What is the Richter Scale?
Q: What is the Richter Scale?
A: The Richter scale is a scale of numbers used to tell the power (or magnitude) of earthquakes.
Q: Who developed the Richter Scale?
A: Charles Richter developed the Richter Scale in 1935.
Q: How does the Richter Scale work?
A: The Richter Scale works like a seismogram, measured by a particular type of seismometer at a distance of 100 kilometers (62 mi) from the earthquake.
Q: What is the minimum magnitude that can be measured all over the world?
A: Earthquakes 4.5 or higher on the Richter scale can be measured all over the world.
Q: How much more energy is released in an earthquake that scores 3.0 compared to one that scores 2.0?
A: An earthquake a size that scores 3.0 is ten times the amplitude of one that scores 2.0. The energy that is released increases by a factor of about 32.
Q: How does the amplitude increase as the Richter Scale increases?
A: Every increase of 1 on the Richter scale corresponds to an increase in amplitude by a factor of 10 so therefore, it is a logarithmic scale.
Q: What is the biggest recorded earthquake on the Richter scale and when did it occur?
A: The Great Chilean Earthquake had a magnitude of 9.5 on the Richter scale and occurred in 1960. Around 6,000 people died because of the earthquake. No earthquake has ever hit 10+ on the Richter Scale.
