Science 6 - Earthquake Unit:

First draft - February 25, 2002:
by Ms. DeAvilla, Ms. Salazar, and Mr. Bartel: Horace Mann Middle School, San Francisco, CA

Some useful sites for kids and teachers and some cool Challenges!

Take some time to surf these sites, or take on a challenge! Write your answers to the challenges on a paper and give it to your teacher. If you surf, be prepared to write down the best sites you found, tell why you liked it, and what you learned. Keep a record of the time you used for surfing, too.

Challenge # 1: Probability of Another Large Earthquake in S.F.:

Questions: (Most answers are found at the above site called "Probability")

  1. What are the odds that between the years 2000 and 2030 there will be an earthquake of the magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter Scale (capable of causing widespread damage) in the San Francisco Bay Area?
  2. Which has the greater probability of an earthquake: the San Andreas Fault (going through part of San Francisco), or the Hayward Fault (going through Oakland and Berkeley), or the Calaveras Fault (near San Jose)?

3. Does the San Andreas Fault go through part of San Francisco? Look carefully!

4. Have there been any earthquakes in the S.F. Bay Area within the last week, day, or hour? (Where are they and what is the magnitude?)

5. Which parts of San Francisco are more "at risk" than others? Which buildings are more "at risk"? (Think of these: homes built on landfill or bedrock; home made of brick or wood, skyscrapers.)

Activities:

  1. PhotoQuest: Visit a construction site before a building is actually built. Photograph the foundation (the part that will support the rest of the building is built), and see what supports go into the building. (Is there steel reinforcement bar? Wooden frame? Are there pillars, and how thick are they? Is the wooden frame bolted onto a cement frame? Are there diagonal supports in the walls?
  2. Architectural Strength: Build some model homes on a table and see which ones are the strongest when the table is shaken.

 

Challenge #2: Facts about Earthquakes

  1. What was the largest earthquake ever recorded in the United States? Where was it and what was its magnitude?
  2. What was the largest earthquake ever recorded in the world? Where was it and what was its magnitude?
  3. Look at question number five: What is the rate of movement along the San Andreas Fault per year on the average? Assuming this rate continues, how long will it be before Los Angeles and San Francisco will be adjacent (next to) one another?
  4. What is the greatest mountain range in the world?
  5. How many earthquakes occur [happen] each year? How many cause damage? (See question number thirteen.)
  6. Look at questions number 20 and 27. If you wanted to move to a state without earthquakes, what are some good places to go?
  7. Look at question number twenty-five. How long is the San Andreas Fault System? How deep is it in places?
  8. Look at number twenty-nine. Which state has the most earthquakes? (Which has the most seismic activity?)
  9. What is the name of the layer beneath the earth's crust? (Look at the graphic.)
  10. Other?

 

 

USGS for Kids: Facts

Challenge #3: Prepare a Disaster Supply Kit and Learn about Earthquake Preparedness

Questions:

  1. What items does it contain? (If you have a younger brother or sister, what might it contain for them?)
  2. What are some things PG&E recommends you have on hand?
  3. What should an adult do with the water heater and gaslines?
  4. Who should turn on the gas lines after an earthquake is over?

Activities: Do one or more!

  1. Design a brochure which tells others about earthquake safety. This could be used to tell others about how to prepare for an emergency, what to do in case of an earthquake, and what to do after an earthquake.
    • Before: How can you prepare for an earthquake?
    • During: What should you do during an earthquake if you are in a building, outside, or in a car?
    • After: What should you do after an earthquake?
(A good model is the Red Cross Earthquake Preparedness Pamphlet.)
  1. Create a Disaster Supply Kit with your family. Make a list of what you put in it and share it with your class. Here are some ideas from the S.F. Gate.
  2. Make a survival plan in case of an earthquake at our school. Write it as a set of recommendations to the school's principal.
    • How would parents be notified about their children if telephone lines were down?
    • How could many kids get home if the buses and BART were down?
    • What if students had to stay here? What food and water supplies should be prepared?
    • What first aide supplies should be kept at school and where should it be stored?
    • What about sanitation supplies, like toilet paper, garbage bags, disinfectant, etc.

     

 

 

 

Challenge #5: Be a Seismologist

Questions:

  1. What is a seismologist?
  2. What is the machinery that measures the intensity of an earthquake?
  3. What are P Waves and S Waves?
  4. How can a seismologist determine the epicenter of an earthquake?

 

Activities:

  1. Build a model seismograph. This model is from U.C. Berkeley. Here is another model.
  2. Try to do this one - it's hard! Discovering Earthquakes WebQuest from San Diego State University.
  3. Check out this early Chinese seismograph below! When the earth shook, a stick in the "pot" fell forward and caused a ball to fall from a dragon's mouth into a frog's mouth. This supposedly told them where the earthquake was coming from!

This was one of the earliest seismic instruments. It was invented in China by Chang Heng in the second century A.D., however, it wasn't very accurate.

 

Image at Rachel Margrett's PG&E site with SF Bay Images

 

Challenge #6

Take an Earthquake Quiz (There are many listed at this site, but one of the best is here, but it only has four questions! Try to be an expert seismologist by completing this one from Virtual Earthquake!)

Complete an Earthquake Crossword Puzzle: Crossword Puzzle number One, A puzzle from abag/ca.gov/xword and Java interactive version of the crossword puzzle.

Under construction:

Earthquake Terms - Build a quiz

liquefaction, P wave, S wave, etc.

Click on this map below to get a VERY HUGE IMAGE - it's great! (From PG&E's site.)

Some resources for Teachers:

Princeton's Earth Physics Curriculum Project

SCORE State of California Online Resources for Education - Science

Plate Tectonics Topics (Southern California Integrated GPS Network Education Module)