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Why does the magnitude of an earthquake measure in whole numbers?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
It is not measured in whole numbers
Recordings are usually rounded off
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
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What is the longest earthquake recorded?
It was the Great Alaskan Earthquake in 1964.It lasted 4 whole minutes.The magnitude of it was 9.3 on the ritcher scale.
The product of two or more nonzero whole numbers is a?
Non zero whole number, with a magnitude greater than any of the numbers.
What does the Richter scale tell you about an earthquake?
The Richter scale provides a measure of the magnitude or energy released by an earthquake. It quantifies the amplitude (size) of seismic waves generated by the earthquake, which correlates with the earthquake's strength. The scale is logarithmic, meaning that each whole number increase on the scale represents a tenfold increase in the amplitude of shaking and approximately 31.6 times more energy release.
How is magnitude using the Richter scale?
The Richter magnitude scale (ML) scale, assigns a single number to quantify the amount of seismic energy released by an earthquake. It is a logarithmic scale based upon the horizontal amplitude of the largest displacement from zero on a seismometer. Each whole unit (i.e., 1.0) corresponds to an approximate energy increase of 32 time (e.g., a 6.0 M earthquake has 32 time the energy release of a 5.0 M).
What does a Richter scale measure on an earthquake?
RICHTER SCALEThe Richter scale (known as the local magnitude scale to seismologists) was originally developed to measure small to moderate magnitude earthquakes in southern California by Charles Richter and Beno Gutenberg. The numerical levels indicate the energy released by a particular quake. The numerical value is obtained from the logarithm of the maximum amplitude of seismic waves as recorded on a seismometer. This value is then scaled to account for the distance from the epicentre of the earthquake to the seismometer so as to allow the value to be correlated with the local magnitude readings from other seismometers in differing locations (as seismic waves lose their energy as they propagate through the earth so if this correction was not made, then different seismometer stations at different distances would give differing Richter magnitudes for the same earthquake). The Richter magnitude measurement produced by this methodology in theory has no limit and may be positive or negative.As stated above, the Richter scale itself is a logarithmic mathematical formula which is calibrated so that a ten fold increase in amplitude relates to a single whole number increase on the scale (e.g. an earthquake with a Richter magnitude of 5 has seismic waves with a maximum amplitude 10 times larger than those for a magnitude 4). It has a number of practical limitations, in that it is poor at recording earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 7 and at distances greater than 650 km from a seismometer.The equation for calculating the Richter magnitude (MR) is shown below:MR = (Log10A) - (Log10A0)WhereA = maximum zero to peak amplitude of seismic wave (mm) recorded.A0 = Empirical function derived from the distance from seismometer station to earthquake epicentreLog10A0 From 0 to 200 km distance:Log10A0 = 0.15 - 1.6 log(distance in km)Between 200 and 600 km distance by:Log10A0 = 3.38 - 3.0 log(distance in km)Due to the limitations described above (distance and maximum size of measurable earthquake), it has since been replaced by the Moment Magnitude Scale in the measurement of large earthquakes - for information on this, please see the related question.the richter scale reads the magnitude of earthquake.
How many times more powerful is an earthquake measuring 7.0 than one measuring 5.0?
The Richter magniude scale is logorithmic. As such the size (amplitude) of the largest seismic waves produced by a magnitude 7 earthquake are 102 (or 100) times larger than those produced by a magnitude 5 earthquake. However the amount of energy released by a magnitude7 earthquake is 1000 times greater (102)^3/2 than a magnitude 5 earthquake and so it is likely to be much more destructive.
How is the streanth of earthquake measured?
The strength of an earthquake is measured using a seismic scale called the moment magnitude scale (Mw). It calculates the total energy released by an earthquake by measuring the amplitude of seismic waves. The scale is logarithmic, meaning that each whole number increase represents a tenfold increase in magnitude and roughly 31.6 times more energy released.
Can an earthquake kill people?
It depends on the magnitude of an earthquake. For example, a 2.0 magnitude earthquake would virtually kill no one and cause little to no damage. However, a 9.0 earthquake could kill thousands and destroy whole cities.
Was there an earthquake in CA today?
There was indeed an earthquake in Octotillo, CA. Today but out of the whole state there were a count of 77 earthquakes but they were under a magnitude of 2.5 except for the one I mentioned which was 3.1. These records are for the date of 6/21/10
How would you measure to the nearest half inch of a whole number?
Whole numbers are already rounded to the nearest half.
What is the vector sum of 7 and 5 and 13 and -5?
The whole point of a vector is that it has a magnitude and a direction. There are no directions given in the above string of numbers.
What was the time of the Japanese earthquake?
Japan has earthquakes daily. The whole country is in a very active seismic area, and have the densest seismic network in the world which records earthquake activity. The massive magnitude 9.0 earthquake that happened off the coast of Japan on Friday, March 11th 2011 was at 2:46pm local time or 05:46 GMT.
