If the magnitude of an earthquake increased from 4 to 8 on the Richter scale the associated amount of energy released from a 4 to 8 magnitude increase would be ________.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Richter scale is logarithmic, meaning each whole number increase on the scale represents a tenfold increase in measured amplitude and roughly 31.6 times more energy release. Therefore, an increase from 4 to 8 (4 whole numbers) on the Richter scale represents a 10^4 (or 10,000) times increase in amplitude and approximately 31.6^4 (about 1,000,000) times more energy release, making the correct answer in the context of energy release more than a million times, which is closest to the option stating 2.8 million times more.

If the Magnitude of an Earthquake Increased from 4 to 8