Introduction

Chapter 9. Earthquakes

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Author: Jordan Raddick, Johns Hopkins University

Editor: Beth Hufnagel, Anne Arundel Community College

The goals of this module: At the end, you should be able to:

  1. Explain how scientists use data from earthquake waves to learn about the Earth's interior.
  2. Identify and describe Earth's layers: crust, mantle, outer core, inner core.

In this module you will explore:

  1. How earthquake waves reveal Earth's structure
  2. Types of earthquake waves
  3. Earth's layers

Why you are doing it: Earth's interior is hidden from direct observation, but earthquake waves allow scientists to understand its structure.

The Earth's Interior

The interior of the Earth is hidden from our eyes, just as surely as the most distant galaxy. But we have still learned a great deal about the interior structure of the Earth, thanks to the technique of sensing earthquake waves.

Whenever there is an earthquake anywhere in the world, a system of seismometers all over the world is ready to record data. The data is plotted into a graph called a seismograph. The main source of data shown on seismographs is the arrival times and intensities of earthquake waves. Earthquake waves come in three types: surface waves, primary (P) waves, and secondary (S) waves. The P and S waves reveal information about the interior of the Earth, since P waves can move through solids and liquids, but S waves can only move through solids. There is also an abrupt change in the direction of the P wave when it moves from one type of material to another.

In this activity, you will look at simulated seismograph data to see what you can learn about the inside of the Earth from P and S waves.

The animation below shows an imaginary earthquake in Asmara, Eretria - Asmara is located in a fault zone near the Red Sea, so it really does get earthquakes!

This animation imagines that the Asmara earthquake can be recorded by seismometers around the world. The animation shows three such seismometers: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; and Fortaleza, Brazil. Click "Collect data from seismic stations" to simulate the earthquake and start collecting data. As the animation runs, you will see each seismometer record waves arriving from the earthquake. At the end of the animation, the waves will be labeled.

Run the animation and pay attention to which waves arrive at which stations, and when the waves arrive.

Question Sequence

Question 1.

At the Riyadh station, both types of waves arrive. Which waves arrive first?

A.
B.
C.

3
Try again. Watch the animation for the Riyadh station again, and pay attention to which waves arrive when. Remember that time is the horizontal axis in the seismographs, so the first waves to arrive will be the ones to the left.
Correct. P waves always arrive first!
Incorrect. P waves always arrive first!

On the last page, you saw seismographs from three seismic stations for the Asmara earthquake. Here is the animation again:

Now, think about why the seismic stations recorded the data that they did. Look at this image for some hints.

S and P Waves

Question Sequence

Question 4.

Why did no S waves arrive at the Boston seismic station?

A.
B.
C.

3
Try again.
Correct. To get from the Asmara earthquake to the Boston station, earthquake waves must pass through the Earth's outer core. S waves are back-and-forth vibrations, and these types of transverse waves cannot pass through liquid. This implies that the outer core is liquid, and therefore S waves cannot pass through it.
Incorrect. To get from the Asmara earthquake to the Boston station, earthquake waves must pass through the Earth's outer core. S waves are back-and-forth vibrations, and these types of transverse waves cannot pass through liquid. This implies that the outer core is liquid, and therefore S waves cannot pass through it.

Choose the corresponding label for each structure of the Earth.

Ocean Currents

Question 6.

Liquid Outer Core
Solid Crust
Inner Core
Denser, Solid Mantle
2
Correct.
Try again.
Incorrect.

Indepth Activity: Earthquakes

Question 7.

Earthquakes are an important tool for understanding the Earth because:

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Correct. Seismic waves provide information about differing densities between layers and whether material is in the solid or liquid state.
Incorrect. Seismic waves provide information about differing densities between layers and whether material is in the solid or liquid state.

Question 8.

____________ travel through the interior of the Earth.

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Correct. Only S and P waves move through the Earth's interior regions.
Incorrect. Only S and P waves move through the Earth's interior regions.

Question 9.

What does the P stand for in P wave?

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Correct.
Incorrect.

Question 10.

Which of the following is the correct order of Earth’s layers, from the outside to the center?

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Correct.
Incorrect.

Question 11.

How are P waves different from S waves?

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Correct.
Incorrect.

Question 12.

If an earthquake happened at the North Pole, what would a detector at the South Pole detect?

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Correct.
Incorrect.

Question 13.

Studies of earthquakes have revealed liquid in the Earth’s:

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Correct.
Incorrect.

Question 14.

A seismograph is a graph of data from a seismometer. The graph has time on the x-axis and ____________ on the y-axis.

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct.
Incorrect.

Question 15.

Every earthquake has a "shadow zone" on the opposite side of the Earth in which no earthquake waves are visible in seismographs. This shadow zone occurs because:

A.
B.
C.

Correct. The waves are refracted due to greatly differing densities of the core and mantle, causing them to miss some seismometers on the surface.
Incorrect. The waves are refracted due to greatly differing densities of the core and mantle, causing them to miss some seismometers on the surface.

Question 16.

We know from earthquake wave studies that Earth's outer core is made of:

A.
B.
C.
D.

Correct. The S waves cannot propagate through liquids.
Incorrect. The S waves cannot propagate through liquids.

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