Multiple choice

Consider the following facts:

  1. Moment magnitude scale is used for measuring the frequency of seismic waves.
  2. Richter scale is used to measure the energy released during an earthquake.

Which of the above is/are true?

  1. Only 1

  2. Only 2

  3. Both 1 and 2

  4. Neither 1 nor 2

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The moment magnitude scale (abbreviated as MMS; denoted as MW or M) is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of the area that slipped. The MMS is the scale used to estimate magnitudes for all modern large earthquakes by the United States Geological Survey. The Richter magnitude scale (often shortened to Richter scale) was developed to assign a single number to quantify the energy released during an earthquake.