Lets Shake Things Up

Lets Shake Things Up 
by Jack Kartchner 

          Recently there was an earthquake in Salt Lake City. It was a 5.7 magnitude earthquake with aftershocks continuing for a long time. Maybe you felt it at your house. Maybe you have been wondering, how do earthquakes happen? I can tell you.
          So how does an earthquake start? The first thing to know is that the Earth’s crust is made of lots of pieces. Think of it like this, the earth is like a puzzle it has many different pieces that connect together. These pieces are called plates. An earthquake starts when two of the earth's plates contact, slide, or bump into each other. The parts of the earth where the plates touch is called a fault line. On a fault line is where earthquakes happen. When the plates collide with each other it sends out waves, when those waves reach the surface of the earth they shake buildings and other objects on the surface of the earth.
          Scientists measure earthquakes by using magnitude which is the amount of energy released during an earthquake. This energy is measured by a seismograph. A seismograph makes a lot of large wiggly lines if the earthquake is big and fewer smaller wiggly lines if the earthquake is smaller.
          There are four types of earthquakes; convergent, divergent, lateral shift, and subduction. A convergent earthquake is when the waves move towards each other and form mountains. A divergent earthquake is when the waves move back from each other and form trenches and valleys. A lateral shift earthquake is when the waves are side by side. A subduction earthquake is when one of the plates moves under the other. These are the types of earthquakes.
          Now that you know a little more about earthquakes below are some experiments you can try out at home. Have fun experimenting!

Building an earthquake resistant structure:

Supplies:
  • A package of jello
  • Pan
  • Toothpicks
  • Marshmallows
          Prepare the the jello according to the directions and pour into the pan then let it harden.  When the jello is firm build structures out of the marshmallows and toothpicks.  Place the marshmallow structure on top of the jello and shake the pan and see if your building can stay up  during the earthquake. Keep experimenting with different shapes and structures!

If you are wanting more earthquake fun go to this link to make your own seismometer:
science-sparks.com/make-model-seismometer

Sources: Kids National Geographic and https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kids/

Comments

  1. The KartchnersApril 24, 2020 at 8:05 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. KristenMay 26, 2020 at 10:31 AM

    Hi this is Lucy! We felt the earthquake and it was pretty scary. I like the experiment you put with it

    ReplyDelete

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