Seismic Waves

You can't drill very far into the crust of the Earth (only about 12km), but luckily scientists can use the seismic waves produced by earthquakes to investigate the Earth's inner surface.

7 cards   |   Total Attempts: 182
  

Cards In This Set

Front Back
P-Waves are transverse and only travel through solids. True or False?
False! P-Waves are LONGITUDINAL and travel through solids AND liquids.
S-Waves are transverse and are slower than P-Waves. True or False?
True! P-Waves travel faster than S-Waves!
Which of the following statements about seismic waves is correct?-P waves cannot pass through the outer core.
-S waves cannot pass through the outer core.-P waves and S waves can pass through the outer core.
S waves cannot pass through the outer core.S-waves can only travel through solids. The outer core is liquid.
Starting at the centre of the Earth, the correct order for its layers is:-crust --> mantle --> core-core --> crust --> mantle-core --> mantle --> crust
Answer 4
Core --> mantle --> crust!
How is the motion different in a longitudinal and a transverse wave?
Answer 5
Transverse motion has particles oscillating across the direction of travel, whereas in longitudinal the oscillations are parallel to the direction of travel.
On the opposite side of the earth to the earthquake, only one type of wave is detected.Which type is detected?
P-waves.
Why study seismic waves?
Much of what we know about Earth comes from study of seismic waves and how they travel through different materials. Studying these waves helps us understand earthquakes and how to build things to withstand the different types of waves associated with earthquakes.