What Is an Earthquake
Know what an earthquake is: a sudden shaking of the ground that can be strong or weak
What a learner can do afterwards
- Describe an earthquake as the ground shaking suddenly
- Explain that earthquakes vary in strength from barely noticeable to very strong
- Describe what it might feel like during an earthquake
1 · Read
An earthquake is a sudden shaking of the ground. A light shake is small and may be hard to feel. A strong shake moves the ground much more. The ground does not have to crack open for an earthquake to happen.
Mia feels a small shake at breakfast. Her cup wiggles a little. During stronger shaking, dishes may rattle and lamps may sway. Rattling and swaying show more movement than a tiny wobble.
Indoors, drop to your hands and knees when shaking starts. If a sturdy table is close, crawl under it and hold on with one hand. Cover your head and neck with your other arm. If no table is close, stay low and cover your head and neck with both arms. Stay there until shaking stops. Do not run outside. Practice with a grown-up.
Earthquakes are sudden ground shakes, from light to very strong.
Reading and flashcards written for this learning dataset.
More to read
Studying Shaking with a Model
A small model house can help people study shaking. It is much smaller than a real house. Scientists can move the base and watch what happens to the model.
They might ask whether the model stays upright or tips over. Moving its base is not a real earthquake. It is a way to study how shaking affects objects.
A model helps answer some questions. It cannot show everything about a real earthquake or a real house.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
Nothing; this is a starting point.
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.