Question

This table compares magnitude and depth of four earthquakes occurring between 1955 - 2017. The surface changes that occur as a result of earthquakes begin in Earth's crust. What conclusion can be drawn about earthquake activity within Earth's crust based on the data shown?

A) Earthquake depth has continuously increased throughout the past century.


B) Higher-magnitude earthquakes do not always happen deeper in Earth's crust.


C) The higher an earthquake's magnitude, the deeper in Earth's crust it occurs.


D) Earthquake magnitude has continuously decreased throughout the past century.

Answer 1

The correct answer is option B) "Higher-magnitude earthquakes do not always happen deeper in Earth's crust".

Step-by-step explanation:

The table shows data of magnitude and depth of earthquakes that occurred at different time and at different locations. By analyzing the data we can conclude that higher-magnitude earthquakes do not always happen deeper in Earth's crust. At first glance we can thought that higher-magnitude earthquakes occur at high depth. However, the earthquake of Michoacan have a higher-magnitude than the earthquake of Alexandria (8 and 6.3, respectively), and the earthquake of Michoacan occurred at 12 miles of depth, while the earthquake of Alexandria occurred at 15 miles of depth.