How far from an earthquake epicenter is a city where the difference between the P-wave and the S-wave arrival times is 5 minutes and 00 seconds?
The difference in speed is maybe 8 km/s
these are 5*60 = 300 seconds apart
so 8 * 300 = 2400 km
thanks, i got that too, my fault i should've included the options
1.7 x 10^3
9.9 x 10^3
3.5 x 10^3
4.7 10^3
Well, the speed of compression and shear waves depends strongly on the characteristics of the ground they are passing through. We could get answers all over those choices depending on what we chose for the difference in speed. Your text or course notes must have given you typical values to use that differ from the ones we chose.
To determine the distance from an earthquake epicenter to a city, you need to know the time difference between the arrivals of P-waves and S-waves at the city's location. The P-wave is the primary wave that travels faster and arrives first, followed by the S-wave, which is the secondary wave.
The time difference between the arrival of P-waves and S-waves provides information about the distance from the epicenter. The difference in arrival times can be used to calculate the distance using the following formula:
Distance (in kilometers) = (Time difference (in seconds) / 5) * 8
In your case, the time difference is 5 minutes and 00 seconds, which is equal to 300 seconds. Plugging this value into the formula:
Distance = (300 seconds / 5) * 8
Distance = 60 * 8
Distance = 480 kilometers
Therefore, the city is approximately 480 kilometers away from the earthquake epicenter.