Earthquakes 1 – Recording Station GIZMO

Student Exploration: Earthquakes 1 – Recording Station Vocabulary: body wave, earthquake, epicenter, fault, focus, P-wave, S-wave, seismic wave, seismogram, seismograph Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) (2 marks) 1. Have you ever experienced an earthquake? If so, what did it feel like? My mom did. Firstly she felt Inaudible sound around the entire building, Entire building once. 2. Earthquakes are usually caused by the sudden movement of rocks along a fault, or fracture, in Earth’s crust. The most famous fault in the U.S. is the San Andreas Fault in California. What major cities are located near the San Andreas Fault? San Francisco and San Bernardino. Gizmo Warm-up The Earthquakes 1 – Recording Station Gizmo simulates the seismic waves released by an earthquake. To begin, look at the key on the bottom left side of the Gizmo. 1. The epicenter of the earthquake is the point on Earth’s surface closest to the focus, or origin, of the earthquake. (2 marks) A. What symbol represents the epicenter? B. What symbol represents the recording station? 2. Click Play ( ) and observe the seismic waves leaving the epicenter of the earthquake. (2 marks) A. What types of seismic waves are released? P-wave and S-wave. B. Look at the Recording station detector on the upper left side of the Gizmo. What happens when the seismic waves hit the recording station? A small amplitude wave was recorded when the purple wave passed, and a large wave was recorded when the green wave passed