Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources Reading Comprehension Worksheets Earthquakes

"Seizing" Up the Quake: The Measurement Earthquakes

---

"Seizing" Up the Quake: The Measurement
Print "Seizing" Up the Quake: The Measurement Reading Comprehension


Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 7 to 9
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	9.14

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		pen-like, epicenter, amplitude, logarithm, seismologists, seismic, seismogram, arrival, magnitude, moderate, photographic, convert, interval, equivalent, multiplied, approximate
	content words:		John William Strutt, Lord Rayleigh, Seismograph Station

---

"Seizing" Up the Quake: The Measurement By Trista L. Pollard

---

¹     The earth shakes and shifts in many places. So, how do seismologists determine where seismic activity takes place? How do they know what magnitude the earthquake registers on the Richter scale? Let us examine the methods seismologists use for "seizing" up an earthquake.
 
²     When an earthquake begins, the compressional or P waves are the first to arrive. This is usually in the form of a sharp thud. Next, the shear waves or S waves join in the seismic party (moving at 5 kilometers per second). The last waves to arrive are the surface waves. There are two types of surface waves called Love waves and Rayleigh waves.
 
³     Love waves, also called L waves, were named after British mathematician A.E.H. Love. He designed a mathematical model for L waves in 1911. L waves move from side to side, and they are the fastest surface wave. They also cause destructive vibrations in buildings and break water and gas lines. The "ground rolling feeling" of an earthquake is produced by L waves. On seismographs, L waves also produce the largest vibrations.

Paragraphs 4 to 9:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

---

Weekly Reading Books

Create Weekly Reading Books Prepare for an entire week at once!

---

Feedback on "Seizing" Up the Quake: The Measurement

Leave your feedback on "Seizing" Up the Quake: The Measurement   (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

Earthquakes

Earthquakes

---

More Lessons

High School Reading Comprehensions and High School Reading Lessons

---

Science

Science

Careers in Science         Caring for Earth         Clouds         Dinosaurs         Earth's Land         Earth         Earthquakes         Electricity         Energy         Erosion         Food Pyramid         Food Webs and Food Chain         Forces and Motion         Fossils         Health and Nutrition         How Things Work         Landforms         Life Science         Light         Magnets         Matter

Moon         Natural Disasters         Photosynthesis         Plant and Animal Cells         Plants         Rocks and Minerals         Science Process Skills         Scientific Notation         Seasons         Simple Machines         Soil         Solar System         Sound         Space and Stars         Sun         Tsunami         Volcanoes         Water Cycle         Water         Weather

Copyright © 2018 edHelper