GS1 Vocab

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the characteristics of seismic waves, earthquake measurement instruments, and geological terminology.

Amplitude

A key factor in sound, electromagnetic, and seismic waves used to determine the energy of a wave; greater height results in more energy.

P-waves

Primary waves. Fast, weak, longitudinal waves that can travel through solids, liquids, and gases; they are the first waves detected by seismographs during an earthquake.

Transverse

waves produced by matter vibrating perpendicular to the direction the energy travels; s-waves

Epicenter

The point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus where seismic waves first reach the surface, resulting in the most intense shaking.

Focus

The actual location within the Earth where an earthquake originates, also known as the hypocenter.

Seismologist

A scientist who studies earthquakes and the propagation of seismic waves through the Earth to understand seismic events and assess risks.

Seismo

A prefix related to earthquakes or seismic activity.

Seismometer

An instrument used to detect and record the vibrations caused by seismic waves as they travel through the Earth.

Seismogram

A record produced by a seismograph displaying the amplitude and timing of seismic waves, used to analyze the magnitude and location of an earthquake.

Earthquake

Shaking and trembling that results from the movement of rock beneath Earth's surface.

Seismic Waves

Waves that carry the energy of an earthquake away from the focus, through the Earth's interior and across the surface; p-waves and s-waves

S-waves

Secondary waves. Slow, strong, transverse waves that can travel through solids only; they are the second waves detected by seismographs during an earthquake.

Longitudinal

waves produced by matter vibrating in the same direction that the energy travels; p-waves