The ground motion during a Richter magnitude 8 earthquake is ______ times large than the ground motion during a Richter magnitude 6 earthquake.
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1
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10
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100
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1000
The Richter scale is logarithmic, meaning each whole number increase represents 10 times greater ground motion. Going from magnitude 6 to magnitude 8 is a 2-unit increase, so the motion is 10 x 10 = 100 times greater. This is a key property of logarithmic scales that students must understand.
To answer this question, we need to understand the Richter magnitude scale and how it relates to the ground motion during an earthquake.
The Richter magnitude scale is a logarithmic scale that measures the energy released by an earthquake. Each whole number increase on the Richter scale represents a tenfold increase in the amplitude of the seismic waves.
In other words, a Richter magnitude 6 earthquake has 10 times larger ground motion than a Richter magnitude 5 earthquake, and a Richter magnitude 7 earthquake has 10 times larger ground motion than a Richter magnitude 6 earthquake.
Therefore, to find the difference in ground motion between a Richter magnitude 8 earthquake and a Richter magnitude 6 earthquake, we need to calculate the difference between each magnitude level.
Magnitude 6 to magnitude 7 = 10 times larger ground motion Magnitude 7 to magnitude 8 = 10 times larger ground motion
Since each increase in magnitude represents a 10-fold increase in ground motion, the difference in ground motion between a magnitude 8 earthquake and a magnitude 6 earthquake is 10 x 10 = 100 times larger.
Therefore, the correct answer is C) 100. The ground motion during a Richter magnitude 8 earthquake is 100 times larger than the ground motion during a Richter magnitude 6 earthquake.