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Question

Earthquakes generate sound waves inside the earth. Unlike a gas, the earth can experience both transverse (S) and longitudinal (P) sound waves. Typically the speed of S wave is about 4.0 km s¯¹, and that of P wave is 8.0 km s–1. A seismograph records P and S waves from an earthquake. The first P wave arrives 4 min before the first S wave. Assuming the waves travel in straight line, at what distance does the earthquake occur ?

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Solution

Given, the speed of sound waves S and P are 4 km/s and 8 km/s respectively. The wave P arrives 4min before the wave S.

The time gap between the waves P and S is,

Δt=4min× 60s 1min =240s

The distance of the earthquake is given by the equation,

x= v p ×Δt

Substituting the values in the above equation, we get:

x=8 km/s ×240s =1920km

Thus, the earthquake occurs at a distance of 1920km.


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