Register

ENE Exam 2 Practice

Access More Questions
What is the approximate factor by which energy release differs between Mw 8 and Mw 4 earthquakes?
Correct Answer:
About 1,000,000x
Explanation:
Energy release scales very rapidly with moment magnitude: the radiated energy is proportional to 10^(1.5*M). That means each unit increase in magnitude boosts energy by about 10^1.5 ≈ 31.6. Going from Mw 4 to Mw 8 is four steps, so the factor is 10^(1.5×4) = 10^6, about a million. So an Mw 8 earthquake releases roughly a million times more energy than an Mw 4 earthquake, keeping in mind this is an approximate scaling and depends on rupture details.

Access more questions from this quiz

Continue to ENE Exam 2 Practice for more practice questions and the full quiz experience.

Access More Questions