Earth Science: Earthquakes
Test Quiz
1. Which of the following best describes an earthquake?
a. A large storm with very high speed winds
b. A violent shaking of the Earth that occurs when two tectonic plates bump into each other
c. An opening in the Earth's crust where magma erupts to the surface
d. A large cloud that generates rain, hail, and lightning
e. None of the Above
2. What do scientists call the boundary between two tectonic plates?
a. Vaults
b. Epicenters
c. Crusts
d. Faults
e. Mantles
3. What are the smaller earthquakes that occur before a large earthquake called?
a. Foreshocks
b. Faults
c. Waves
d. Aftershocks
e. Hypocenters
4. What are the shock waves caused by an earthquake that travel through the ground called?
a. Electromagnetic waves
b. Seismic waves
c. Microwaves
d. Transverse waves
e. Infrared waves
5. What does the Moment Magnitude Scale measure?
a. The speed of the earthquake
b. The length of the earthquake in time
c. The damage caused by an earthquake
d. The size of the earthquake in magnitude
e. The direction of an earthquake
6. What would you expect to occur from an earthquake that measured 3 on the MMS scale?
a. You wouldn't feel it
b. A slight shaking like a truck driving by
c. Stuff would fall off your shelves
d. Cracks in the streets and bridges
e. Whole buildings and cities flattened
7. What would you expect to occur from an earthquake that measured 9 on the MMS scale?
a. You wouldn't feel it
b. A slight shaking like a truck driving by
c. Stuff would fall off your shelves
d. Cracks in the streets and bridges
e. Whole buildings and cities flattened
8. What is the location deep inside the Earth were the earthquake began called?
a. Quake point
b. Hypocenter
c. Epicenter
d. Crust center
e. Zero point
9. What is the location on the Earth's surface above where the earthquake began called?
a. Quake point
b. Hypocenter
c. Epicenter
d. Crust center
e. Zero point
10. What US state has the most earthquakes?
a. California
b. Texas
c. Hawaii
d. Alaska
e. Florida
About this quiz: All the questions on this quiz are based on information that can be found on the Earth Science: Earthquakes page at www.ducksters.com/science/earthquakes.php.
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