2.57Earthquake Analysis. Earthquakes produce several types of shock waves. The m

Question

2.57Earthquake Analysis. Earthquakes produce several types of shock waves. The most well known are the P-waves (P for primary or pressure) and the S-waves (S for secondary or shear). In the earth's crust, P-waves travel at about 6.5 km/s and S-waves ard from move at about 3.5 km/s. The time delay between the arrival of the verti- these two waves at a seismic recording station tells geologists how Or, where far away an earthquake occurred. If the time delay is 33 s, how far he rocket from the seismic station did the earthquake occur?

Explanation / Answer

Let time taken by p waves be t

then d = vpt --------------- (1)

Similarly, time taken by s waves is t + 33

then d = vs (t + 33) -------------------- (2)

equate (1) and (2)

vpt = vs (t + 33)

solve for t, we get

t = 33vs / vp - vs

Therefore,

d = vp*33vs / vp - vs

d = 6.5*33*3.5 / 6.5 - 3.5

d = 250.25 Km

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse 2
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.