Name: .
Date:
Earthquakes and You

On-Line Quiz: Do you recognize any of the earthquake damage in the picture above?
Take the following quiz! .

Hypernews: Write a brief story of your recollections of the 4:31-4:41, January 17, 1994
and post it on the Hypernews group. Describe as objectively as possible what happened
in your home, and indicate the address of the location where you were living at that time.
Use Mapquest to plot the addresses of class members. Analyze the reports of other
students. In which regions did people report the most severe shaking. .

Earthquakes in Southern California: How frequently do earthquakes occur in Southern
California? Click here for animation. .

Earthquakes in California: In the last two centuries, how many California earthquakes
have been of greater magnitude than the 1994 Northridge Earthquake? You may also
wish to examine quakes in other areas. .

Faults: What fault do you live closest to? .
Is there any pattern to earthquake activity?

Plot the most recent earthquakes (regardless of magnitude) using green dots on the map
in your Word template. .

Compare the Richter Magnitude readings with the Mercalli Intensity measurements to
determine the types of damage that could be expected accompanying the strongest
earthquake this week. .

Plot the largest earthquakes in largest earthquakes in 1997 using blue dots on the map in
your Word template. .

Plot the most destructive earthquakes in history using red dots on the map in your Word
template. .

Analyze your map and describe any pattern or patterns or earthquake occurrence. .

Is the pattern of your data consistent with compiled data of earthquake activity? Explain.
.
Plate Tectonics

The theory of plate tectonics was first postulated after analyzing the pattern of seismic
data such as you have just done. Read the following material on plate tectonics and then
answer the quiz. .

The image at the right is a satellite photo of the Sinai peninsula. Watch the space-shuttle
video (Blue Planet) of this region. Locate the Sinai peninsula on the map of plate
boundaries. Describe its relationship to these boundaries. .

Quiz on plate tectonics: Take the following quiz on plate tectonics. Place a screen capture
of your score in the assignment template. .
Analyzing Earthquake Data

Generate a seismogram for a today and compare it with one from the day of the
Northridge Earthquake, at 4:31 AM (PST) January 14, 1994. .

Is there any ground movement right now? Examine Caltech's real-time seismocam and
describe what you see. .
Submit your assignment

Submit your assignment electronically as an attached document to Professor Herr. .