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Find the Epicenter of an Earthquake: Student Activity Kit

By: The Flinn Staff

Find the Epicenter of an Earthquake Classroom Activity Kit for Earth Science
Find the Epicenter of an Earthquake Classroom Activity Kit for Earth Science
In the Find the Epicenter of an Earthquake Classroom Activity Kit for Earth science, learn how to locate an earthquake’s epicenter, just like a “real-world” seismologist. Use seismograph data to calculate.

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An earthquake has occurred somewhere in the United States. Now it’s time for your students to locate the earthquake’s epicenter, just like “real-world” seismologists. Students use seismograph data to calculate the difference in travel time between primary and secondary seismic waves. Next they determine the distance from the epicenter to various seismograph stations using a special time delay scale and graph. Finally, with the unique safety drawing compasses included—no sharp points—students pinpoint the epicenter on a United States map by triangulation. Kit includes complete instructions with reproducible student handouts, valuable Teacher Notes and overhead transparencies.

Complete for 30 students working in groups of three.

Correlation to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

Science & Engineering Practices

Asking questions and defining problems
Developing and using models
Analyzing and interpreting data
Using mathematics and computational thinking
Engaging in argument from evidence

Disciplinary Core Ideas

MS-PS4.A: Wave Properties
MS-ESS3.B: Natural Hazards
HS-PS4.A: Wave Properties

Crosscutting Concepts

Patterns
Cause and effect
Scale, proportion, and quantity
Systems and system models

Performance Expectations

MS-ESS2-4: Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth’s systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.
MS-ESS2-5: Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions.