Why do seismic waves travel a curving path through the Earth? Refraction For background on this animation series, download Background from the Resources box.Animations are available for preview in embedded YouTube. To download, right click the 'Quicktime Animation' link and choose 'Save Target As' (PC) or 'Download Linked File' (Mac).Send us feedback. Travel times through different media This animation shows what happens to seismic waves as they encounter a boundary between a slower and faster layer in the Earth with introduction to Snell’s Law. Quicktime Animation (4 MB) Seismic Sprint—race to the seismometer The animation on the left describes the relative speeds of the direct, critically refracted and head waves. Quicktime Animation (1 MB) Seismic Sprint—graphing the seismograms Using the same seismic ray paths, the animation below adds a graph to see how data recorded show the distance transition of first arrival wave paths. Quicktime Animation (3 MB) Direct ray races 5 different refracted rays Quicktime Animation (2 MB) Quicktime Animation (3 MB)
Faulting at Devils Slide | Lee Trampleasure's Blog The opening of the tunnel around Devil’s Slide in San Mateo County allowed for the creation of a mile-long trek to look at some of California’s fascinating geology. In my last geology hike to the trail, I took a photo of the great sedimentary layers at the north end of the trail, then edited the photo to show how well the strata line up on each side of a fault through the sediments. Mouse over the image below to see the image of the current conditions of the strata. Imagine the strata lined up like this years ago. After faulting After pressure and faulting, the strata now looks like this. The video below includes a great description of the geology of the area. More resources on the geology of Devil’s Slide: San Mateo County Parks: Devil’s Slide Trail (includes half-hour video)KQED Quest: The Rock’s of Devil’s Slide (March 2013)Civil + Structural Engineer: Devil’s Slide Tunnel (June 2013) Like this: Like Loading... Related Tentative geology road trip/hikes to Southwest, March 2016 July 7, 2015
How do P & S waves give evidence for a liquid outer core? Shadow Zones For background on this animation series, download Background from the Resources box.Animations are available for preview in embedded YouTube. To download, right click the 'Quicktime Animation' link and choose 'Save Target As' (PC) or 'Download Linked File' (Mac).Send us feedback. Intro to Shadow Zones The seismic shadows are the effect of seismic waves striking the core-mantle boundary. Quicktime (5.73 MB) Seismic Shadow Zones vs Light Shadows The wave properties of light are used as an analogy to help us understand seismic-wave behavior. Quicktime (9.36 MB) Shadow Zone Rollover Flash interactive rollover shows the different P and S phases and their respective shadow zones. Flash (154 kB) P Phases and the Shadow Zone Animation addresses 5 common variations of P-type seismic body waves. Quicktime (6.31 MB) S Phases and the Shadow Zone Animation addresses 3 common variations of S-type seismic body waves. Quicktime (4.49 MB) Please send feedback to Jenda Johnson.
QuakeFeed iPhone App Modeling Earthquake Waves | Earth Science Week An earthquake occurs when massive rock layers slide past each other. This motion makes enormous vibrations, which travel from the site of the earthquake in waves. The waves (seismic waves) travel all the way through the Earth. Seismologists can record these waves when they reach Earth’s surface using seismographs. Earthquakes generate three kinds of waves: Compressional waves (P waves) travel the fastest. Materials Two Slinkys™Flat, smooth surfaceNotebook and penSafety goggles Procedure Work with a partner. Earthquakes Living Lab: The Theory of Plate Tectonics Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards. All 100,000+ K-12 STEM standards covered in TeachEngineering are collected, maintained and packaged by the Achievement Standard Network (ASN), a project of JES & Co. (www.jesandco.org). In the ASN, standards are hierarchically structured: first by source; e.g., by state; within source by type; e.g., science or mathematics; within type by subtype, then by grade, etc. Click on the standard groupings to explore this hierarchy as it applies to this document. Introduction/Motivation (It is helpful to have a world map handy to show students the continents of the Earth.) According to the theory of plate tectonics, the Earth's crust is divided into plates that are continually moving either towards or away from each other. This activity is designed around the Earthquakes Living Lab, a resource and online interface that uses real-time U.S.
Sound Uncovered: An Interactive Book for the iPad Explore the surprising side of sound with Sound Uncovered, an award-winning interactive collection from the Exploratorium featuring auditory illusions, acoustic phenomena, and other things that go bump, beep, boom, and vroom. Hear with your eyes, see with your ears, test your hearing, make and modify recordings—this app puts you at the center of the experiment. Why do some noises seem louder at night? And it's free! Sound Uncovered won the Jackson Hole Science Media Symposium's 2014 Best Online and Interactive Media Award; the American Association of Museum's 2013 Silver MUSE award, Mobile Applications; and Museum and the Web's 2013 Best of the Web Award, Mobile.
Build an Earthquake-proof Structure (Activity courtesy of MyScienceBox and Irene Salter). Level: Grades 6-12. Time Required: Three class sessions: 1) to build the shake table (may be prepared ahead of time) and make preparations; 2) to build the tower structures; and 3) to test each structure. Group size: 2-4 students. Teacher handout: project_quake_towers.doc Earthquake-proof Structures Students in grades 6-12 construct towers out of drinking straws that must withstand simulated earthquakes vibrations and the increasing load of 250 gram sandbags. Objectives Students will: understand basic principles of earthquake engineering and design including the importance of a solid foundation, wide base, symmetrical design, and trusses.work together in a team to design and build a structure. follow through a design process of repeated designing, testing, redesigning and retesting a structure. Standards Grade 6 – Earth Science Plate Tectonics and Earth’s Structure 1. d. Shaping Earth’s Surface 2. d. Vocabulary Materials Attachments: 1. 2.