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EARTHQUAKES VOCABULARY

Terms in this set (26)

Earthquake
The shaking that results from the movement of rock beneath Earth's surface.
plate tectonics
the theory that Earth's crust is broken up into continent size plates, which move over the mantle.
aftershock
a series of smaller earthquakes that occur after a large earthquake in the same area.
S-wave
waves that vibrate from side to side. They cannot move through liquids.
P-wave
The 1st waves to arrive during an earthquake. They compress and expand the ground. They can move through solids, liquids, and gases.
Surface wave
the slowest moving seismic wave. They make the ground roll violently. They cause the most damage to buildings.
Magnitude
The measurement of an earthquake's strength based on seismic waves and movement along faults.
Intensity
describes the damage an earthquake has on people, structures, and the natural environment.
Focus
The point beneath Earth's surface where rock breaks under stress and causes an earthquake
Epicenter
Point on Earth's surface directly above an earthquake's focus
Seismograph
A device that records ground movements caused by seismic waves as they move through Earth
Seismogram
the record of an earthquake's seismic waves produced by a seismograph
seismic waves
vibrations that travel through Earth carrying the energy released during an earthquake
Seismologist
A scientist who studies seismic waves caused by explosions, drilling, for natural resources, and earthquakes.
Tsunami
A giant wave usually caused by an earthquake beneath the ocean floor.
Liquefaction
The process by which an earthquake's violent movement suddenly turns loose soil into liquid mud
Richter scale
A scale that rates an earthquake's magnitude based on the size of its seismic waves.
Mercalli Scale
A scale that rates earthquakes according to their intensity and how much damage they cause at a particular place
Plate Boundaries
where the edges of two plates meet. Most earthquakes and volcanoes occur along these boundaries.
Amplitude
how high or low a wave swings on a seismograph.
Triangulation
The method used to find the epicenter of an earthquake using the readings of 3 different seismic stations.
Time-Distance Graph
graph used to plot the arrival times of p-waves and s-waves
Crust
The thin and solid outermost layer of the Earth above the mantle
Mantle
The layer of hot, solid material between Earth's crust and core.
Inner Core
A dense sphere of solid iron and nickel at the center of Earth
Outer Core
the liquid layer of the Earth's core that lies beneath the mantle and surrounds the inner core
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