Download NAME - Thomas C. Cario Middle School

Earth’s Interior & Earthquakes STUDY GUIDE
1.)
What is the name of the surface along which
rocks break when too much force is applied? Fault
2.)
What is the name for the vibrations produced by
the breaking of rock? Seismic Wave
3.)
In which kind of fault does the rock above the
fault (the hanging wall) move downward? Normal
4.)
In which kind of fault does the rock above the
fault (the hanging wall) move upward? Reverse
5.)
In which kind of fault features rocks moving
past each other with little upward movement?
Strike-Slip/ Transform
6.)
What type of force is associated with Normal
faults? Tension
7.)
What type of force is associated with Reverse
faults? compression
8.)
What type of force is associated with Transform
or Strike-Slip faults? Shear
9.)
What is the name of the actual location under
the surface of the Earth where the rocks break in
an earthquake? Focus
10.) What is the name of the spot on the Earth’s
surface directly above where the earthquake takes
place? Epicenter
11.) How many seismograph stations are needed to
locate an epicenter? 3
12.) What information is needed in order to use a
graph to find out how far away an earthquake is
from a seismograph station? The difference in
arrival times between the p and s waves.
13.) Which seismic waves are the slowest and the
most destructive? Surface
14.) What tool is used to measure an earthquake?
Seismograph/ seismogram
15.) Which scale is used to describe the strength of
an earthquake quantitatively? Richter
16.) What phenomenon is caused when shaking
earth begins to behave more like a liquid, causing
buildings to sink into the soil? Liquefaction
17.) What is the name for ocean waves caused by
earthquakes? Tsunami
18.) Which type of seismic wave compresses and
expands the earth in the direction of the wave?
Primary
19.) Which type of seismic wave moves the earth at
right angles to the direction of the wave?
Secondary
20.) Which type of seismic wave is a combination of
P and S waves and moves land in a rolling and
swaying motion? Surface
21.) Which wave can go through the core? Primary
22.) Which wave goes through the mantle, but is
blocked by the liquid outer core? Secondary
23.) What happens to p-waves when they enter the
liquid outer core? Bend and Slow down
S-Waves? They don’t enter the Outer Core
24.) Which seismic waves are the fastest? Primary
25.) What is the name for the part of the Earth
where no seismic waves are detected from a given
earthquake? Shadow Zone
26.) Why are there more earthquakes on the west
coast of the US than there are on the east coast?
The plate boundary lies along the CA coast.
27.) Why don’t S-Waves show up in the shadow
zone? They don’t travel through liquid.
28.) Why don’t P-Waves show up in the shadow
zone? They bend.
29.) What are the four main layers of Earth’s
interior? Crust, mantle, outer core and inner core.
30.) Which layer(s) have humans actually seen?
Crust
31.) Which layers make up the lithosphere? Crust
and Upper mantle
32.) Which layers make up the asthenosphere?
Upper/ Middle mantle
33.) What are the two kinds of crust? Continental
and Oceanic
34.) Which rock type would you expect to find in the
seafloor? Basalt
35.) Which rock type would you expect to dominate
on land? Granite
36.) Which type of crust is thicker? Continental
More dense? Oceanic
37.) Explain (in more than one complete sentence)
how seismic waves provide the indirect evidence
for our understanding of the Earth’s layers.
Seismic Waves provide evidence for our understanding of the
Earth layers by examining the change in the speed of the
waves through different layers. Also, examining the change of
motion (stopping or bending) based on the material the wave
is traveling through helps us determine the layers make-up.
Crust
Depth (km)
Thickness (km)
Temp (ºC)
Elements
State (solid/liquid)
Description
Relative Density
Mantle
Outer Core
Inner Core