Earthquakes Flashcards
What is the focus?
The place where an earthquake begins beneath the earths surface
What is a shock wave?
Also called “seismic waves”
These spread out in circles from the focus.
What is the epicentre?
The point at the earths surface that is directly above the focus of the earthquake.
The strength of the earthquake is greater here
What is a fault?
A large crack in the earth’s crust
What is tsunami?
When an earthquake occurs under the sea it can trigger a tsunami.
A tsunami is a huge tidal wave that moves very quickly towards the shore
What is a seismograph?
The instrument to measure an earthquake
What is a Richter scale?
The scale to measure the magnitude/strength of an earthquake
What is the moment magnitude scale?
The MMS replaced the Richter scale as it is more reliable
How can we reduce an earthquakes damage?
- Predict when an earthquake might occur
- Plan for earthquakes
- Construction of earthquake safe buildings
