What's New The epicenter is directly located above the hypocenter or focus. To determine the epicenter of an earthquake, seismologists use the triangulation method. This method uses recorded seismic activities in at least three seismic stations as the basis for finding the probable location of the earthquake epicenter. Activity \( 3.1 \) - Triangulation Method Objective: Visualize the triangulation method in locating the epicenter of an earthquake. Procedure: 1. Study the circles on the right. 2. Measure the radius of each circle in \( \mathrm{cm} \). Write your measurement in the circle above the radius. Do this on a separate sheet of paper. 3. The circumference of the circles represents the possible location of the earthquake's epicenter to the station.
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A seismograph measures ground motion during an earthquake. To find the epicenter of an earthquake, scientists take readings in three different locations. Then they draw a circle centered at each location. The radius of each circle is the distance the earthquake is from the seismograph. The intersection of the circles is the epicenter. Use the data below to find the epicenter of the New Madrid earthquake. (IMAGE CAN'T COPY).
Circles
Circles in the Coordinate Plane
Earthquake Analysis. Earthquakes produce several types of shock waves. The most well known are the P-waves (P for primary or pressure) and the S-waves (S for secondary or shear). In the earth's crust, the P-waves travel at around $6.5 \mathrm{km} / \mathrm{s},$ while the S-waves move at about 3.5 $\mathrm{km} / \mathrm{s} .$ The actual speeds vary depending on the type of material they are going through. The time delay between the arrival of these two waves at a seismic recording station tells gologists how far away the earthquake occurred. If the time delay is 33 s, how far from the seismic station did the earthquake occur?
Earthquake Analysis. Earthquakes produce several types of shock waves. The most well known are the P-waves (P for primary or pressure) and the S-waves (S for secondary or shear). In the earth's crust, the P-waves travel at around 6.5 $\mathrm{km} / \mathrm{s}$ , while the S-waves move at about 3.5 $\mathrm{km} / \mathrm{s}$ . The actual speeds vary depending on the type of material they are going through. The time delay between the arrival of these two waves at a seismic recording station tells geologists how far away the earthquake occurred. If the time delay is 33 $\mathrm{s}$ , how far from the seismic station did the earthquake occur?
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