Quiz 16: Earthquakes
Geology/Geography/Oceanography/Atmospheric Sciences
Q 1Q 1
As a dense oceanic plate begins to bend down into a trench, it stresses slightly at the top of the bend and normal faults occur.
Free
True False
True
Q 2Q 2
P-waves are compressional waves in which the rock vibrates back and forth parallel to the direction of wave propagation.
Free
True False
True
Free
True False
False
Q 4Q 4
The elastic rebound theory involves the sudden release of progressively stored energy in rocks.
Free
True False
Free
True False
Free
True False
Free
True False
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True False
Q 9Q 9
The time interval between the first arrival of a P-wave and the first arrival of an S-wave increases with distance from the focus of an earthquake.
Free
True False
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True False
Q 11Q 11
By studying seismograms of an earthquake on a distant fault, geologists can tell which way rocks moved along that fault.
Free
True False
Free
True False
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True False
Q 14Q 14
The Modified Mercalli Scale determines earthquake intensity, a measure of an earthquake's effect on people and buildings.
Free
True False
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True False
Q 16Q 16
An earthquake of Richter magnitude 5 releases 32 times more energy than an earthquake of magnitude 4.
Free
True False
Q 17Q 17
During an earthquake, buildings built on hard rock are damaged more than buildings built on soft sediment.
Free
True False
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True False
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True False
Q 20Q 20
The most important concentration of earthquakes in the world is the Mediterranean-Himalayan Belt.
Free
True False
Q 21Q 21
A(n) _____ is a trembling or shaking of the ground caused by the sudden release of energy stored in rocks beneath the Earth's surface.
A) tsunami
B) volcano
C) rupture
D) rumble
E) earthquake
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 22Q 22
Rupture begins at the _____ and then spreads rapidly along the fault plane.
A) epicenter
B) point of contact
C) plate boundary
D) focus
E) shear plane
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 23Q 23
Both P-waves and S-waves can pass through ____.
A) brittle zones
B) solid rock
C) solid rock and liquids
D) liquids
E) elastic zones
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 24Q 24
The __, the distance between the epicenter and focus, for earthquakes is about 670 km.
A) p-wave
B) first arrivals
C) travel-time curve
D) depth of focus
E) Love wave
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 25Q 25
____ are the waves of energy produced by an earthquake.
A) Seismic
B) Light
C) Tsunami
D) Ocean
E) Electrical
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 26Q 26
The paper record of an earthquake is a ____.
A) hypocenter
B) Mercalli Intensity scale
C) travel-time curve
D) seismogram
E) moment magnitude
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 27Q 27
_____ maps are useful for assessing how different areas respond to seismic waves and provide valuable information for earthquake planning.
A) Focus
B) Intensity
C) Epicenter
D) Magnitude
E) Intermediate
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 28Q 28
____ focus earthquakes are the most common.
A) Deep
B) Hypocenter
C) Intermediate
D) Shallow
E) All depths are equally represented.
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 29Q 29
A ____ plots seismic-wave arrival time against distance.
A) travel-time curve
B) seismogram
C) seismometer
D) Mercalli Intensity scale
E) Richter scale
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 30Q 30
_____ waves tend to be incredibly destructive to buildings because they produce much ground movement and take a long time to pass.
A) Body
B) Love
C) Rayleigh
D) S
E) P
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 31Q 31
The point within the earth where seismic waves first originate is the _____.
A) scarp
B) epicenter
C) focus
D) trace
E) origin
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 32Q 32
The ______ is the most famous example of a right lateral transform fault.
A) New Madrid Seismic Zone of Arkansas
B) San Andreas Fault in California
C) East African Rift
D) Choctaw Fault of Oklahoma
E) Dead Sea Rift
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 33Q 33
Perhaps 90 percent of the destruction in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake was caused by ____.
A) fires
B) building collapse
C) landslides
D) soil displacement
E) tsunamis
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 34Q 34
The greatest loss of life in the 1964 southern Alaska earthquake was from _________.
A) landslides
B) tsunamis
C) fires
D) building collapse
E) soil displacement
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 35Q 35
In the elastic rebound theory, earthquakes are caused by the sudden release of progressively stored _____ in rocks.
A) seismic waves
B) strain
C) stress
D) tectonism
E) ductile behavior
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 36Q 36
A _____ is the first wave to arrive at a recording station following an earthquake.
A) Love wave
B) Rayleigh wave
C) S-wave
D) P-wave
E) surface wave
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 37Q 37
____ are seismic waves that travel through the Earth's interior, spreading out from the focus in all directions.
A) X-waves
B) R-waves
C) Surface waves
D) Refracted waves
E) Body waves
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 38Q 38
____ are earthquake waves that cause the most property damage.
A) Surface waves
B) P-waves
C) X-waves
D) S-waves
E) Body waves
Free
Multiple Choice
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 40Q 40
The time interval between the first arrival of P-waves and the first arrival of S-waves ____ with distance from the focus of an earthquake.
A) does not change
B) cannot be measured
C) increases
D) varies irregularly
E) decreases
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 41Q 41
Tsunami waves may move faster than ____.
A) a speeding bullet
B) P-waves
C) S-waves
D) 800 km/hr
E) 2000 mph
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 42Q 42
On the modified mercalli intensity scale the maximum value is _______.
A) XVI
B) XV
C) XIV
D) XIII
E) XII
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 43Q 43
A series of earthquakes that occurred near _____ in 1811-1812 were the most widely felt earthquakes to occur in recorded history.
A) New Madrid, Missouri
B) Plymouth, Massachusetts
C) Charleston, South Carolina
D) San Francisco, California
E) Attica, New York
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 44Q 44
Although large earthquakes are rare in the central and eastern United States, when they do occur they tend to be very destructive because _______.
A) they occur infrequently
B) the crust there is cool and brittle
C) more people live in that region
D) the faults in that region are older and larger
E) the crust in that region is thicker
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 45Q 45
The effects of ground motion caused by an earthquake do not include _____.
A) permanent land surface displacement
B) fire
C) volcanism
D) landslides
E) soil liquefaction
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 46Q 46
A(n) _______ is a seismic sea wave.
A) body wave
B) S-wave
C) R-wave
D) tsunami
E) tidal wave
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 47Q 47
First motion studies of mid-ocean ridges show that the faults there are ____, and parallel to the rift valley.
A) subduction
B) strike-slip motion
C) compression
D) deep focus earthquakes
E) normal
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 48Q 48
One suggested cause of deep focus earthquakes is ______.
A) collapse of minerals into denser forms
B) collapse of pore space in sedimentary rocks
C) collision of convection currents
D) friction between the core and the mantle
E) the rise of core material into the mantle
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 49Q 49
______ would be associated with Benioff zones.
A) Andesite volcanoes
B) Oceanic trenches
C) Edges of continents
D) Island arcs
E) All the answers are correct.
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 50Q 50
Deep focus earthquakes occur at a maximum depth of ______.
A) 100 km
B) 550 km
C) 670 km
D) the Earth's center
E) the core mantle boundary
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 51Q 51
If the measured amplitude of vibration of a rock is 1 cm for a magnitude 4 earthquake then the rocks will move ______ during a magnitude 5 earthquake.
A) 2 cm
B) 4 cm
C) 8 cm
D) 10 cm
E) 20 cm
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 52Q 52
The most important concentration of earthquakes by far is ______.
A) the Mediterranean-Himalayan belt
B) the San Andreas fault
C) the Arctic zone
D) the Atlantic basin
E) the Circumpacific belt
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 53Q 53
Richter scale values above 7 are not accurate. The ______ scale is a more objective method of measuring the energy of a large earthquake.
A) seismic trace
B) moment magnitude
C) P-wave amplitude
D) Modified Mercalli
E) gravity meter
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 54Q 54
For most of the 20th century earthquake magnitude was reported on the _______ scale, a scale that has never exceeded a magnitude 8.6.
A) moment magnitude
B) surface-wave
C) Richter
D) Gutenberg
E) Modified Mercalli
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 55Q 55
_____ earthquakes probably occur along older faults that are no longer at plate boundaries, for example the New Madrid Missouri earthquakes of 1811-1812.
A) Interplate
B) Normal
C) Intraplate
D) Transform
E) Subduction
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 56Q 56
Deep rocks behave as _____ material under stress rather than breaking.
A) liquid
B) brittle
C) ductile
D) isotropic
E) vacuum
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 57Q 57
Which of the following is not used to aid in earthquake prediction?
A) tsunamis
B) foreshocks
C) increase of radon emissions from water wells
D) patterns of earthquakes
E) seismic gaps
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 58Q 58
_____ is a measure of an earthquake's effect on people and buildings.
A) Intensity
B) Magnitude
C) Amplitude
D) Duration
E) Longevity
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 59Q 59
_____ can occur when water-saturated soil turns from a solid to a liquid as a result of an earthquake.
A) Creep
B) Liquefaction
C) Solifluction
D) Soil collapse
E) Gelatinization
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 60Q 60
___ stations are the minimum needed to determine the location of an earthquake epicenter.
A) Five
B) Two
C) Three
D) Four
E) Six
Free
Multiple Choice