Final answer:
The Richter scale is used to quantify the energy produced by an earthquake. The formula R=log(A/A0) determines the difference in wave amplitude between two earthquakes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Richter scale is used to quantify the energy produced by an earthquake. The numbers on the Richter scale represent the magnitude of the earthquake, which is a measure of the amplitude of the seismic waves.
The formula R=log(A/A0) is used to determine how many times stronger the wave amplitude A of an earthquake is compared to a reference wave amplitude A0.