Question

The initial earthquake had a Richter scale reading of 3.24. The aftershock was 7470 times as strong as the initial earthquake. What was the Richter scale reading of the aftershock?(a) 7.11(b) 6.48(c) 4.32(d) 3.87

Answer 1

In order to determine the Richter scale reading of the aftershock, use the following formula:

`M_2-M_1=\log ((I_2)/(I_1))`

Where I1 and I2 are the intensity of both earthquake and its aftershock, M1 and M2 are the magnitude on the Richter Scale for earthquake and aftershock.

In this case, you have:

I1 = intensity earthquake

I2 = 7470*I1

M1 = 3.24

M2 = ?

solve the equation above for M2 and replace the values of the given parameters: