Seismic wave

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

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/seismic-wave

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 key phenomena?Reflection and refraction at boundaries between geological layers, crucial for seismic imaging
2. What is the related scientific fields?Geophysics, earthquake engineering, petroleum geology, and volcanology
3. What are seismic waves?Seismic waves are invisible vibrations that travel through the Earth, carrying energy from earthquakes, volcanoes, or explosions.
4. How do seismic waves move through the Earth?They move faster in denser, stiffer materials and slow down in softer layers. When they hit a boundary, part of the wave bounces back (reflection) and part bends (refraction).

Elastic Moduli: Measures of a material's resistance to deformation under stress, including bulk and shear moduli.
Seismic Tomography: A technique using seismic wave data to create 3D images of Earth's internal structure.
Focal Mechanism: Describes the orientation and type of fault slip during an earthquake.
Ambient Seismic Noise: Continuous, low-amplitude vibrations from natural and human-made sources, distinct from seismic events.