Download Chapter 8 Vocabulary - Effingham County Schools

Earthquake Vocabulary
1. fault – a break in the Earth’s crust along which blocks of the crust
slide relative to one another.
2. deformation – the change in the shape of rock in response to stress.
3. elastic rebound – the sudden return of elastically deformed rock to its
original shape.
4. seismology – the study of earthquakes.
5. seismic waves – waves of energy that travel through the Earth.
6. P waves – the fastest type of seismic wave; can travel through solids,
liquids, and gases; also known as pressure waves and primary waves.
7. S waves – the second-fastest type of seismic wave; cannot travel
through materials that are completely liquid; also known as shear
waves and secondary waves.
8. seismograph – instruments located at or near the surface of the Earth
that record seismic waves.
9. seismogram – a tracing of earthquake motion created by a
seismograph.
10.
epicenter – the point on the Earth’s surface directly above an
earthquake’s starting point.
11.
focus – the point inside the Earth where an earthquake begins.