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Earthquakes produce seismic waves and infrasound waves - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 2 - 2012 - Paper 1
Question 2
Earthquakes produce seismic waves and infrasound waves. Which row of the table is correct for these waves? Put a cross (X) in a box to show your answer. | seismic... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Earthquakes produce seismic waves and infrasound waves - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 2 - 2012 - Paper 1
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
(b) (ii) Describe how the speed of a P-wave changes between a depth of 1000 km and 2500 km.
Answer
Between a depth of 1000 km and 2500 km, the speed of a P-wave generally increases. This is because as the depth increases, the pressure and density of the materials also increase, allowing the waves to propagate faster.
Step 4
(b) (iii) Calculate the total time of travel for the wave.
Answer
To calculate the total time of travel for a P-wave traveling 5800 km with an average speed of 12 km/s, we can use the formula:
ext{Time} = rac{ ext{Distance}}{ ext{Speed}} = rac{5800 ext{ km}}{12 ext{ km/s}} = 483.33 ext{ s}.Thus, the total time of travel for the wave is approximately 483.33 seconds.
Step 5
(c) Explain what the results show about predicting earthquakes.
Answer
The results indicate that it is difficult to predict earthquakes due to the variability in the force required to start the block moving. This inconsistency suggests that there is no reliable pattern or method to estimate the forces at play during seismic events, making predictions challenging.