click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Earthquake Terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Mantle | rocky layer located under the crust. Composed of silicon, oxygen, magnesium, and calcium |
| surface wave | seismic wave that moves rock particles in a backward, rolling motion and also in a side-to-side, swaying motion |
| seismograph | instrument used to register seismic waves and record the time that each arrived |
| secondary wave | seismic wave that moves rock particles at right angles to the direction of the wave |
| core | solid inner most part of Earth's structure, made of solid iron-nickel |
| focus | point below Earth’s surface where energy is first released in the form of seismic waves |
| Richter Scale | scale that compares the magnitude of an earthquake recorded by seismographs. |
| mohorovicic discontinuity | separates the crust and the upper mantle |
| seismic wave | wave generated by an earthquake |
| primary wave | seismic wave that causes rock particles to move back and forth in the same direction that the wave is traveling |
| epicenter | point on Earth’s surface directly above the earthquake focus |
| lithosphere | crust plus the rigid, upper mantle |
| Mercalli | scale used to measure the strength of an earthquake based upon damage. |
| asthenosphere | the part of upper mantle that is flowing |
| earthquake | vibrations, or shaking, produced when rocks break along a fault |
| crust | rigid, rocky outer surface of the Earth |