EARTHQUAKE

A Webquest by

Johnna Compton

All links current as of December 4, 2003

INTRODUCTION

• You are an expert seismologist. There has been a magnitude 7.5 earthquake in the eastern Kentucky region. This is an area where earthquakes are not common. Your expertise has been requested by the mayor of Pikeville, a city in eastern Kentucky that has suffered considerable damage from this unexpected earthquake.

• What causes an earthquake to occur? Is there any way an earthquake can be predicted? What precautions could residents take in the future to help protect them from the damage caused by this natural disaster?

Task• The city of Pikeville needs your assistance to construct a

newsletter informing the citizens of this eastern KY town of helpful information about earthquakes.

• You must work individually to design an informative newsletter for the people in this town. You will collaborate with one classmate seismologist to prepare a newscast and present this newscast to the class.

• You need to provide answers to questions, such as:• What causes earthquakes to happen?• How severe was the earthquake they just experienced?• Are there any warning signs that an earthquake will

occur?• What should you do to stay safe if you experience an

earthquake?• With these questions in mind, continue with your

webquest.

PROCESS• First, you must discover some basic information about

earthquakes by investigating the following links:• To review basic information about earthquakes• http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/understanding.html• http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/tectonics.html• To find out about earthquake intensity• http://www.eas.slu.edu/Earthquake_Center/mercalli.html• To listen to actual earthquakes• http://quake.usgs.gov/info/listen/source.html• To obtain information useful to people living in an area that is

a possible future location of an earthquake• http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/keepsafe/

readyearth.html• http://www.fema.gov/hazards/earthquakes/quakef.shtm/• Then you must attain your Virtual Seismologist Certificate by

completing the activities found at the following link:http://www.sciencecourseware.com/virtualearthquake/

EvaluationCATEGORY 4 3 2 1

Accuracy of Facts All facts presented in the story are accurate.

Almost all facts presented in the story are accurate.

Most facts presented in the story are accurate (at least 70%).

There are several factual errors in the story.

Neatness The final draft of the story is readable, clean, neat and attractive. It is free of erasures and crossed-out words. It looks like the author took great pride in it.

The final draft of the story is readable, neat and attractive. It may have one or two erasures, but they are not distracting. It looks like the author took some pride in it.

The final draft of the story is readable and some of the pages are attractive. It looks like parts of it might have been done in a hurry.

The final draft is not neat or attractive. It looks like the student just wanted to get it done and didn't care what it looked like.

Focus on Assigned

Topic The entire story is related to the assigned topic and allows the reader to understand much more about the topic.

Most of the story is related to the assigned topic. The story wanders off at one point, but the reader can still learn something about the topic.

Some of the story is related to the assigned topic, but a reader does not learn much about the topic.

No attempt has been made to relate the story to the assigned topic.

Organization The story is very well organized. One idea or scene follows another in a logical sequence with clear transitions.

The story is pretty well organized. One idea or scene may seem out of place. Clear transitions are used.

The story is a little hard to follow. The transitions are sometimes not clear.

Ideas and scenes seem to be randomly arranged.

CONCLUSION

• After completing this webquest and earning your seismologist certificate you have learned:

• what causes earthquakes to occur• how the intensity of the earthquake is

determined using the Mercalli Scale• what is the epicenter of an earthquake• how do you determine the epicenter of an

earthquake

To finalize your webquest experience, Email the webmaster a reflective paragraph in which you critique this webquest to tjcompton3@msn.com

Teachers *The main objective is to: -investigate basic information about earthquakes -estimate the epicenter of a chosen earthquake site -explore various sounds of actual earthquakes

*The students’ learning is assessed based on: -the accuracy of the material presented in the newscast - the newscast provides answers to essential questions

* This webquest is useful for offering the students a real world assignment involving earthquakes. They have the opportunity to apply what they have learned about earthquakes.

Credits

• Webquest created by Johnna Compton

• Special thanks to Jaime Fields for her assistance