Final answer:
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake releases approximately 1,000 times more energy than a magnitude 2.0 earthquake, because each step on the Richter scale indicates about 31.6 times more energy released and the question involves an increase of two steps.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Richter scale, which is used to quantify the energy produced by an earthquake, measures the magnitude of earthquakes exponentially. This means that each whole number increase on the Richter scale corresponds to an earthquake that is ten times more intense in terms of amplitude. When it comes to energy release, however, every whole number step on the Richter scale represents a release of about 31.6 times more energy. Therefore, to find out how much more energy a magnitude 4.0 earthquake releases compared to a 2.0 magnitude earthquake, we calculate 31.6 squared (because there are two steps from 2.0 to 4.0 on the scale).
31.62 equals 998.56, which we can approximate to 1,000 times more energy. Therefore, the correct answer to how many times more energy a magnitude 4.0 earthquake releases compared to a magnitude 2.0 earthquake is approximately 1,000 times more.