Elastic-rebound theory

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/elastic-rebound-theory

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the energy propagation?Released energy travels outward as seismic waves, causing ground vibration
2. What is the historical proponent?Harry Fielding Reid, based on studies of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
3. What causes an earthquake?Earthquakes happen when the Earth's plates move and get stuck at fault lines. The stuck plates build up stress like a compressed spring. When the stress is too much, the rocks snap back, creating shaking.
4. How does the elastic‑rebound theory explain earthquakes?The theory says that rocks along a fault bend slowly while plates push on them. When the bending becomes too strong, the rocks break and snap back to their original shape, sending out seismic waves.

Shear Stress: The stress that occurs when forces act parallel to a surface, causing layers to slide past each other.
Elastic Deformation: Temporary deformation of a material that is fully recovered when the stress is removed.
Seismic Cycle: The recurring process of strain accumulation, rupture, and stress redistribution along a fault.