Focus On Earth Science: California Grade 6

Chapter 6: Earthquakes

Standard Assessment

1.
An earthquake occurs when there is a sudden movement of rocks along _______. 1.d
A)an epicenter
B)a shadow zone
C)a fault
D)Earth's core
2.
Most earthquakes occur at _______. 1.e
A)the outer core
B)epicenters
C)the bottoms of plates
D)plate boundaries
3.
The fault zones that occur at plate boundaries are caused by _______. 1.e
A)secondary waves in Earth's inner core
B)movement of the plates past each other
C)tsunamis
D)landslides
4.
Which waves cannot travel through fluids? 1.f, 1.g
A)primary waves and secondary waves
B)primary waves
C)secondary waves
D)seismic waves
5.
To locate the epicenter of an earthquake, the distances to at least _______ seismographs must be measured. 1.g
A)five
B)two
C)four
D)three
6.
During an earthquake, surface waves _______. 1.g
A)usually cause the most damage
B)usually cause the least damage
C)travel faster than primary waves
D)travel faster than secondary waves
7.
Primary waves cause rock particles to move _______. 1.g
A)in a side-to-side swaying motion
B)perpendicular to the direction the wave is traveling
C)in a rolling motion
D)back and forth along the direction the wave is traveling
8.
Seismic waves travel outward from the _______ of an earthquake. 1.g
A)shadow zone
B)epicenter
C)focus
D)fault zone
9.
The energy carried by seismic waves _______ as the waves travel outward. 1.g
A)increases
B)decreases
C)causes surface waves to travel faster than secondary waves
D)causes secondary waves to travel faster than primary waves
10.
The distance from the epicenter of an earthquake to a seismograph is determined by measuring _______. 1.g
A)the magnitudes of primary and secondary waves
B)the arrival times of surface waves
C)the arrival times of primary and secondary waves
D)the magnitudes of surface waves
11.
Usually the closer _______ is to the surface, the stronger the earthquake will be. 1.g
A)the liquefaction
B)the epicenter
C)shadow zone
D)the focus
12.
An increase of one unit on the magnitude scale means that the amount of energy released increases by a factor of _______. 1.g
A)30
B)10
C)1,000,000
D)1,000
13.
Buildings made of which material tend to be damaged less by earthquakes? 1.g
A)concrete
B)brick
C)adobe
D)wood
14.
Liquefaction occurs when shaking due to an earthquake causes _______ to move like a liquid. 1.g
A)ocean water
B)sedimentary rocks
C)loose, wet sediment
D)the walls of buildings
15.
What are ocean waves that are caused by earthquakes? 2.d
A)primary waves
B)tsunamis
C)secondary waves
D)seismic waves
Grade 6
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