This exercise deals with logarithmic scales.

Earthquake A had a magnitude of 8.2 on the Richter scale. At the same time an earthquake B with magnitude 4.8 caused only minor damage. How many times more intense was earthquake A than earthquake B? (Round your answer to two decimal places.)
I got 3.4 times to be the intensity of earthquake A, It was marked incorrect can anybody tell me what I did wrong.

you were not quite done,

3.4 is the difference in the Richter scale values,
so the relative strength of the quakes is
10^(3.4) = appr 2512 times as large

remember that the Richter scale is a base 10 logarithm relationship

Well, it seems like you're experiencing some seismic confusion! The Richter scale is logarithmic, which means that each increase of one unit represents a tenfold increase in the amplitude of the earthquake.

Let's calculate the difference in intensity between earthquake A and earthquake B:

Magnitude difference = magnitude of earthquake A - magnitude of earthquake B
= 8.2 - 4.8
= 3.4

Now, since the Richter scale is logarithmic, we can use this magnitude difference to determine the intensity difference:

Intensity difference = 10^(magnitude difference)
= 10^3.4
= 25.12

Therefore, earthquake A was approximately 25.12 times more intense than earthquake B. Don't worry, next time you'll shake things up with your calculations!

To find the ratio of intensities between two earthquakes on the Richter scale, you need to use the logarithmic property. The Richter scale measures the intensity of earthquakes based on the logarithm of the energy released.

The formula to find the ratio of intensities is:

ratio = 10^((magnitude of earthquake A) - (magnitude of earthquake B))

In this case, earthquake A has a magnitude of 8.2, and earthquake B has a magnitude of 4.8.

Let's calculate the ratio step-by-step:

magnitude difference = magnitude of earthquake A - magnitude of earthquake B
= 8.2 - 4.8
= 3.4

ratio = 10^(magnitude difference)
= 10^3.4

Using a scientific calculator or approximation, 10^3.4 is approximately 251.19.

Therefore, earthquake A was approximately 251.19 times more intense than earthquake B.

Please note that you should use the full number, without rounding, and then round to two decimal places only at the end of the calculation.

To determine how many times more intense earthquake A was compared to earthquake B, we need to calculate the difference between their magnitudes and then use the concept of logarithmic scales.

The Richter scale is logarithmic, which means that each whole number increase on the Richter scale corresponds to a tenfold increase in magnitude. Therefore, the difference in magnitude between earthquake A and earthquake B can be calculated as follows:

Difference = Magnitude of A - Magnitude of B
Difference = 8.2 - 4.8
Difference = 3.4

So, the difference in magnitude between earthquake A and earthquake B is 3.4.

However, to determine how many times more intense earthquake A was compared to earthquake B, we need to use the concept of logarithmic scales. The formula to calculate the intensity ratio is as follows:

Intensity Ratio = 10^(Difference)

Plugging in the value of the difference we calculated earlier:

Intensity Ratio = 10^(3.4)

Calculating this value will give us the answer:

Intensity Ratio ā‰ˆ 251.18864315

Rounding this to two decimal places, the answer is approximately 251.19.

Therefore, earthquake A was approximately 251.19 times more intense than earthquake B.