12.1. Earthquakes – Learning Outcomes
After reading this chapter of the textbook, learning the vocabulary, and working through the review questions, students should be able to:
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Define the terms earthquake and fault.
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Describe the processes that can cause earthquakes.
- Draw and describe the different types of faults.
- Define elastic rebound theory and describe how strain build up can lead to earthquakes.
- Draw a diagram showing an earthquake including the epicentre, focus, and fault.
- Draw and describe the types of seismic waves.
- Describe how seismographs work and how we can use seismic information to locate the epicentre of an earthquake.
- Describe the different methods we use to describe earthquake magnitude and intensity, and name the ones we use most commonly today.
- Define seismology and describe how it is used to study the Earth.
- Describe and compare and contrast the earthquakes we observe at transform, convergent, and divergent plate tectonic boundaries and in intraplate environments.
- Describe primary and secondary hazards associated with earthquakes and provide examples of location(s) where each type of hazard could occur.
- Describe earthquake activity in Canada: distribution, sources, approximate magnitudes.
Learning outcomes not covered in the textbook chapter in detail, but we may discuss them in class (depending on your professor):
- Describe patterns of earthquake foreshocks and aftershocks in terms of magnitude and spatial distribution after a major earthquake.