Earthquakes Laboratory

In this exercise, students will study the three types of faults, investigate the association between faults and earthquakes, and examine the relationship between earthquakes and plate tectonics. There is a set of animations that illustrate the types of seismic waves, an exercise in which students determine the location of an earthquake epicenter using arrival times of P and S waves, and an exercise in which they investigate earthquake magnitude and shaking intensity as a function of the length of rupture along a fault. They will understand that faults break due to accumulated stress, the energy is released as seismic waves that travel away from the earthquake location, that earthquake waves can be measured by an instrument called a seismometer, and that earthquakes commonly occur along plate boundaries. Educational levels: Middle school, High school, Undergraduate lower division