The key to finding the location of an earthquake's epicenter is measuring the ____________.
A) difference between the time that the P-wave arrives and the time that the S-wave arrives at the seismometer station
B) total time it takes for the P-wave and then the S-wave to arrive at the seismometer station
C) difference between the time the S-wave has reached one seismometer station and the time the S-wave has reached another station
D) difference between the time the P-wave has reached one seismometer station and the time the P-wave has reached another station

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The key to finding the location of an earthquake's epicenter is to measure the time difference between the arrival of the P-wave and S-wave at a seismometer station. This time difference is used to determine the distance from the epicenter to the station, and by comparing the time differences at multiple stations, the epicenter can be located. The total time it takes for the waves to arrive, or the time differences between S-waves at different stations, or the time differences between P-waves at different stations, do not provide enough information to locate the epicenter.

The Key to Finding the Location of an Earthquake's Epicenter