Final answer:
To compare the intensity of the 1960 and 2010 Chilean earthquakes, we use the Richter scale's logarithmic properties. The 1960 earthquake had a magnitude of 9.5 and the 2010 earthquake had a magnitude of 8.8, representing approximately a fivefold difference in intensity as the calculation 10^0.7 is about 5.
Step-by-step explanation:
The subject of this question involves comparing the intensities of two earthquakes using the Richter scale. The Richter scale is a logarithmic scale used to quantify the energy released by an earthquake. The scale is based on a logarithmic calculation, specifically the base-10 log of the amplitude of waves recorded by seismographs.
The formula used to compare the magnitudes (M) of two earthquakes on the Richter scale is M = log(I/I0), where I is the intensity of the earthquake and I0 is a standard intensity. To find the difference in intensity between the two earthquakes in Chile, one from 1960 with a magnitude of 9.5 and another from 2010 with a magnitude of 8.8, we can use the Richter scale's logarithmic properties.
The difference in magnitude is 9.5 - 8.8 = 0.7. Since the Richter scale is logarithmic, each whole number increase represents a tenfold increase in amplitude. Therefore, a difference of 0.7 on the Richter scale indicates that the 1960 earthquake was roughly 10^0.7 times more intense than the 2010 earthquake. Calculating 10^0.7 gives a value of approximately 5, meaning the earthquake in 1960 had about 5 times the intensity of the earthquake in 2010. This calculation illustrates how data on the Richter scale, which are logarithmic values of energy released, allow us to compare the relative power of earthquakes.