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Evaluating Earthquakes

Evaluating Earthquakes. Jill Frank September 2006 NSF NMGK-8. Earthquakes. Abrupt shakings of the Earth caused by the release of built up pressure on the Earth’s surface. Earthquakes cause the Earth to shake for less than a minute but can do major damage.

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Evaluating Earthquakes

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  1. Evaluating Earthquakes Jill Frank September 2006 NSF NMGK-8 NSF North Mississippi GK-8

  2. Earthquakes • Abrupt shakings of the Earth caused by the release of built up pressure on the Earth’s surface. • Earthquakes cause the Earth to shake for less than a minute but can do major damage. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

  3. Is the Earth’s Crust One Solid Sheet? • The crust of Earth is actually broken into 12 main plates that fit together like puzzle pieces. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

  4. The Floating Earth • The mantle is the layer of Earth just below the crust. It is a made up of a liquid. • Because the mantle is liquid, the hard surface of the Earth is actually floating. • The crust floating on the mantle is similar to crackers floating on top of soup. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

  5. Who’s Fault is it? • The space between two plates is called a fault. • Because earthquakes occur when two plates rub together, they are often said to occur on fault lines. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

  6. This movement forms an earthquake Plate Movement • Earth’s plates can move in three directions: • Divergent • Convergent • Transformational NSF North Mississippi GK-8

  7. How Does an Earthquake Form? • When plates try to move in opposite directions, they put pressure on each other because they do not want to slide past each other. • When the pressure gets too great the pressure breaks and the plates are forced to slide. This sliding, called friction, is rough and jerky which causes the Earth to shake. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

  8. Epicenter The Center of it All • The point where the plates experience the friction is called the epicenter. • Where is the epicenter in this picture? NSF North Mississippi GK-8

  9. Who Feels the Shaking? • The shaking starts at the epicenter and spreads in circles outward much like the ripples of water dripping into a puddle. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

  10. Seismic Waves • The waves of shaking are called seismic waves. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

  11. The Richter Scale • The Richter scale is used to measure how much shaking an earthquake causes. • The Richter scale gives each earthquake a number from 1-10. • Less than 2 – cannot be felt • 2 and 4 – can be felt but do not cause damage • 5 and 6 – can cause damage • 7-10 are major earthquakes and cause severe damage NSF North Mississippi GK-8

  12. How Do We Measure An Earthquake? • Earthquakes are measured using a seismometer. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

  13. A Homemade Seismometer • As the Earth shakes it causes the cup and pencil to swing drawing lines on the paper. • Would a major earthquake make big lines or small lines? NSF North Mississippi GK-8

  14. Earthquake Damage NSF North Mississippi GK-8

  15. Does Mississippi Have Earthquakes? • Yes, but they are very rare. • In 1812 an earthquake of 8.2 magnitude was recorded in Memphis, TN. Mississippi felt the shaking. • It is predicted that this fault will produce another quake in the next 50 years. NSF North Mississippi GK-8

  16. Works Cited • Berkley. 1995. Earthquake. Accessed 20 Sept. 2006. http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/lessons/indiv/davis/inprogress/QuakesEng3.html • CDLI. Earthquakes: seismic waves. Accessed 20 Sept. 2006. http://www.cdli.ca/CITE/earth_waves.htm • ETI. 2006. Sniffing for oil and earthquakes. Accessed 20 Sept. 2006. http://www.eti-geochemistry.com/gulfeq/images/pic07.html • FEMA. Earthquakes. Accessed 20 Sept. 2006. http://www.fema.gov/kids/quake.htm • Live Science. New Data Confirms Strong Earthquake Risk to Central U.S. Accessed 20 Sept. 2006. http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/050622_new_madrid.html • Maps. 2006. Earth’s tectonic plates. Accessed 20 Sept. 2006. http://www.maps.com/ref_map.aspx?nav=RM&cid=679,1037&pid=12871 • Maryland Geological Society. 2006. Earthquakes. Accessed 20 Sept. 2006. http://www.mgs.md.gov/esic/brochures/earthquake.html • Nana’s Recipes. Accessed 20 Sept. 2006. http://nanasrecipes.com/soup.html • North Mississippi GK-8. Earthquake activites. Accessed 20 Sept. 2006. http://smartweed.olemiss.edu/nmgk8/curriculum/middleschool/seventh/earthquake/Earthquake.pdf • Physical Geography. 2006. Earthquakes. Accessed 21 Sept. 2006. http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10m.html • Provincial Emergency Program. 2006. Earthquake damage. Accessed 20 Sept. 2006. http://www.pep.bc.ca/hazard_preparedness/Earthquake_photos.html • The Tech. Earthquakes. Accessed 20 Sept. 2006. http://www.thetech.net/exhibits/online/quakes/overview/ • Thinkquest. Earthquakes. Accessed 20 Sept. 2006. http://library.thinkquest.org/10136/earthquk/earttq.htm NSF North Mississippi GK-8

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