Magnitude of the Richter Scale
In this activity, students learn about the Richter Scale for measuring earthquakes. The students make a booklet with drawings that represent each rating of the Richter Scale.
Figure 1. Severe earthquake damage during the famous San Francisco earthquake of 1906.Copyright http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/hazard/slideset/5/ 5_slides.html
Engineers often invent scales or systems to use as measurement tools. For example, the Richter scale is an invented mathematical (logarithmic) tool that measures the magnitude of an earthquake. By using a common rating scale, engineers can compare earthquake activity measured from everywhere on Earth. Analyzing the amount of energy released by an earthquake helps with future prediction of the size and intensity of earthquakes.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Understand the difference between the Richter Scale and the Mercalli Scale for earthquakes (a scale that uses instruments and a scale that uses human observation).
- Understand how the Richter Scale works.
- Explain the different levels of the Richter Scale using words or pictures.
- Understand how a community could use the Richter Scale.
- Understand why engineers develop rating scales for earthquakes.
- Explain the Richter Scale on their own through drawing and writing.
- Review multiplication by tens.