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Earthquakes
 Measuring Earthquakes

Measuring Earthquakes
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   high interest, readability grades 6 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.04

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    dynamite, bolted, seismogram, seismograph, formula, tectonic, moderate, seismic, earthquake, stress, based, magnitude, resist, pressure, movement, strength
     content words:    Charles Richter

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Measuring Earthquakes
By Patti Hutchison 		  
1     An earthquake is the sudden movement of one tectonic plate past another, along a fault. Because of friction, faults resist the forces trying to move the plates apart.
 
2     The pressure builds up, and rocks become deformed from the stress. Eventually the stress causes the fault to break. The ground shakes violently. The pressure is released as energy that moves in waves. These waves help us to measure an earthquake.
 
3     There are several ways to measure the size of an earthquake. The most scientific measurement is the Richter scale. This scale was developed by Charles Richter in the 1930's. Although it is used to measure the magnitude of earthquakes, it is not an instrument. It is a mathematical formula.

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