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DIAGRAM SKILL
Name: ____________________________________
Date: ________________
Inside an Earthquake
Scientists measure an earthquake’s strength using a unit of measure called magnitude. Each
one-unit increase in magnitude means that the earthquake is 10 times as powerful as the number
below it. Earlier this year, a major earthquake struck Haiti. This quake had a magnitude of 7.
Earthquakes measuring less than 4 generally cause little or no damage. Quakes measuring
greater than a 6 can cause major damage over a wide area.
Most earthquakes occur because of a shift in tectonic plates beneath Earth’s surface. The
diagram below explains how earthquakes can occur. Use it to answer the questions that follow.
MAKING OF A QUAKE
1. T ectonic Plates Two tectonic
plates in Earth’s crust move in
different directions. Pressure
builds up until they shift out
of place.
3
2. S eismic Waves The shifting of
3. Epicenter The spot on Earth’s
surface where a quake is felt the
strongest is called its epicenter.
2
1
1
crust
1. Which of Earth’s layers features tectonic plates? _______________________________________________
the shifting of tectonic plates
2. What produces seismic waves? ______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
3. An earthquake with a magnitude of 6 strikes a town. Where would the damage be the greatest?
at the earthquake’s epicenter
__________________________________________________________________________________________
4.True or false: A city in the center of a tectonic plate would be at a higher risk of experiencing an
false
earthquake than a city on the boundary of two plates. __________________________________________
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the tectonic plates releases these
huge pulses of energy that travel
through the ground and cause it
to shake.