Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology, 11e (Tarbuck)
Chapter 11 Earthquakes
11.1 Multiple-Choice Questions
1) What is the term for stored-up energy released by earthquakes?
A) Tectonic
B) Seismic
C) Geophysical
D) Structural
2) You are watching TV with a friend when there is a special bulletin about a city in California
being devastated by an earthquake. The news anchor reports that the epicenter of the earthquake
is 45 miles east of Los Angeles. How would you explain the definition of the epicenter to your
geologically impaired friend?
A) The exact location on the fault where slippage occurs
B) The contact point between two tectonic plates
C) The location on the Earth’s surface directly above the point of slippage
D) The location of migrating magma in the crust
3) What is the definition of the focus?
A) The exact location on the fault where slippage occurs
B) The location where three monitoring stations overlap
C) The location on the Earth’s surface directly above the point of slippage
D) The build-up of potential energy in a new location after an earthquake
4) Which of the following researchers developed elastic rebound after the 1906 San Francisco
earthquake?
A) Charles Richter
B) Giuseppe Mercalli
C) Zhang Heng
D) H.F. Reid
5) The elastic rebound associated with earthquakes is an example of ________ deformation.
A) Elastic
B) Ductile
C) Brittle
D) Permanent
6) ________ are smaller earthquakes of lesser magnitude that follow a major earthquake.
A) Aftershocks
B) Ripples
C) Foreshocks
D) Displacement
7) Which tectonic boundary is associated with megathrust faults?
A) Transform
B) Divergent
C) Convergent
8) Which tectonic boundary is responsible for the most powerful and destructive earthquakes
recorded?
A) Transform
B) Divergent
C) Convergent
9) What is the term used to describe slow, gradual displacement along a fault without the
accumulation of significant strain?
A) Megathrusting
B) Fault creep
C) Fault propagation
D) Elastic rebound
10) ________ is a measurement of displacement on the fault surface.
A) Fault propagation
B) Fault creep
C) Divergence
D) Fault slip
11) As of 2012, which of the following earthquakes has been observed to have the greatest fault
slips?
A) Christchurch, New Zealand (2010)
B) Sumatra (2004)
C) Tohoku, Japan (2011)
D) New Madrid, Missouri (1812)
12) Where was the earliest seismograph developed?
A) China
B) Japan
C) Italy
D) United States
13) ________ are records of seismic waves.
A) Seismographs
B) Seismograms
C) Seismometers
D) Seismic relays
14) ________ are instruments that sense earthquake waves and transmit them to a recording
device.
A) Seismographs
B) Seismograms
C) Seismometers
D) Seismic relays
15) Which seismic wave will be released first during an earthquake?
A) P-waves
B) S-waves
C) L-waves
D) R-waves
16) When going from a 5 to a 6 on the Richter Scale, what is the increase in amplitude of seismic
waves?
A) 1 time
B) 2 times
C) 10 times
D) 32 times
17) What information is needed when determining the distance from the focus of an earthquake
to the seismic receiving station?
A) The velocity of the P and S waves
B) The amplitude of the seismic waves on a seismogram
C) The magnitude of the earthquake
D) The time interval between the P and S waves
18) Generally speaking, which seismic waves will have the greatest amplitude on a seismogram?
A) P-waves
B) S-waves
C) Surface waves
19) Which of the following best describes a seismic gap?
A) Unusually quiet zones along typically active faults
B) A down-dropped valley bound by normal faults
C) Faults that have not been active for several million years
D) An erosional valley that has developed in an inactive fault
20) ________ measures the total energy released during an earthquake by determining the
average amount of slip on the fault, the area of the fault surface that slipped, and the strength of
the faulted rock.
A) Mercalli Intensity Scale
B) Richter Scale
C) Beaufort Scale
D) Moment Magnitude Scale
21) Liquefaction will ________.
A) Amplify the power of seismic waves
B) Lessen the power of seismic waves
C) Do nothing to the power of seismic waves
22) Which of the following would be the most unstable during an earthquake?
A) Sedimentary strata
B) Unconsolidated sediments
C) Crystalline bedrock
D) Concrete foundations
23) Which of the following does not contribute to destruction from seismic vibrations?
A) Intensity and duration of vibrations
B) Geologic material beneath the structure
C) Building materials and practices
D) Proximity to water sources
24) As of 2012, which is the only ocean basin to have significant tsunami warning buoy
coverage?
A) Pacific Ocean
B) Atlantic Ocean
C) Indian Ocean
D) Arctic Ocean
25) You are monitoring a seismograph in Seattle. One morning, your instrument records an
earthquake approximately 2,000 km away. From that information, can you predict where the
earthquake occurred?
A) Yes, because seismographs can indicate direction as well as distance
B) Yes. You could take the distance and match it up with known fault lines to find the epicenter
C) No, because seismographs can’t pick up earthquakes from that far away.
D) No, because you would need information from more than one seismograph to plot the
epicenter.
26) What is the most dangerous location for a seiche to form in?
A) Lake
B) Reservoir behind an earthen dam
C) Restricted bay
D) In-ground swimming pools
27) Where is the zone of greatest seismic activity on Earth?
A) Circum-Pacific Belt
B) Alpine-Himalayan Belt
C) San Andreas Fault
D) Mid-Atlantic Ridge
28) Which plate boundary along the Circum-Pacific Belt is responsible for the majority of that
belt’s earthquakes?
A) Convergent
B) Divergent
C) Transform
29) Which tectonic plates are responsible for the majority of seismic activity in the Alpine-
Himalayan Belt?
A) African, Antarctic, and Eurasian Plates
B) Eurasian, North American, and Pacific Plates
C) North American, South American, and Cocos Plates
D) Eurasian, African, and Indian Plates
30) The Denali Pipeline in ________ was designed to withstand displacement from earthquakes
in order to prevent oil spills.
A) California
B) Hawaii
C) Alaska
D) Mexico
11.2 True/False Questions
1) Earthquakes occur along pre-existing faults only.
2) Monitoring foreshocks has become a reliable indicator for predicting earthquakes.
3) Normal faulting is generally not associated with massive earthquakes.
4) Most faults are locked in place, except for brief, abrupt movements when sudden slippage
produces earthquakes.
5) Slippage along faults occurs all at once.
6) When the entire length of a fault ruptures during a single seismic event, the slip will take less
than a second to travel the whole length.
7) Rupture along a fault can stop if there is a large kink in the fault.
8) Surface waves will move in all directions away from the focus.
9) P-waves will not travel through liquids.
10) There is no theoretical upper limit to the Richter Scale.
11) Earthquakes with a Richter magnitude less than 2.0 are generally not felt by humans.
12) Tsunamis travel as a single wave across the ocean.
13) The first sign of a tsunami’s approach is a rapid retreat of water from the shoreline.
14) A tsunami is a tidal wave.
15) The moon has seismic events that scientists have termed moonquakes.
16) Short-range earthquake predictions are reliable and widely used to get people to safety.
11.3 Short Answer Questions
1) During an earthquake, energy waves will radiate outward in all directions through the interior
at the ________ whereas energy waves will radiate outward in all directions along the surface at
the ________.
2) Name an earthquake disaster that was associated with a megathrust fault.
3) Circle the correct answers: The ground shaking produced by large earthquakes is not only
(stronger / weaker), but take a (longer / shorter) time than shaking produced by slippage along
small fault segments.
4) What are the two categories of seismic waves?
5) Which seismic waves will cause the greatest damage to buildings?
6) Earthquake A is classified as a 3 on the Richter Scale. Earthquake B is classified as a 6. How
many times more energy has Earthquake B released compared to Earthquake A?
7) What is the highest level on the Mercalli Intensity Scale?
8) As of 2012, what is the strongest earthquake on record and when did it occur?
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11.4 Matching Questions
Match the earthquake location with the year of the disaster.
A) 1995
B) 1886
C) 2010
D) 1964
E) 1811-1812
F) 1906
1) San Francisco
Diff: 1
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge
Global Sci Out: 7
Section: 11.6 – Earthquake Belts and Plate Boundaries
Focus/Concepts: 11.6
Earth Science LO: 8.1 – Natural hazards result from natural Earth processes.
2) Charleston
Diff: 1
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge
Global Sci Out: 7
Section: 11.6 – Earthquake Belts and Plate Boundaries
Focus/Concepts: 11.6
Earth Science LO: 8.1 – Natural hazards result from natural Earth processes.
3) Haiti
Diff: 1
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge
Global Sci Out: 7
Section: 11.6 – Earthquake Belts and Plate Boundaries
Focus/Concepts: 11.6
Earth Science LO: 8.1 – Natural hazards result from natural Earth processes.
4) Kobe
Diff: 1
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge
Global Sci Out: 7
Section: 11.6 – Earthquake Belts and Plate Boundaries
Focus/Concepts: 11.6
Earth Science LO: 8.1 – Natural hazards result from natural Earth processes.