Table of Contents
What is an earthquake simple definition?
Earthquake is a term used to describe both sudden slip on a fault, and the resulting ground shaking and radiated seismic energy caused by the slip, or by volcanic or magmatic activity, or other sudden stress changes in the earth.
What is an earth quake answer?
An earthquake is an intense shaking of Earth’s surface. The shaking is caused by movements in Earth’s outermost layer.
What is an earthquake and what causes them?
Earthquakes are usually caused when underground rock suddenly breaks and there is rapid motion along a fault. This sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground shake.
How does an earthquake occur short answer?
An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on a fault. When the stress on the edge overcomes the friction, there is an earthquake that releases energy in waves that travel through the earth’s crust and cause the shaking that we feel. In California there are two plates – the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.
What are earthquakes Class 7?
Answer: Earthquakes are the vibrations inside the Earth’s crust that happen due to seismic disturbances or volcanic eruptions.
What is an earthquake and why do they occur?
Earthquakes are the result of plate tectonics , or shifting plates in the crust of Earth, and quakes occur when the frictional stress of gliding plate boundaries builds and causes failure at a fault line. In an earthquake, elastic strain energy is released and waves radiate, shaking the ground.
Where does an earthquake actually start?
The place where an earthquake begins underground is called the hypocenter, and the area on the Earth’s surface directly above the hypocenter is called the epicenter and receives the most powerful shock waves.
How do scientists know when an earthquake is coming?
Earthquakes can be scientifically predicted by observing tiny cracks in rocks and how they widen when the rock is under stress. Other changes are also observable when a rock starts to compress, including changes in electrical resistance and the speed at which sound waves propagate through the rock.
What are the causes and effects of earthquakes?
Most disastrous earthquakes are caused by tectonic forces. Tectonic forces create tension and pressure and the stress begins to build up inside the earth. When the stress tends to be more than what the rocks of the earth can bear, the rocks are broken and displaced from their state of equilibrium.