Seismology is the engineering science of earthquakes to study the causes and effects of minute pulsation to most catastrophic natural phenomenon inside the earth. The method can be classified broadly into two major divisions depending on the energy source of the seismic waves.

Lesson Objectives:

1) Outline and describe the internal structure of Earth.

2) Qualitatively describe and define the one-dimensional wave equation and four types of waves.

3) Qualitatively illustrate ray path diagrams and identify their influence on seismograms.

4) Summarize the theory of plate tectonics and identify key plates.

5) Explain the various types of faulting and their radiation patterns or seismic “beach balls”.

6) Describe the far-field displacement response and directivity effects on ground motions.

7) Quantitatively compute various earthquake magnitude measures as well as the seismic moment. Describe the formulation for each magnitude scale.

8) Demonstrate the magnitude-frequency relationships of earthquakes and describe its impact on the released seismic energy.

9) Evaluate earthquake intensity using the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale.