Earthquake Practice Test

If necessary, review:

• Infamous Earthquakes and Plate Tectonics Help
• Types of Earthquakes Help
• Earthquake Faults Help
• Hypocenters vs Epicenters Help
• Seismic Measurement Help
• Seismic Waves Help

Earthquake Practice Test

1. Seismic waves are caused by

(a) ballroom dancing

(b) loud cars

(c) water pressure

(d) vibrations in the earth from shifts in the underlying rock

2. The fastest seismic waves and the first to arrive at any monitoring station are

(a) P waves

(b) Q waves

(c) R waves

(d) S waves

3. Earthquakes that take place in bunches with no main quake are called

(a) faults

(b) swarms

(c) stacks

(d) inverted

4. The Richter Magnitude scale

(a) measures tidal waves

(b) rates earthquakes on a 1–12 scale

(c) is an open ended scale

(d) is never used

5. Because of their side-to-side motion, S waves are sometimes called

(a) bobbing waves

(b) transverse shear waves

(c) primary waves

(d) simple waves

6. The sloshing of water, caused by earthquake vibrations, from a swimming pool or body of water is known as a

(a) seiche

(b) spill

(c) washout

(d) sieve

7. Earthquake swarms are thought to be caused by all of the following, except

(a) the formation of new faults

(b) fault creep

(c) increased pressure of fluids at depth

(d) extremely cold winters

8. A series of waves caused by large earthquakes or landslides at or beneath the sea floor is called a

(a) beach bash

(b) roller

(c) tsunami

(d) tidal wave

9. What word describes the sudden slip on a fault as well as surface shaking and radiating seismic energy?

(a) plate tectonics

(b) earthquake

(c) tsunami

(d) fault bend

10. The location directly above the hypocenter on the surface of the earth is called the

(a) scarf

(b) blind fault

(c) epicenter

(d) geologic zone

Answers:

1. D

2. A

3. B

4. C

5. B

6. A

7. D

8. C

9. B

10. C