GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -P waves travel fastest and are the first to arrive from the earthquake. In S or shear waves, rock oscillates perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation. In rock, S waves generally travel about 60% the speed of P waves, and the S wave always arrives after the P wave.

Detailed explanation-2: -Keypoints: Different waves each travel at different speeds and therefore arrive at a seismic station at different times. Difference in arrival times between P and S waves can be used to determine the distance between the station and an earthquake.

Detailed explanation-3: -As the P and S waves travel out from an earthquake the P waves get progressively farther ahead of the S waves. Therefore, the farther a seismic recording station is from the earthquake epicenter the greater will be the difference in time of arrival between the P and S wave.

Detailed explanation-4: -Line up a piece of scrap paper vertically on the epicenter distance given. Mark the locations where the P-wave and S-wave intersect your scrap paper. Line up the scrap paper on the y-axis with one point on the 0 minute mark. More items