Final answer:
People in San Francisco would likely feel a large earthquake along the San Andreas fault due to its capacity to generate seismic waves over large distances. Quantifying the number of California residents to survey before finding someone with or without adequate earthquake supplies would depend on a range of factors. Predicting the future position of Los Angeles relative to San Francisco involves calculating the displacement based on the annual movement rate of the land west of the fault.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a large earthquake occurs along the San Andreas fault, it is very likely that people in San Francisco would feel it. Considering the distance and the potential size of such an earthquake, the seismic waves could easily reach and be felt in San Francisco. The San Andreas Fault is known for producing significant earthquakes that can be felt over large areas. For instance, instruments placed in the Los Angeles basin, which is on land west of the San Andreas fault, demonstrate that the basin is distorting due to the pressure building up beneath the surface. This suggests that a significant earthquake could have wide-reaching effects.
Earthquake preparedness in California residents varies, and while some may have adequate supplies, others may not. The specific number of residents one would need to survey to find someone without adequate earthquake supplies or someone with them would depend on diverse factors, including specific location, socioeconomic status, and public education about earthquake risks and preparedness.
Predicting Future Position of Los Angeles Relative to San Francisco
To predict when Los Angeles might be at the same latitude as San Francisco, we can use the average motion of the land west of the fault, which is about 6 cm per year. If we need to account for a northwestward displacement of 590 km, we can set up a simple division problem:
590,000 cm (total displacement) รท 6 cm/year (average velocity) = 98,333.33 years.
Thus, it would take approximately 98,333 years for Los Angeles to move to the same latitude as San Francisco, assuming that the motion remains constant at its current rate.