Alaskan quake's richter magnitude: 8.6
Taiwan quake's richter magnitude: 7.6
about how much larger was the amplitude of the waves generated by the alaskan quake than the taiwan quake?
a. about twice as large
b. about ten times as large
c. about one hundred times as large
d. about one thousand times as large
I don't get it, but i think it's d.
Each step on the richter scale is a factor of ten. So an earthquake of magnitude 3 has ten times the energy of one of magnitude 2. Or if you like a difference of 1 between the magnitudes is a factor of 10 increase, a difference of 2 is a factor of a hundred increase, a difference of 3 is a factor of a thousand increase.
What is the difference between 8.6 and 7.6?
is thst d?
To determine how much larger the amplitude of the waves generated by the Alaskan quake was compared to the Taiwan quake, we can compare the Richter magnitudes of the two quakes.
The Richter scale is logarithmic, meaning that each whole number increase on the scale represents a tenfold increase in amplitude.
Given that the magnitude of the Alaska quake is 8.6 and the magnitude of the Taiwan quake is 7.6, we can find the difference in magnitude:
8.6 - 7.6 = 1
Since there is a difference of 1 on the Richter scale, we know that the amplitude of the waves generated by the Alaskan quake is about ten times larger than the Taiwan quake.
Therefore, the correct answer is:
b. about ten times as large.