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Seismology Terms Quiz

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Instructions: Shake up your vocabulary with the science of earthquakes, from seismic waves and fault lines to measuring techniques and tectonic forces.

  1. 1.

    What does 'seismology' study?

    A
    Weather patterns
    B
    Volcanoes
    C
    Earthquakes and seismic waves
    D
    Ocean currents
  2. 2.

    What is the 'epicenter' of an earthquake?

    A
    The deepest point underground where an earthquake starts
    B
    The center of a tectonic plate
    C
    The point on the Earth's surface directly above where an earthquake originates
    D
    The farthest point that shaking is felt
  3. 3.

    What is a 'seismograph'?

    A
    A scale for measuring damage
    B
    A tool for predicting earthquakes
    C
    An instrument that detects and records the intensity and duration of ground movements
    D
    A map of fault lines
  4. 4.

    What does the 'Richter scale' measure?

    A
    The depth of an earthquake
    B
    The duration of shaking
    C
    The magnitude or energy released by an earthquake
    D
    The number of aftershocks
  5. 5.

    What is a 'fault' in geology?

    A
    A type of volcanic eruption
    B
    A sinkhole
    C
    A type of earthquake wave
    D
    A fracture in the Earth's crust along which blocks of rock have moved
  6. 6.

    What are 'aftershocks'?

    A
    Smaller earthquakes that follow the main earthquake in the same area
    B
    The sound of an earthquake
    C
    Cracks in buildings after an earthquake
    D
    Warning tremors before an earthquake
  7. 7.

    What is the 'hypocenter' (or focus) of an earthquake?

    A
    The edge of a tectonic plate
    B
    The center of a city hit by an earthquake
    C
    The surface location of greatest damage
    D
    The point underground where the rupture of rock first occurs
  8. 8.

    What is 'liquefaction'?

    A
    Water flooding during a tsunami
    B
    The melting of rock into magma
    C
    The flow of lava
    D
    When saturated soil loses strength during an earthquake and behaves like a liquid
  9. 9.

    What are 'P-waves'?

    A
    Waves on the ocean surface
    B
    Primary seismic waves that are the fastest and first to arrive, compressing and expanding rock
    C
    Waves that travel only through water
    D
    Waves caused by aftershocks
  10. 10.

    What are 'S-waves'?

    A
    Slow-moving ocean waves
    B
    Secondary seismic waves that move rock side to side and cannot travel through liquids
    C
    Sound waves from an earthquake
    D
    Surface waves
  11. 11.

    What is a 'tectonic plate'?

    A
    A type of rock formation
    B
    A large slab of Earth's lithosphere that moves, floats, and sometimes fractures
    C
    A layer of the atmosphere
    D
    The inner core of the Earth
  12. 12.

    What does 'subduction' describe?

    A
    Plates sliding past each other
    B
    The cracking of the Earth's surface
    C
    Two plates moving apart
    D
    The process where one tectonic plate slides beneath another
  13. 13.

    What is 'magnitude' in earthquake measurement?

    A
    A numerical value representing the energy released by an earthquake
    B
    The number of people affected
    C
    The depth of the earthquake
    D
    The duration of the earthquake
  14. 14.

    What is a 'foreshock'?

    A
    A smaller earthquake that precedes a larger earthquake in the same location
    B
    An aftershock that is stronger than the main quake
    C
    The main earthquake event
    D
    A man-made vibration
  15. 15.

    What does the 'Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale' measure?

    A
    The depth of the earthquake
    B
    The observed effects and damage caused by an earthquake at specific locations
    C
    The speed of seismic waves
    D
    The magnitude of an earthquake

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