Earthquake
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19 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 earthquake | shaking or trembling of the earth caused by the sudden movement of the earth's crust |
| fault | a place where rocks have moved on one or both sides of a crack in the earth |
| seismic waves | the waves produced in an earthquake |
| focus | the place along a fault where energy releases first in an earthquake |
| epicenter | the place on the earth's surface directly above the earthquake focus |
| seismograph | an instrument that records vibrations in the earth, measuring the waves and record the time that each arrived |
| seismologist | a scientist who studies earthquakes |
| primary waves (P waves) | the first seismic waves to be recorded, they travel the fastest, P waves can travel through solids, liquids, and gases |
| secondary waves (S waves) | these seismic waves travels through solids but liquids or gases |
| surface waves (L waves) | last waves to strike, they are the slowest and cause the most damage |
| aftershock | smaller, less intense earthquakes that follow a major earthquake |
| Richter scale | a numerical scale used to measure the magnitude or energy release of an earthquake |
| magnitude | the total amount of energy released by an earthquake |
| normal fault | break in the crust in which the overhanging block of rock has slid down |
| reverse fault | break in the crust in which the overhanging block has been raised |
| thrust fault | reverse fault where one or more plates are under the ocean |
| strike-slip fault | a fault that happens when slabs of rock slip past each other sideways |
| liquefaction | an earthquake's violent movement turns loose soil into liquid mud |
| tsunami | a giant sea wave produced by an earthquake or volcanic activity |
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