Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
An earthquake is a sudden and violent shaking of the ground caused by movements within the Earth's crust. It results in seismic waves that propagate through the Earth.
5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test
The Richter scale measures the magnitude of an earthquake, which can be expressed using logarithmic scales.
Exponential functions are often used to describe the decay of aftershocks following an earthquake.
Logarithmic functions help in converting large ranges of data into a more manageable form, such as the energy released during an earthquake.
The intensity of an earthquake decreases exponentially with distance from the epicenter.
Seismic wave amplitudes can be modeled using exponential growth and decay functions.
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Related terms
Richter Scale: A logarithmic scale used to quantify the amount of energy released by an earthquake.
Exponential Decay: A process where quantities decrease at a rate proportional to their current value, often used in modeling aftershock sequences.
Seismic Waves: Waves of energy that travel through the Earth as a result of geological activity such as earthquakes.