Can you design and build a seismograph that can record the movements of simulated earthquakes?
Hypothesis:
We should be able to build a seismograph that works, but my hypothesis is that it’s going to be difficult to build one that works for every kind of earthquake, whether it’s tiny, moderate, or huge.
Materials:
-Chair
-Two wooden boards
-nails
-Two wires
-Two strings
-Weights
-Tape
-Book
-Paper
-Pencil case
-A pen
Procedure:
First, nail the two boards together to create a 90 degree angle.
Next, hang a string from the edge of the boards and attach a pen to it.
Add two weights to the pen so that it doesn’t dangle all over the place.
Put that whole contraption on top of a chair to keep the boards in place. To make it even more stable, rest it on top of the pencil case.
Put the strings and wires around the legs of the chair and attach them to the pen so that it is kept firmly in one spot.
7.Put a clean sheet of paper on a book under the pen so that the tip of the pen is just resting on the paper. The book represents any seismic activity, so in order to make a test, shake the book but move it in a certain direction at the same time. On the paper, there should be a long squiggly line, which is the seismogram.
Data Analysis Although I wasn't there for the actual testing, I got projects summery from my partners. According to them, they had to make a few slight changes in the design, like adding a weight. They also told me that for a while they were not shaking the right part of the seismograph. Apparently they were shaking the book under the seismograph rather then the chair. This was causing the outcome of the experiment to vary. Once they realized there mistake though, they tried again and got much better results.
Conclusion I'm really upset that I missed this lab because it seems like it was really interesting. They were able to create and earthquake and literally see how seismographs worked. From what I can tell, they mIade some interesting conclusions. They can conclude that the structure of a seismograph can determine the end result of your tests. My partners learned this and were able to correct their mistake. Also, the right part of the seismograph has to be shaking in order to get correct results. My partners also were able to fix this and got quite accurate results.
Further Inquiry If I were to do the lab, I think I would have made a few short changes. According to Maria, they had to keep switching out the paper to record the shaking. Next time, we could probably use paper wrapped around a toilet paper roll so that we didn't have to keep switching and we could get more accurate results. I also heard that the wooden structure didn't really do anything but keep the chair in place, so next time we could make it out of something different or easier to work with. Other then that there was not much else they told me. It seems like it was a really interesting lab and I'm sorry I missed it.
When you live in Seattle, its pretty much vital that you have an earthquake plan. Especially when you have kids, its important to know what to do when there is a quake. In school, we learned to go under a table or in a doorway. Even if you don't have a family plan, Seattle schools educate you on earthquake safety from pretty much kindergarten on. We were told that if an earthquake strikes, you need to take cover. We knew that we needed to take cover under a steady table or a doorway, and that panicking was not the thing to do. We had frequent earthquake drills and we were really prepared for the worst of situations. I have actually been in situations where I had to take cover from a really strong earthquake. I was in pre- school and I was playing outside when a level 7 earthquake happened. I think we got over into an open are, and those who were still inside took cover under tables. Living in Seattle has taught me a lot about how to cope with quakes and I feel like if one were to strike, I would be ready. My family planned to meet on the ground floor and get under the kitchen table. That way we knew where everyone was and could tell if the family was safe. Also, we had a safety kit. In it were bandages, cut-cleaning spray, lots of water, and everything you would need to survive a deadly earthquake. Here in Serbia we don't really have a strict plan we know. I live in an apartment block that's made of really sturdy cement. Although if the earthquake was strong enough I'm sure it could cause the building to sway. Our house has a lot of things that would cause it to be unsafe (glass windows and mirrors, shelves with plates and heavy items on it). If I were to change something, I would probably anchor the shelves to the walls. Its something that really makes me nervous. In my room, there are lots of windows and shelves that aren't anchored to the wall. If I were to hide somewhere, it would be in a doorway because nothing else in my room is sturdy enough. Also, when I took my checklist home, I think I had probably 18 of the 22 things checked off on the list. I think it's definitely time to go home and make sure everything is anchored to the walls. We don't really have an evacuation plan because we were told that during an earthquake we were suppose to stay put and take cover. Although In terms of taking cover, I guess we would make sure that on the predicted day were were inside somewhere safe and sturdy and knew of all the places we could take cover under. There are lots of doors and sturdy tables in my house that would be perfect to seek cover under.
On December 26, 2004, a 9.3 earthquake occurred about 90 feet (30 km) under the surface level of the Indian Ocean and was felt as far away as Alaska. The quake lasted for about 8-10 minutes, the longest quake ever recorded, and the caused a series of mega tsunamis. Tsunamis are a kind of mega wave. They are usually the after occurrence of earthquakes in the Ocean. Tsunamis are caused when a great amount of water is pushed out off a fault. The water forms a wave and collects speed so when it finally hits the shore it can cause severe damage. These Tsunamis hit the coasts of Indonesia, Shri Lanka, Thailand, and most of the countries surrounding the Indian Ocean. It killed around 230,000 people and left millions more homeless of missing. The wave are said to have been as high as 100 feet (30.3 m) and the quake that caused it was so strong, it shook the earth about .4 inches (1 cm). Although the earthquake was large, it was the Tsunami that took most of the lives. It completely destroyed coastal cities and caused about $7 billion U.S. dollars worth of damage. After the quake, scientists knew that they had to find better and more accurate ways of tracing tsunamis, and warning people about the oncoming danger. Scientists all over the world are constantly on guard waiting for a tsunami to strike. They have hypothesized and build many contraptions, such as buoys, satellites, and onshore sea-level gauges to help them detect on coming waves.
The BPR Buoy system
The Buoy-Bottom Pressure Recorder system, or the BPR system, is probably the most commonly used system of tracking tsunamis. It consists of a buoy, which is like a float toy you would sit on in a pool that is anchored down on the bottom of the ocean floor. The Buoy has two modes, “standard” and “event”. The buoy usually stays on standard mode, where it sits and waits for something to happen on the ocean floor. It sends an update every 15 minutes, so it is easy for scientists to watch what is happening nearly 6,000 meters under the sea. If the buoy detects a pressure change or sign of a seismic wave, it will switch into event mode. During event mode, it will send reports every minute and will stay this way until about 4 hours after the occurrence. Although this system is almost 100 percent accurate, it has some drawbacks. It has to be places far enough away from possible epicenters so that actions from tsunamis aren’t confused with actions from an earthquake. But at the same time, they need to be placed close enough to the epicenter so that they can detect tsunamis in time for everyone to prepare. They also have to be places about 3000 meters under the sea so that the signals aren’t confused with other disturbances. So although the buoys are usually what we turn to in means of detecting tsunamis, they have many drawbacks. Luckily, there are several other, although less effective, ways of tracking tsunamis.
Satellite detection systems
A satellite detection system uses, obviously, a satellite to detect the oncoming seismic waves. During the 2004 tsunami, it was satellites that first detected the oncoming wave. Although, the satellites couldn’t detect the speed, o it didn’t know how long people would have to prepare and when it did detect it took around 5 hours to send the signal. The satellite used in 2004 weren’t highly effective and it was a miracle that it was even detected at all. Now, we are currently working on ways to improve the satellite system. The more recent system we have developed is called the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). Although we have scientists all over the world working on the satellites, the GEOSS hasn’t been perfected yet. What we are hoping for the future is the GEOSS will pick up on meteorological and climate change. It will detect them quickly and send out the signal in hopefully enough time to warn people about the oncoming danger. Once perfected , it will also compliment the BPR buoy system.
Seismograph
One of the first ways of detecting tsunamis, and a way that is still sometimes used today, it the seismograph. A seismograph is a contraption used to measure seismic activity. Although it is typically be used to track and measure earthquakes, it can be useful when watching tsunamis. A seismograph is really simply just a pencil hovering over a piece of paper that is held down by a string. When there are seismic waves occurring, it causes the weight and paper to move, and then the pencil keeps track of how large, fast, and destructive the waves can be. Although seismographs are simple and easy to use, they are not the most practical when it comes to tsunamis. Seismographs are used for recording the components of waves, rather than predicting when they will strike. So even if one did pick up ona wave in advance, it wouldn’t be in enough time to prepare.
True effects of tsunamis
Aside from some of the obvious damages tsunamis can do, there are many ways that tsunamis destroy communities in many levels. One of the more obvious ones is the economic part of the community. Tsunamis cause serious damage to buildings and can cause an average of about 200,000,000 dollars worth of damage. This is money that could be used to build homeless shelters, buy books for schools and libraries, and help out struggling families. Once the damage is done, it can also affect the political part of our community. Everyone will have their entitled opinion on how the money should be spent. Some may argue that it should go into re- building the houses that were destroyed and getting families back on their feet, and others may say it should be used to fix he environment that was destroyed. Another this tsunamis can really damage is the b=natural beauty of a country. Flora and Fauna is no match for mega waves, so after one hits the number of deer or protected trees may have dropped dramatically. The last things a tsunami may affect are the moral and social parts of a community. During panic, people tend to lose themselves. Tsunamis can change the way people perceive each other and the trust they have in the people around them.
How Boxing Day changed us
After the boxing day tsunami, scientists knew that they had to create stronger technology in order to keep it from happening again. The Boxing Day tsunami was what kicked of meteorological studies into the next centuries. We now have people all over the world coming up with ways to improve our current means of record keeping. After the boxing day tsunami, not only did we know we had to find a better way to track tsunamis, but we also knew that we had to help the people that were stuck in that horrible disaster. Countries made generous donation to the countries that had been hit in order to help them re- group. The boxing day tsunamis was a very dark day in history, but it was also what opened our eyes to many other forms of technology.
Hypothesis: In class, we learned that the way scientists find the epicenter of an earthquake is by finding all the ares that felt in and then they play a game of connect the dots. My hypothesis is that the epicenter of this earthquake is going to be somewhere in the southeast of the U.S. like Oklahoma Observe the circles you have drawn: With the information I have gathered I can tell that the earthquakes epicenter is in Tennessee. I can tell this because all of my circles meet of and collide in Tennessee. Measuring: I would say that the closest city to the epicenter would be the capital city, Nashville. Nashville is a mere 100 kilometers from the earthquake and because it was so close it must have had a really harsh effect on Nashville. It also might have taken the citizens by surprise because there aren't that many earthquakes in Tennessee and its not along a major fault line so the buildings and other structures probably haven't been build to resist a major quake, much less a small one. Inferring: I would say that the first city to feel the quake would be Chicago, Illinois. Chicago is only 600 km away from the epicenter so the seismic waves would reach it first. Next I would say that people Houston, Texas would feel the waves. Houston is 1000 km away and the waves would reach it second. Finally, I think that people in Denver, Colorado would feel the waves. Denver is 1600 km away from the epicenter and it would take longer for the waves to reach the city. Estimating: I know that San Fransisco is about 1,200 km from Tennessee. Given that piece of information I can repeat the step I used to find out hoe far away the Quake was from the cities only in reverse order. I started from the Y axis and worked my way up to find the time. It took about 4 minutes and 40 seconds for the seismic waves to reach San Fransisco. Interpreting Data: Because P waves travel faster then S waves, they will arrive in different places at different times. As you get farther from the Epicenter, the distance between P and S waves will get farther to. Communicating: In order to Find the Epicenter of an earthquake, it is important to know at least three places that felt it. To determine the Epicenter, scientists do a sort of connect the dot theory to place the epicenter. Knowing three areas that felt the quake will give you a clear and accurate view of the Epicenter.
More To Explore
As I mentioned, Tennessee is pretty safe from earthquakes. It is in the center of the United States, which doesn't sit on a fault line and therefore, has a low earthquake risk. Although There aren't a lot of earthquakes in central U.S., there are a lot on the west coast where I'm from.
Seattle is a prime place for earthquakes because it sits right on a fault line. Recently, there haven't been many recorded earthquakes because of the fault line, but Sports fans cheered and stomped so vigorously that there was, for the first time in history, a man made earthquake. During the time that I lived there I experienced a 7.3 earthquake. All the buildings in Seattle and pretty mush on the west coast are secured with the right technology to survive a quake.
