Name ____________________
Internet Lab-Earthquakes
Address:
http://www.sciencecourseware.com/VirtualEarthquake/VQuakeExecute.html
Follow the instructions for locating the epicenter and determining the magnitude for an
earthquake. Green colored boxes take you to the next page in the assignment. Read the
descriptions on each page before going to the next page.
Answer the following questions using the web pages.

At what speeds do S-waves travel? P-waves?

List the 4 main parts of a seismogram:

How many seismic stations need to be examined to locate an epicenter of an earthquake?
CHOOSE A REGION AND GO TO THE NEXT PAGE

What do you need to do to locate the epicenter of this earthquake?
GO TO THE NEXT PAGE
Record your 3 measurements here:
(Be sure to type your answers in the boxes on the screen)
a. ___________ seconds
b. ___________ seconds
c. ___________ seconds
GO TO THE NEXT PAGE

How long does it take an S-wave to travel 300 km? A P-wave?
Record your 3 epicenter distances here: (Be sure to type your answers in the boxes on the
screen)
a. ____________ km
b. ____________ km
c. ____________ km
GO TO THE NEXT PAGE
If your measurements were correct, go to the next page. If not, click on “View the true
Epicenter” to see where your numbers were incorrect.

What city was nearest the epicenter for this earthquake?
Compute Richter Magnitude:

Who introduced the Richter Scale?

What is magnitude?

Richter magnitude is determined using what two measurements?
GO TO THE NEXT PAGE

How much is the maximum amplitude of an earthquake increased with one unit of
magnitude?
GO TO THE NEXT PAGE
Record your measurements for S-wave amplitude: (Be sure to enter your answers on screen)
a. ___________
b. ___________
c. ___________
GO TO THE NEXT PAGE
Record your estimate of Magnitude ___________
GO TO THE NEXT PAGE

How close was your estimate?

What was the actual magnitude?