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Earth structure and global tectonics
Quick questions on Earthquakes and seismic waves: focus, epicentre, magnitude, intensity and locating an epicentre - Eduqas A-Level Geology
5short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What are seismic waves?Show answer
Three types of wave radiate from the focus:
What is locating an epicentre?Show answer
The distance from a station to the epicentre is found from the gap between the P and S wave arrival times. Because the P wave travels faster, the longer the two waves travel the further the P wave pulls ahead, so a larger P-S gap means a greater distance. A travel-time graph converts the measured gap into a distance.
What is q1?Show answer
Define the focus and the epicentre of an earthquake, and name the mechanism that generates earthquakes. [3 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
State which seismic wave arrives first and give two of its properties. [3 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Explain why three seismic stations are needed to locate an epicentre. [2 marks]
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