GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -S waves are more dangerous than P waves because they have greater amplitude and produce vertical and horizontal motion of the ground surface. The slowest waves, surface waves, arrive last. They travel only along the surface of the Earth.

Detailed explanation-2: -The slowest (and latest to arrive on seismograms) are surface waves, such as the L wave. L waves are named for the Cambridge mathematician A.E.H. Love who first described them. The surface waves are generally the largest recorded from an earthquake.

Detailed explanation-3: -S waves arrive next and cause a structure to vibrate from side to side. They are the most damaging waves, because buildings are more easily damaged from horizontal motion than from vertical motion.

Detailed explanation-4: -Body waves travel through the body of a planet. Surface waves travel along the surface. There are two types of body waves: P-waves travel fastest and through solids, liquids, and gases; S-waves only travel through solids. Surface waves are the slowest, but they do the most damage in an earthquake.

Detailed explanation-5: -It is the surface waves which cause most property damage because surface waves produce more ground movement and travel more slowly, so they take longer to pass.