Final answer:
Factors such as resonance, standing waves, and constructive and destructive interference determine the shaking felt during seismic events. The height of a structure can affect resonance, and earthquake waves can cause varying levels of damage due to interference patterns.
Step-by-step explanation:
The factors that determine the shaking felt on the surface during events like earthquakes involve complex interactions of various wave phenomena, such as resonance, standing waves, and constructive and destructive interference. When seismic waves encounter buildings, the driving frequency of these waves may match the natural frequency of the buildings, causing resonance, which can result in severe damage or even collapse if the building's height matches the condition for setting up a standing wave. Moreover, the way earthquake waves travel along the Earth's surface and reflect off denser rocks can lead to constructive interference at some points, potentially causing damage at locations further from the epicenter while sparing areas closer to it. Surface tension and the behavior of sound waves generated by friction at the atomic level, with energy dissipating into heat, also illustrate the complex dynamics of waves at different scales and contexts.