Lesson 3 Vocabulary on Stress and Earthquakes

Flashcards covering key vocabulary related to stress, types of stress on rocks, faults, and earthquakes.

A force that acts on a rock to change its shape or volume.

Stress

Stress that stretches rock so that it becomes thinner in the middle.

Tension

Stress that squeezes rock until it folds or breaks.

Compression

Stress that pushes masses of rock in opposite directions, in a sideways movement.

Shearing

A break in Earth's crust along which rocks move.

Fault

The shaking that results from the movement of rock beneath Earth's surface.

Earthquake

The measurement of an earthquake's strength based on the seismic waves and movement along faults.

Magnitude