2. By: Olivia Flores Sabina Jarvis Stephanie Noel

3. What is an Earthquake? An earthquake is when two tectonic plates collide and cause the ground to violently shake. Earthquakes depending on there magnitude can cause great destruction.

4. What causes Earthquakes? Earthquakes occur when built up pressure from moving plates is released. Plates – are sections of the earth’s crust 1. There are about 20 plates. a. 7 large b. 13 small 2. The largest plate is the Pacific Plate.

5. Where do earthquakes usually occur? Major earthquakes usually occur at fault boundaries. Focus – is the point where the rock breaks or moves which causes the earthquake.

6. How is energy released? Energy is released in waves. 1.When it is closer to the focus, the wave is stronger. 2. These waves can cause damage to buildings,houses,etc. 3. Earthquakes can cause tsunamis.

7. What is a tsunami? A tsunami is a large wave of water. These huge waves can cause severe damage. Recently a huge earthquake caused a tsunami in Japan. This caused a lot of damage and was devastating.

8. How do you compare strengths of earthquakes? When you compare earthquakes you use the Richter Scale. 1. It has a scale of 1 to 10 2. Each number greater is 10 times stronger than the one before it. 3. In 5+ earthquakes damage is caused 4. when the Richter Scale is closer to the focus the number will be higher.

9. What happened in Haiti? Last year the Haitians suffered a 8.0 magnitude earthquake. This earthquake caused a lot of damage because it was so unexpected. The houses in Haiti were not really stable because Haiti is a poor country.

10. What happened in Japan? Recently in Japan a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit. This earthquake caused a tsunami to hit. That went 6 miles into shore. The earthquake also caused nuclear plant problems.

11. CREDITS usgs.gov petside.com news.zaptel.com Mrs. Clewell’s packet