Question

How does the distance from focus to epicenter affect the strength or magnitude of an earthquake?

Answer 1

Beyond the above earthquakes can only get bigger by having more area on the fault to rupture. As an earthquake continues the rupture moves further and further away from the epicenter and thus dumps less and less energy at the epicenter.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

Therefore, the farther a seismic recording station is from the earthquake epicenter the greater will be the difference in time of arrival between the P and S wave. ... For example, a magnitude 5 earthquake produces ten times greater ground motion than a magnitude 4 earthquake