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Seismic Waves 101

  • Page ID
    185477
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    To Do To Answer
    Read about seismic waves
    • Describe a seismogram and a seismograph and why they are important in the study of earthquakes.
    • Explain the difference between surface waves and body waves. 
    • What are the types of body waves? How do they compare?
    • How is the severity of an earthquake measured?
    • What is the difference between the Richter and Mercalli scales?
    • Describe the differences between a "large" and "small" California earthquake. 
    • Describe what someone would feel standing above an epicenter with each type of wave passing by.
    • What is the shadow zone?
    Watch the video on seismic waves
    • How do seismic waves tell us about the layers of the earth?
    • What is the difference between a hypocenter and an epicenter?

     Use the attachment to organize information about seismic waves.



    Seismic Waves 101 is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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