Question

The seismic waves in a 7.5 magnitude earthquake are those in a 6.5 magnitude earthquake.

a) 32 times
b) 1,000 times
c) 100 times
d) 10 times

Answer 1

Seismic waves from a 7.5 magnitude earthquake are 10 times greater than those from a 6.5 magnitude earthquake due to the logarithmic scale of earthquake magnitude.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks how much greater the seismic waves of a 7.5 magnitude earthquake are compared to those of a 6.5 magnitude earthquake. The magnitude scale for earthquakes is logarithmic, with each whole number increase corresponding to a 10-fold increase in amplitude. To calculate how much greater the seismic waves of a 7.5 magnitude earthquake are compared to a 6.5 magnitude one, we can use the fact that a 1.0 increase in magnitude represents a 10-fold increase in wave amplitude, hence the answer is 10 times greater.