Topic: The distribution of earthquakes

Author: Magdalena Jankun

Target group

6th‑grade student of elementary school

1st‑grade student of high school and technical school

Core curriculum

6th grade of elementary school

VII. 4. On the example of Iceland, the student determines the relationship between the location on the boundary of lithospheric plates and the occurrence of volcanoes and earthquakes.

XIV.2. The student identifies the relationships between the course of the boundaries of the lithospheric plates and the occurrence of rift faults, volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis, and formulates statements about the observed regularities in their distribution on their basis.

XIV.3 Discusses the ways to prevent tragic consequences of earthquakes and tsunamis.

1st grade of high school and technical school

V. Lithosphere: the relationship between the construction of the Earth's interior and the lithosphere tectonics, internal and external processes shaping the Earth's surface and their effects, rocks. Pupil:

1 ) explains the relationship between the construction of the Earth's interior and the movement of lithosphere plates and its impact on the genesis of endogenous processes.

2 ) explains the course of the main internal processes leading to a varied surface of the Earth - epirogenic movements, rock formation movements, volcanism, plutonism, earthquakes.

The general aim of education

You will learn about the causes and distribution of earthquakes in the world.

Criteria of success

• using the map of world you will show the boundaries of tectonic plates;

• you will determine the relationships between the location on the boundary of lithospheric plates and the occurrence of earthquakes;

• you will locate places on a physical map of world at risk of earthquakes;

• you will draw conclusions concerning the Pacific ring of fire;

• you will determine the impact of earthquakes on human life;

• you will provide examples of solutions on how to prevent tragic consequences of earthquakes.

Key competences

• communication in the mother tongue;

• communication in a foreign language;

• learning to learn;

• digital competence.

Methods / forms of work

• using ICT tools;

• activity with educational material and multimedia on the epodreczniki.pl platform;

• individual activity, activity in pairs, and collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook for teaching geography;

• interactive whiteboard;

• multimedia projector;

• tablets/computers;

• physical map of world;

• physical map of Europe;

• physical map of Poland;

• geographical atlases.

Lesson plan overview

Introduction

1. A conversation with the students about earthquakes around the world. Do the students know where earthquakes take place? In what countries? What secondary phenomena to earthquakes can be observed? Why are they dangerous? Interactive exercise No. 1 in the abstract.

Realization

1. Referring the students to the content from source materials, drawing their attention to such concepts as: focus of an earthquake, epicentre, Richter scale, seismic and aseismic areas.

2. A joint analysis of a scheme showing a cross‑section of the Earth's crust with the focus of an earthquake and the epicentre.

3. Referring the students to a map known as „World. Earthquakes in the years 2000‑2015”. Discussing the map.

4. Analysis of the occurrence of earthquakes on the Earth. Activity with materials in the e‑textbook and with a geographical atlas. Giving places most exposed to this phenomenon.

5. Activity in pairs, finding maps in atlases showing the geological structure and joint analysis of the location of tectonic plates. Naming the relationships between the occurrence of earthquakes and the boundaries of plates.

6. An analysis of a graphic depicting the occurrence of earthquakes in the abstract (Ring of fire).

7. The teacher asks the students to get acquainted with the infographics showing the construction of a seismograph. The teacher explains to the students how seismic activity research is conducted.

8. Projection of a film entitled in the lesson entitled „Placement of earthquakes” in the e‑textbook.

9. A discussion concerning the students' knowledge of the tsunami phenomenon.

Summary

1. As a class summary the students do single‑choice exercises in the abstract. Tasks are performed on the interactive whiteboard by designated students.

2. The teacher gives homework (content below). The teacher assesses the students' activity during the lesson, appreciating their engagement and commitment.

Homework

Find information on solutions used by people in the situations listed below and try to assess their effectiveness:

• What actions can be undertaken when a building is about to collapse?

• How to prepare people to survive hours or days after an earthquake without water, electricity, food, medicine and the Internet?

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The distribution of earthquakes

Earthquakes are vibrations of the Earth's crust. Those that propagate within the Earth are called seismic waves. As a rule, they are a consequence of tension release resulting from the movement of the lithosphere plates. The frequent causes of earthquakes include volcanic eruptions. Moreover, they may occur as a result of collapse of cave ceilings or excavations in mines (the so‑called rock bumps), and (very rarely) the fall of relatively large meteorites. The largest and most powerful earthquakes are created at the contact zones of the lithosphere plates. They occur in the zones of subduction and sliding of the lithosphere plates along faults, often in the vicinity of active volcanoes and in spreading zones. The source of seismic wave propagation has been called the focal point or the focus of an earthquake It can be located at various depths, even several hundred kilometres. A place located on the surface of the Earth, directly above the focus of an earthquake, is the epicentre. In the epicentre, the shocks are felt the earliest and are the strongest. The magnitude of earthquakes is determined, among others, using the Richter scale. For example, earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.0 are delicate shocks felt by seismographs only, and occur hundreds of thousands of times on the Earth during the year. Whereas earthquakes with a magnitude of approximately 9.0 are catastrophic in effect, destroying entire cities on a large surface (thousands of kmIndeks górny 2²), and they occur quite seldom – once every several, a dozen or so years.
Earthquakes are experienced all over the globe, but their impact varies geographically.

Earthquakes of such magnitude are relatively rare and occur once every 3–19 years. Earthquakes occur across the globe, but their impact is different depending on the geographical region. In the picture below, we present a cuboid representing a section of the Earth.

In areas of old, stiff continental disks and old mountains, earthquakes are very rare and weak. We call them aseismic areas. The opposite are seismic areas, i.e. where 90% of all earthquakes occur, including the strongest ones. To a great degree, seismic areas coincide with the zones of lithosphere plate collisions.

Virtually all earthquakes are recorded by seismological stations throughout the world. Special equipment is used to record them, the so‑called seismographs.