We have been given that on May 22, 1960, an earthquake in Chile measured 9.5 on the Richter scale. On February 27, 2010, another earthquake in Chile measured 8.8 on the Richter scale.
We will use Richter scale formula to compare the intensities of the two earthquakes.
, where
R = Richter scale value,
I = Intensity
Upon substituting our given values, we will get two equations.
Upon subtracting equation (2) from equation (1), we will get:
Using log property
, we will get:
Upon rounding our answer to the nearest whole number, we will get:
Therefore, the earthquake in 1960 had about 5 times the intensity as the earthquake in 2010.