Assignment Instructions:
Access this video demonstrating P and S waves before answering the following questions:
Keith Miller (2012, Jan 22)Demonstrating P and S Seismic Waves (Video). Retrieved from YouTube
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Please answer these questions in your own words. Most will require 3-4 sentences to provide enough detail (you may draw a picture to help illustrate the concept as desired).
Part A:
1. What causes the seismic waves experienced during an earthquake?
2. Explain why there is a pattern as to where earthquakes occur.
3. What is the difference between the focus of an earthquake and the epicenter?
4. The energy released from an earthquake propagates as seismic waves. What is the difference between a P wave, an S wave, and a surface wave? Explain why are they recorded at different arrival times on the seismometer at a seismic monitoring station.
Part B:
Visit this United State Geological Survey (USGS) site and then answer the following questions:
1. Discuss some of the causes that the USGS believe are triggering the seismic activity in Oklahoma.
2. Explain how the earthquakes in Oklahoma are different from the earthquakes experienced in California near the San Andreas fault.
3. From what you know so far, could what is happening in Oklahoma happen in South Florida? Why or why not?
Part C:
Select an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 or above that has occurred within the last 5 years, and answer the following questions:
1. Wheat was the date of this earthquake, where was the epicenter located, how deep was the focus, and what was the magnitude of the earthquake on the Richter Scale?
2. Are earthquakes common to this area? Take a look at the history of this general area further back in time to see if quakes are common or not.
3. Was this earthquake associated with a plate boundary, and if so, what type of plate boundary? If not, what is the likely cause of the earthquakes?