully and answer the following questions.
Earthquakes occur because of a sudden release of ___stored energy__.
The point of origin of an earthquake is called the __focus___.
P, or primary, waves are __faster___ (slower/faster) than S, or secondary, waves.
Below is a sample seismogram. Label the arrows with the appropriate terms:
A)
B)
C)
D)
A
B
P-Wave Arrival Time
S-Wave Arrival Time
S-P Interval
Amplitude
D
C
4. Which region of the world did you choose? __________________________________
5. As you progress through the simulation, record your data in the chart below. (Include units)
Recording station
S-P time
Distance to epicenter
Units in seconds
Units in km
6. It takes an S-wave approximately 70 seconds
to travel 300 km (labeled by red lines). How long
does it take a P-wave to travel this same distance
of 300 km? (Remember P-waves travel faster)
___about 38____ Seconds
7. What was the epicenter of your earthquake? (If it wasn’t an exact city, then describe the
area)
8. The ___magnitude___ of an earthquake is an estimate of the total amount of energy
released during fault rupture.
9. What was the magnitude of your earthquake?