best questions 2
Roughly how many magnitude 8 earthquakes occur throughout the world in one year?
1
1. What is an example of an earthquake prediction that did or did not occur? How did those involved in the earthquake predicted area suffer? 2. List a few examples of earthquake precursors. Why are these precursors not always an accurate predictor of earthquakes?
1) The New Madrid, MO earthquake stirred a lot of media frenzy and the entire area shut down in preparation for the quake that didn't happen, causing economic loss. The Haicheng, China earthquake was "successfully predicted" which allowed many people to leave the area and greatly lowered the number of lost lives. 2) Earthquake precursors include changes in seismic velocity, ground uplift/tilt, radon levels, electrical resistivity, and seismicity.
What were the five most deadly Earthquakes?
1. Shaanxi, China 2. Haiti 3. Tangshan, China 4. Aleppo, Syria 5. Sumatra
the Holocene represents the most recent how many years?
10,000
How many nuclear waste storage sites are there currently in the U.S.?
131
What was the most violent earthquake ever recorded in North America?
1964 Alaskan earthquake
The USGS concluded in the 2003 Earthquake Probability Study that there is a _____ probability of at least one earthquake of magnitude 6.7 or higher striking the San Francisco Bay Region between 2003 and 2032.
62%
The atmospheric pressure of Venus is _____ times greater than that of Earth.
90
very likely is synonymous with what percentage?
90%
Explain what a tsunami is and explain how it is generated?
A tsunami is either one wave or a series of waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water. Large earthquakes beneath the sea floor have been known to cause tsunamis as the shaking releases waves of energy that are literally translated into large physical waves that travel toward shore. Also volcanoes, underwater explosions like nuclear testing, and landslides can cause tsunamis.
Explain the relationship between precursors and false positives in earthquakes prediction. Then explain how this fits into the broader theme of uncertainty in science.
After every major earthquake scientists and non scientists search to find natural phenomena that occurred as a precursor to the quake. In reality, these supposed precursors, like changes in radon or water levels, occur independently of the quake and create false positive predictions when they occur later. This search for precursors reflects humans' desire to use science to find absolute explanations for nature.
The American response to the space race with the USSR was the __________ Program, designed to put a man on the moon.
Apollo
Describe in detail the methods of earthquake prediction used in the process of Cellular Seismology.
Cellular seismology uses red and green colors to represent past and new earthquakes. Green circle with the "x", which is the epicenter, represent past earthquakes. The red dots are current earthquakes in recent years. If a red dot is inside a green circle, we call that a "hit". Then we analyze the different percentages of new earthquakes occurring in regions where older ones did. Considering the majority of more recent earthquakes are occurring in or at least near the regions where old earthquakes did, then we conclude that future earthquakes will tend to happen near past earthquakes.
Who instituted the State Seismological Bureau and why?
Chairman Mao to forecast earthquakes. It was responsible for earthquake predictions and had numerous guidelines including: 1.) priority to prevention over basic research, 2.) work with amateurs, 3.) Chinese and Western scientific approaches, 4.) rely on the masses, and 5.) join forces in waging battle under the leadership of the communist party. It worked independently of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and could practice its own research for the government.
Describe the political circumstances in China that has led some to believe that the Hiacheng earthquake in 1975 was successfully predicted.
Communist China had been expanding its earthquake prediction policies through the State Seismological Bureau and "peoples stations" throughout the 70's. When a series of foreshocks foreshadowed an earthquake, authorities predicted that an earthquake occurring was imminent and they were right. However, this earthquake was obvious given the foreshocks meaning no one deserved credit for the prediction.
What is the difference between intra-plate and plate boundary earthquakes
Concerning intra-plate and plate boundary earthquakes there are a few differences. It is much easier to predict plate boundary earthquakes as opposed to intra-plate earthquakes. Plate boundary earthquakes are also stronger and more powerful, although inter-plate earthquakes tend to do more damage. Plate boundary earthquakes occur all the time whereas intra-plate earthquakes are very rare.
What type of statistics are associated with visual methods of organization?
Descriptive Statistics
Compare and contrast the 2 types of statistics.
Descriptive and inferential. Descriptive is method for organizing and summarizing data thats purpose is to use methods to make sense out of a mass of information. Inferential makes inferences about a population based on information obtained from a sample of the population.
while Chinese seismologists in the 1970's believed in the ability to accurately predict earthquakes, at the same time in the US, seismologists generally believed only in probability of Earthquake occurrence and hazard analysis.
F- US tried to predicted earthquakes too
Explain what fracking is and give at least 2 examples of how fracking is unsafe.
Fracking is the injecting of sand, water, and chemicals into a horizontally drilled wells so that natural gas can flow up into the well. The practice is unsafe because it uses up a lot of water. Contaminants in ground water seep up from gas wells and can end up in water. Mining causes pollution problems.
What relevance does the Haicheng, China earthquake have to the controversial trial of the seismologists involved with the 2009 L'Aquila, Italy earthquake?
Haicheng earthquake had a series of foreshocks that got people to evacuate and at that time earthquake prediction was very popular. However many earthquakes don't have precursors and there have been a lot of false positives. Only 2% of foreshocks actually correlate to earthquakes. In this case the L'aquila seismologists didn't warn the public because they didn't think the foreshocks were tied to an earthquake.
Which earthquake recorded the most deaths, in modern times?
Haiti 2010
Describe the events of the New Madrid, Missouri failed earthquake prediction, including the roles of Iben Browning and David Stewart, as well as some of the costs associated with the failed prediction
Iben Browning predicted an earthquake in New Madrid due to the fact that the earth, sun and moon would align on that day which would put more pressure on faults and cause them to trigger. David Steward a professor backed him up giving him more credibility. The earthquake never happened and the state spent 200,000 in emergency funds.
Describe how Iben Browning came to the wrongful conclusion that there was going to be a magnitude 6.5 to 7.5 earthquake in Missouri in 1990.
Iben Browning's theory was based on the idea that when the Earth, Sun and Moon aligned it would cause strong tidal forces that would stress on the Earth's crust and trigger an Earthquake.
What is the main issue regarding the media and the publishing of scientific studies?
In our world today, studies are constantly published that include claims and break throughs that concern important matters like health, parenting, and education. The problem lies within the reliability of these articles and opinions. Most times studies done merely show a correlation but not a casual connection; randomized controlled experiments need to be used in order for scientists to isolate a factor and prove there is a cause and effect result.
How do meteorites help to determine the age of the Earth?
It is commonly believed that the age of meteorites is the same of the Earth. When scientists are able to determine the age of a meteorite, it is in turn determining the age of the Earth as well.
Date: May 4, 2013 2:37 PM Name two reasons as to why the Haicheng earthquake was widely accepted as a successful earthquake prediction?
It was accepted because Chinese seismologists succeeded at forecasting a large earthquake was about to destroy a major city in February of 1975. Also, their forecasts evacuated 3 million people and saved tens of thousands of lives.
Who proved that light was an electromagnetic wave with particular wavelengths?
James Clerk Maxwell
What are the four types of earthquake precursors?
Long term, medium term, short term and imminent.
More than 82% of Earth's volume is contained in the ______.
Mantle
Which experiment proved that aether, thought to be a medium through which light propogates as a wave, does not exist?
Michelson-Morley Experiment (1887)
Describe the relationship between water molecules and microwaves with regard to oscillation.
Microwaves have just the right wavelength and frequency to efficiently shake water molecules, make them vibrate, and thus, generate heat. Microwaves have the right frequency of oscillation for water. They make the water molecules move faster, which results in heat (the vibrating atoms and molecules).
Name the Three Things Earthquakes are correlated with.
Mid-Ocean Ridges, Ocean Trenches, Fracture Zones
Which of the following was an intraplate earthquake?
Missouri and Haicheng
Which of the following are the four most abundant gases in the Earth's atmosphere, in order of most abundant to least?
Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, Carbon dioxide
Why is the Haicheng earthquake considered a 'successful' earthquake prediction?
Officials were able to predict an earthquake within a few hours and were therefore able to evacuate people from a city near the epicenter. It is important to note, however, that many believe the foreshocks leading up to the earthquake were the cause of both the successful prediction and the evacuation. This would lessen the validity of statements from people claiming to have predicated the earthquake
What are examples of Earthquake predictions that have been failures and ones that have been successful? How can one truly be successful with Earthquake predictions? What strategies can they use to come close?
One example of a failed earthquake prediction was the 1976 earthquake prediction in North Carolina. A successful earthquake prediction was the Haicheng earthquake in China in 1975. It is has been deemed impossible for one to be truly successful with earthquake prediction. However, earthquake forecasting based on past earthquakes and probability can be useful strategies when assessing earthquake risks in given regions.
Are Nuclear explosions more associated with p waves or s waves?
P waves
Which of the following accurately describes the seismic patterns that follow underground nuclear blasts?
P waves dominated
What kind of stations did the Chinese government set up for all citizens to observe for earthquake precursors?
People Stations
Subject: Earthquake Prevention in China Topic: Best Questions for Final Exam Author: Elise C Bailey Date: May 5, 2013 4:18 PM The Chinese government established ____________, which were groups of ordinary citizens given the job of trying to predict earthquakes based on precursors.
People's Stations
what are the differences between plate and intra-plate boundary earthquakes?
Plate boundary earthquakes- occur much more frequently and occur on the plate boundaries. Often aren't as destructive due to the preparedness of the people living there. Intra-plate earthquakes- very rare, and occur within the plate. They are very tough to forecast and predict. They are completely unexpected and as a result cause a ton of damage.
What is the formula for probability?
Probability=number of actual occurrences/number of possible occurrences (also probability will be measured between 0 and 1)
Who is responsible for the Greek Geocentric Model of the Solar System?
Ptolemy
What are four methods to determine the age of the earth? Describe one of these methods.
Radiometric Dating Evolution and Fossils Sedimentation of Rocks Cooling of the Molten Earth
Increased amount of what element led some to believe that an earthquake will occur?
Radon
Describe the different methods used my seismologists to measure the strength of an earthquake? (Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, Richter scale, moment magnitude)
Richter scale measure magnitude and is based on the amplitude of the biggest seismic wave. Every level up in magnitude is x 10. Intensity scale is divided into 12 section and measures intensity from observable effects. Moment magnitude determines the strain energy released along the fault , best used for large earthquakes.
______ is the name of the fault line in which many Californian Earthquakes occur on/near?
San Andreas
Why did scientists believe in Aether and how was it proven to not exist?
Scientists believed that aether was the medium through which all light waves travelled in the universe. It was proven not to exist as a result of the Michelson-Morely Experiment
Explain the Parkfield Earthquake Prediction Experiment? Was it a success? Or a failure? Or both?
Seismologists predicted that there would be a magnitude 6 earthquake at Parkfield, Ca. They predicted the Earthquake would occur 1988 give or take 5 years, but no later than 1993. It was the most anticipated earthquake that never occurred, it occurred in 2004. So it was successful, but it showed that Earthquake prediction is not easy.
What event in the 1950s led the U.S. to rapidly advance in science and technology?
Sputnik I which was an earth orbiting satellite.
What was the purpose of the State Seismological Bureau and what were some of it's objectives?
The State Seismological Bureau was responsible for earthquake prediction and worked independently of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese universities. It had priority to be given to prevention over basic research, scientists cooperated with amateurs, Chinese and Western scientific approaches to be merged, rely on the masses, and everybody to join forces in waging battle under the leadership of the communist party.
What is significant about Yucca Mountain, Nevada in relation to nuclear fuel? What is the current situation?
The Yucca Mountain in Nevada was being constructed to become a storage site for the nations nuclear waste. However, funding for the construction was halted by the Obama administration and the project is now idled.
Explain the slit experiment. Who was the scientist who first used it? What did it prove?
The experiment is done by taking two boards. Light is then passed through it and reflected through the slits in the board onto a screen. The experiment was first performed by Thomas Young and proved that light behaves like a wave.
What are the 4 layers of the atmosphere and characteristics that define them?
Troposphere- weather occurs here Stratosphere-increase in temperature (ozone) Mesosphere-decrease in temperature Thermosphere-increase in temperature
Earthquakes can occur at convergent plate boundaries.
True
Older crust subducts more easily into the mantle.
True
True or False, the concept of a celestial sphere is associated with the geocentric model of the solar system.
True
Compare the political impacts of the Haicheng Earthquake with the "Space Race" that occured in the 1960s.How do the two relate?
U.S thought they were inferior in both cases they predicted.
Briefly explain the history of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) under the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act (NEHR).
USGS was tasked with earthquake prediction and research under NEHR. However, the organizations goals proved ineffective when they attempted to predict the Parkfield earthquake 11 years too late.
What is the primary source of CO2 on the Earth and Venus?
Volcanoes Outgassing
What is elastic rebound.
When a slab of rock which is put under tremendous pressure eventually snaps back to its original stress free shape.
What is Young's double slit experiment and what was the purpose of the experiment?
Young took two screens, the first with one slit and the second with two slits in front of it. What came out of the second screen were bands of light. He used this experiment so show how light worked in waves. He demonstrated that Hugyen's proposal was correct.
Who was the first astronaut to orbit around Earth?
Yuri Gagarin of Russia in 1961
Which of the following did Wegener use to support the continental drift hypothesis?
a. continental margins match like a jigsaw puzzle b. fossil match across the sea c. rock types and geologic feature match across the sea d. study of paleoclimate
Probability= ?
actual outcomes/number of possible outcomes
What are the major greenhouse gases in order of most prominent to least?
carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.
give a characteristic of each of the 3 types of plate tectonics
convergent: two plates coming toward each other (colliding) divergent: two plates moving away from each other transform: two plates slide past each other
1. What is an example of an earthquake prediction that did or did not occur? How did those involved in the earthquake predicted area suffer? 2. List a few examples of earthquake precursors. Why are these precursors not always an accurate predictor of earthquakes?
descriptive
Finding that the average number of earthquakes per decade over the last 300 years in a region is 2.3 is an example of _______________ statistics.
descriptive
What is the key difference between earthquake prediction and earthquake forecasting?
earthquake prediction: short term (hours, days, weeks) statement about the likelihood of an earthquake occurring in a specific location earthquake forecast: long term (years and decades) statement about the probability that an earthquake will occur in the region.
Browning's claim that earthquake prediction based on the fact that the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth would be in alignment at the time of the predicted earthquake was later confirmed by scientific studies to be true.
false
Intraplate earthquakes are earthquakes that occurs in the middle of two plates
false
Past earthquakes are good predictors for future intraplate earthquakes.
false
Why are many precursors such as: Unusual patterns of seismicity, changes in velocity of seismic waves, crustal deformation, changes in the gravity field, magnetic field, or electrical resistivity unhelpful in predicting earthquakes?
false positives, they are not uniquely tied to a specific earthquake and in most cases they do not occur
Name three events that led up to the Haicheng Earthquake.
foreshock, animal behavior, fluctuation in ground water levels
Explain how greenhouse gases affect surface temperatures of a planet. Use a comparison of Venus and Earth to make your argument.
greenhouse gases are gases such as CO2 and Water Vapors. When the Sun rays hit earth they are UV waves which can easily pass through the atmosphere however the waves that are emitted back to space are long waves or infrared rays and they have a harder time passing through CO2 and Water Vapors. Green house gases act like a green house and traps the heat. This causes global warming which has quite a lot of affect on Earth. It will cause glaciers to melt and sea levels to rise. We don't have a carbon run-off problem yet, but Venus's atmosphere is composed of 96% Carbon and it is inhospitable.
Which "prediction" is considered the only successful earthquake prediction?
haicheng 1975
What is meant by an object's "Moment of Inertia?"
how hard it is to twist and object
Visible wavelength gets through the atmosphere and interacts at surface, generating which kind of waves?
infrared rays
An earthquake can occur sometimes in the middle of plates, when such a phenomena occurs, this earthquake is known as an "______________" earthquake.
intraplate
The relationship between earthquake frequency and magnitude can be fitted to the equation _______ . This means that globally, the number of earth quakes for each size is (predictable/not predictable).
log N = a - bM with b = about 1 Predictable
Compare the quest for earthquake predition with climate modeling.
lot's of factors like in climate modeling you can't account for clouds. Earthquake prediction is not that simple as we saw with parksfield
Where is 82 percent or more of the Earth's volume located and why?
mantle
What are mean, median, and mode? How are they used?
mean: average, median: middle, mode: most occurring descriptive statistics- calculate averages of data
Which scientist do you think has contributed most to the subject of astronomy and how have his discoveries influenced the study of our planet and its internal functions?
newton, law of graviton, law of inertia, he was able to make theoretical observations.
What did the Tangshan earthquake reveal about the seismologists "successful" prediction during the Haichang earthquake? (Explain the precursors for both and how these contributed to the sucessful or unsuccesful predictions.)
no foreshocks for Tangshan earthquake and it was not predicted. Killed a lot of people
________ are P wave dominant, compressional waves, and are similar to sound waves. ________ are S wave dominant, transverse waves, and are similar to the shaking of the end of a rope.
nuclear explosions, natural earthquakes
Name one of the three features earthquakes are usually correlated with.
ocean trenches, fracture zones, mid-ocean ridges
The Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast (UCERF) represents what probability of a 6.7 magnitude earthquake occurring somewhere in California in the next 30 years?
over 99%
Which seismic wave is detected first?
p-wave
What is a precursor? Which country focused strongly on precursors as way to predict earthquake?
precursors are notable changes or phenomenons that precede and earthquake. China focused on precursors (state seismological bureau)
How can we determine the composition of Earth's center if we can only dig 1/500th of the way?
seismic waves can determine material
What is fracking?
the injection of sand, water and chemicals down into horizontally drilled wells so that natural gas and flow up into the well.
Which layer is the fourth layer that extends outward from the mesopause and has no well defined upper limit?
thermosphere
There was a magnitude 5.8 earthquake in Virginia on August 23, 2011 that caused 2 nuclear plants to be taken offline.
true
What is the primary source of CO2 on the Earth and Venus?
volcano outgassing
