Grade 5-8 Performance Task
Contributed by: New York State Education Department (NYSED)
NYS Alternative Assessment in Science Project (1996)
Task:
Using data in the chart below, the student will determine
the location of the epicenter of an earthquake.
Materials:
Background:
When an earthquake occurs, scientists need to determine
the location of its epicenter as soon as possible. The epicenter
is the point on the surface of the Earth directly above the earthquake.
Measurements from at least three seismographic stations allow scientists
to locate the epicenter.
Directions:
The data in the table are the delay times between
the S and P waves from an earthquake to three stations (A, B, and
C.)
Station
|
Delay Tim Between S and P Wave Arrivals
|
Distance from Earthquake (km)
|
Distance on Map (cm)
|
A
|
5 minutes, 20 seconds |
|
|
B
|
1 minute, 40 seconds |
|
|
C
|
3 minutes, 20 seconds |
|
|
1. Find the distance of each station from the earthquake using
the delay times between the S and P waves and the graph on the next
page. Record these distances in the table.
2. Locate the epicenter of the earthquake on the map on the last
page. Calculate and record your map distances in the table. Indicate
the epicenter location with the letter X. The scale of the
map is 1 cm = 300 kilometers.
3. In the space below, describe 3 procedures you used to locate
the epicenter of the earthquake. Answer in complete sentences.
Figure 1

Figure 2

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