Earthquakes online exercise - Free Printable

Let’s go through each question one by one and think carefully about the correct answer.

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Question 1:
“______ are the vibrations in the ground that result from movement along breaks in Earth’s lithosphere.”

We’re looking for the word that describes *vibrations* caused by movement in Earth’s crust.
- “Earthquakes” = shaking or vibrating of the ground → matches!
- “Faults” = the actual break/crack where movement happens → not the vibration itself.
- “Stresses” = forces pushing/pulling rocks → cause earthquakes, but not the vibrations.
- “Volcanoes” = mountains that erupt lava → unrelated to ground vibrations from faults.

✔ So, the answer is A. Earthquakes

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Question 2:
“Earthquakes release tremendous amounts of energy due to the release of ______ along active plate boundaries.”

What gets released during an earthquake? It’s built-up pressure or force — called stress. When stress builds up too much, it snaps and releases energy as seismic waves (earthquake).

- “break” – too vague
- “fault” – that’s the location, not what’s released
- “plate” – plates move, but we don’t say “release of plate”
- “Stress” – YES! Stress builds up and then releases → causes quake

✔ Answer: D. Stress

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Question 3:
“___ is a break in Earth’s lithosphere where one block of rock moves toward, away from, or past another”

This is the definition of a fault. A fault is literally a fracture where rocks on either side have moved.

- “Crack” – too general; could be small surface crack
- “Fault” – perfect match
- “Plate” – huge sections of lithosphere, not a break within them
- “Stress” – force, not a physical break

✔ Answer: B. Fault

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Question 4:
“The fault shown in the figure below is ______ fault.”
*(Image shows two blocks sliding horizontally past each other — arrows pointing left and right)*

When blocks slide sideways past each other, that’s called a strike-slip fault. The options include “strike”, which is short for strike-slip.

- “convergent” – plates coming together → usually makes mountains or subduction
- “divergent” – plates moving apart → makes rifts or mid-ocean ridges
- “parallel” – not a standard fault type name
- “strike” – yes! Refers to strike-slip fault → horizontal motion

✔ Answer: D. strike

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Question 5:
“The fault shown in the figure below is ______ fault.”
*(Image shows two blocks pulling apart with magma rising between them — arrows pointing away from each other)*

When blocks move *away* from each other, that’s a divergent boundary, and the fault type associated is often called a normal fault, but here the option says “divergent” — which refers to the tectonic setting.

Looking at the choices:
- “convergent” – no, they’re not colliding
- “divergent” – YES! They’re spreading apart
- “parallel” – nope
- “strike” – that’s sideways motion, not this

Even though technically it might be a normal fault, the question seems to be asking about the *type of boundary/movement*, and “divergent” fits best based on the diagram.

✔ Answer: B. divergent

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Question 6:
“________ is the point within Earth where rocks under stress breaks”

This is the origin point of the earthquake underground — called the focus (also known as hypocenter).

- “Focus” – correct! Deep inside Earth where rupture starts
- “Faults” – the whole crack, not the specific point
- “Stress” – the force, not a location
- “Epicenter” – point ON THE SURFACE directly above the focus → not where the break happens

✔ Answer: A. Focus

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Final Answer:
1. A
2. D
3. B
4. D
5. B
6. A