Measuring earthquakes
I can describe and explain how we measure earthquakes.
- Year 6
Measuring earthquakes
I can describe and explain how we measure earthquakes.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The focus of an earthquake is deep underground - seismic waves radiate out from the focus.
- The epicentre is on the surface, directly above the focus and is where the earthquake is felt most strongly.
- The power of an earthquake is called its magnitude and is measured on the Richter scale.
Keywords
Focus - The point inside Earth’s crust where the earthquake starts is called the focus.
Epicentre - The epicentre is the point on Earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.
Seismic waves - Seismic waves are vibrations that travel through Earth generated by an earthquake or an explosion.
Magnitude - Magnitude is a measure of the size of the seismic waves generated by an earthquake.
Common misconception
Earthquakes are their strongest at their epicentre.
Earthquakes are felt their strongest at their epicentre as that is where humans first feel them. Earthquakes are actually their strongest at their focus point, but humans do not feel them until seismic waves have travelled through the Earth's crust.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In the event of an earthquake, ....
Q2.What is the layer in the centre of Earth?
Q3.Order the layers of Earth into their correct order starting with the outer most layer.
Q4.What is the largest layer of Earth?
Q5.What are these?
