Final answer:
The correct answers are triangulation, amplitude, and crust. Triangulation is used to locate the earthquake's epicenter, the amplitude of seismic waves is used on the Richter scale to calculate magnitude, and Rayleigh and Love waves are confined to the Earth's crust.
Step-by-step explanation:
The epicenter of an earthquake can be located using triangulation from at least three seismographic stations. The Richter scale magnitude can be calculated using the amplitude of the wave traced out on a seismogram. Rayleigh waves and Love waves are confined to the crust. Therefore, the correct answer to fill in the blanks is: a. Triangulation, amplitude, crust.
Seismologists use the arrival times of P-waves and S-waves recorded at geographically dispersed seismographic stations to determine the distances from these stations to the epicenter. Since P-waves (pressure or compressional waves) travel faster than S-waves (shear or transverse waves), the time difference between the arrival of these two types of waves is used to estimate the distance to the epicenter. When data from at least three stations are compared, the epicenter can be precisely located through a process known as triangulation.
The Richter scale uses logarithmic scaling based on the amplitude of seismic waves to quantify the size of earthquakes. Seismograms capture the amplitude of the shaking, and this information is used in the calculation of the earthquake's magnitude. On the other hand, surface waves called Rayleigh and Love waves are typically confined to the Earth's crust and can cause horizontal and vertical ground movement, contributing to the destructive potential of earthquakes.