1. The Question When you compare earthquakes from the recent past, which earthquake was the worst of them all? What traits make an earthquake especially damaging? To answer this question, you must compare the damage done by several earthquakes and rank the list from most damage at the top to the least damage at the bottom.

2. The Information Sources You will visit a websites to learn about the damage done by recent earthquakes. We will not look at every past earthquake.

1 = top damage 5 = least damage 3. The Student Activity It’s your job to fill in the grid below, comparing the earthquakes. Once you have all the information, then you may rank the earthquakes from most damage to least. 1 = top damage 5 = least damage Name of Earthquake Damage $ Deaths Magnitude Other Date Rank Sumatra-Andaman Islands, 2004 Norhtern Pakistan, 1974 Honshu, Japan, 2011 Haiti, 2010 Prince William Sound, Alaska, 1964

Other earthquake Sources Occur most often along the Ring of Fire Related Websites: National Geographic: Earthquakes Exploratorium Faultline Project USGS: Earthquakes for Kids Weather Wiz Kids: Earthquakes

4. The Assessment Activity Now write a essay telling which earthquake you would pick as the “earthquake of the century” given the list you had time to consider and research. Provide convincing facts as evidence to back your choice.