Question

The following Richter scale data is from two different earthquakes, the Kuril Islands earthquake at 8.5 and the Great Chilean earthquake at 9.5. The Kuril Islands earthquake is _____.

a. 1.0 times weaker than the Great Chilean
b. 10 times weaker than the Great Chilean
c. 1.0 times stronger than the Great Chilean
d. 10 times stronger than the Great Chilean

Answer 1

Answer: b. 10 times weaker than the Great Chilean.

Step-by-step explanation :

• Richter scale is a numerical scale which is used to express the magnitude of an earthquake based on the seismograph recordings of the amplitude of the highest seismic wave.

• The Richter scale is a base-10 logarithmic scale.

• A base 10 logarithmic scale implies that each order of magnitude is 10 times greater than the previous one.

• Thus, even though 8.5 and 9.5 differ by a value of 1, the fact the scale is logarithmic with base 10 this means that Great Chilean earthquake is 10 times stronger than the earthquake on Kuril islands.

• Thus, the Kuril island earthquake is 10 times weaker than the Chilean earthquake.