1. Earthquakes Objective To learn about earthquakes and what causes them MUST be able to understand where earthquakes occur and why SHOULD be able to explain how they occur COULD think examples of famous volcanoes and earthquakes

2. Two earthquakes compared.

3. Here is your key question – write it in your books. How can similar earthquakes in Iran and USA have very different impacts on the people who live there? LocationCaliforniaIran Date Date Strength Deaths

5. Location: Bam in Iraq Date: 26 December, 2003 Strength of earthquake on the Richter scale: 6.6 Number dead: 28,000

7. Location: California in USA Date: 22 December, 2003 Strength of earthquake on the Richter scale: 6.5 Number dead: 3

8. Here are some other reasons why the earthquake in Iran was so bad: The houses in Iran were badly built. They were made from mud brick which collapsed straight away. When mud brick collapses it disintegrates. This leaves less air pockets, which might have allowed some people to survive, even though they were trapped.

9. These are like the mud brick buildings that collapsed in Bam

10. Buildings like this in a rich country might topple, but they don’t crumble. What would be your chance of survival in this situation?

11. The time of day when the earthquake happened was also important. In Bam, it happened at 5 o’clock on a Friday morning. Friday is the Muslim day of rest. (Like a Sunday here!) Where do you think most people were, and why did they die?

12. Other things to consider:

13. How can similar earthquakes in Iran and USA have very different impacts on the people who live there?

14. Write the definitions for the following into your book. Seismometer Magnitude Richter scale.