Top 50 MCQs on Earthquake PDF

MCQs on Earthquake

MCQs on Earthquake:- In this article we have discussed about MCQs on earthquake. These are most important MCQs on earthquake from the point of views of competitive exams and all classes.

Question 1. What is an earthquake?
a) A sudden movement of tectonic plates
b) A sudden movement of ocean water
c) A sudden change in the weather
d) A sudden explosion of a volcano

Answer: a) A sudden movement of tectonic plates

Question 2. What is the point on the Earth’s surface directly above the point where an earthquake occurs called?
a) Focus
b) Epicenter
c) Seismic zone
d) Aftershock

Answer: b) Epicenter

Question 3. Which of the following is not a type of seismic wave?
a) P-waves
b) S-waves
c) L-waves
d) Surface waves

Answer: c) L-waves

Question 4. Which type of seismic wave is the fastest and therefore arrives first?
a) P-waves
b) S-waves
c) Surface waves
d) Rayleigh waves

Answer: a) P-waves

Question 5. Which type of seismic wave causes the most damage to buildings and infrastructure?
a) P-waves
b) S-waves
c) Surface waves
d) Rayleigh waves

Answer: c) Surface waves

Question 6. What is the Richter scale used to measure?
a) The strength of a hurricane
b) The strength of a tornado
c) The strength of an earthquake
d) The strength of a tsunami

Answer: c) The strength of an earthquake

Question 7. How does the Mercalli scale measure earthquakes?
a) By the amount of energy released
b) By the magnitude of the earthquake
c) By the intensity of the shaking at a particular location
d) By the depth of the earthquake

Answer: c) By the intensity of the shaking at a particular location

Question 8. What is the name of the instrument used to measure earthquakes?
a) Seismometer
b) Barometer
c) Hygrometer
d) Thermometer

Answer: a) Seismometer

Question 9. What is the term used to describe a series of smaller earthquakes that occur after a large earthquake?
a) Pre-shocks
b) Foreshocks
c) Aftershocks
d) Tremors

Answer: c) Aftershocks

Question 10. Which country experiences the most earthquakes?
a) Japan
b) United States
c) Chile
d) Indonesia

Answer: a) Japan

Question 11. What is the name of the fault line that runs through California?
a) San Andreas Fault
b) New Madrid Fault
c) Cascadia Subduction Zone
d) Hayward Fault

Answer: a) San Andreas Fault

Question 12. Which of the following is not a cause of earthquakes?
a) Volcanic eruptions
b) Plate tectonics
c) Human activity
d) Meteor strikes

Answer: d) Meteor strikes

Question 13. What is the name of the process where two tectonic plates collide and one is forced under the other?
a) Subduction
b) Divergence
c) Convergence
d) Transform faulting

Answer: a) Subduction

Question 14. What is liquefaction?
a) The process of turning a solid into a liquid
b) The process of turning a liquid into a gas
c) The process of water-saturated soil becoming liquid during an earthquake
d) The process of volcanic ash and dust being blown into the atmosphere

Answer: c) The process of water-saturated soil becoming liquid during an earthquake

Question 15. Which type of earthquake is more likely to cause a tsunami?
a) Shallow earthquakes
b) Deep earthquakes
c) Moderate earthquakes
d) Small earthquakes

Answer: a) Shallow earthquakes

Question 16. What is the name of the scale that measures the energy released by an earthquake?
a) Moment magnitude scale
b) Mercalli scale
c) Richter scale
d) Fujita scale

Answer: a) Moment magnitude scale

Question 17. What is the name of the type of earthquake that occurs when a fault suddenly slips and releases a large amount of energy?
a) Strike-slip earthquake
b) Thrust earthquake
c) Normal earthquake
d) Megathrust earthquake

Answer: d) Megathrust earthquake

Question 18. What is the name of the process where two tectonic plates move away from each other?
a) Convergent boundary
b) Divergent boundary
c) Transform boundary
d) Subduction zone

Answer: b) Divergent boundary

Question 19. Which country experienced the deadliest earthquake in recorded history, killing approximately 830,000 people?
a) China
b) Japan
c) India
d) Indonesia

Answer: a) China

Question 20. What is the name of the phenomenon where seismic waves are amplified in certain areas due to the geology of the area?
a) Seismic amplification
b) Resonance
c) Amplification zone
d) Natural frequency

Answer: b) Resonance

Question 21. What is the name of the process where rocks in the Earth’s crust become permanently deformed due to stress?
a) Strain
b) Shearing
c) Faulting
d) Deformation

Answer: d) Deformation

Question 22. What is the name of the phenomenon where a portion of the ocean floor is raised or lowered due to an earthquake?
a) Seafloor spreading
b) Tsunami
c) Seiche
d) Seamount

Answer: b) Tsunami

Question 23. Which of the following is not a secondary effect of earthquakes?
a) Landslides
b) Fire
c) Tsunami
d) Tornadoes

Answer: d) Tornadoes

Question 24. What is the name of the type of earthquake that occurs when two tectonic plates slide past each other?
a) Thrust earthquake
b) Normal earthquake
c) Strike-slip earthquake
d) Megathrust earthquake

Answer: c) Strike-slip earthquake

Question 25. Which of the following is not a way to prepare for an earthquake?
a) Have an emergency kit
b) Reinforce your home
c) Ignore warning signs
d) Have an evacuation plan

Answer: c) Ignore warning signs

Question 26. What is the name of the process where the ground shakes and moves in a rolling motion during an earthquake?
a) Seismic vibration
b) Seismic shaking
c) Seismic rolling
d) Seismic acceleration

Answer: b) Seismic shaking

Question 27. What is the name of the process where a large earthquake triggers a series of smaller earthquakes in nearby faults?
a) Foreshocks
b) Aftershocks
c) Earthquake swarm
d) Tsunami

Answer: c) Earthquake swarm

Question 28. Which of the following is not a common location for earthquakes to occur?
a) Along the Pacific Ring of Fire
b) Along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
c) Along the Himalayan Mountains
d) Along the Great Rift Valley

Answer: b) Along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Question 29. What is the name of the process where buildings and infrastructure are designed to withstand earthquakes?
a) Seismic retrofitting
b) Earthquake engineering
c) Seismic hazard reduction
d) Seismic resilience

Answer: b) Earthquake engineering

Question 30. Which type of earthquake wave causes the most damage to buildings and infrastructure?
a) P-waves
b) S-waves
c) Surface waves
d) Love waves

Answer: c) Surface waves

Question 31. What is the primary cause of earthquakes?
A) Volcanic eruptions
B) Plate tectonics
C) Meteorite impacts
D) Heavy rainfall

Answer: B) Plate tectonics

Question 32. Which instrument is commonly used to measure the magnitude of an earthquake?
A) Barometer
B) Thermometer
C) Seismometer
D) Compass

Answer: C) Seismometer

Question 33. The point on the Earth’s surface directly above the earthquake’s point of origin is called the:
A) Epicenter
B) Focus
C) Hypocenter
D) Fault line

Answer: A) Epicenter

Question 34. Which type of seismic waves are responsible for most of the damage during an earthquake?
A) P-waves (Primary waves)
B) S-waves (Secondary waves)
C) Surface waves
D) Love waves

Answer: C) Surface waves

Question 35. What is the Richter scale used to measure?
A) Earthquake intensity
B) Earthquake depth
C) Earthquake duration
D) Earthquake location

Answer: A) Earthquake intensity

Question 36. Which type of plate boundary is associated with the majority of earthquake activity?
A) Transform boundary
B) Convergent boundary
C) Divergent boundary
D) Rift boundary

Answer: B) Convergent boundary

Question 37. What term describes the aftershocks that follow a major earthquake?
A) Preshocks
B) Subshocks
C) Foreshocks
D) Aftershocks

Answer: D) Aftershocks

Question 38. Which region of the United States is most seismically active due to the San Andreas Fault?
A) Midwest
B) Northeast
C) Pacific Northwest
D) California

Answer: D) California

Question 39. What is liquefaction in the context of earthquakes?
A) A type of seismic wave
B) The process of rocks melting during an earthquake
C) The transformation of solid soil into a liquid-like state.
D) A fault line that generates earthquakes

Answer: C) The transformation of solid soil into a liquid-like state.

Question 40. Which building construction technique helps reduce earthquake damage by absorbing seismic energy?
A) Reinforced concrete
B) Unreinforced masonry
C) Soft story construction
D) Base isolation

 Answer: D) Base isolation

Question 41. What is the term for a smaller, less powerful earthquake that follows a larger earthquake?
A) Secondary quake
B) Microquake
C) Tremor
D) Aftershock

 Answer: D) Aftershock

Question 42. Which of the following scales is used to measure the size of an earthquake’s source based on the area of the fault that slips?
A) Richter scale
B) Seismic intensity scale
C) Moment magnitude scale
D) Mercalli intensity scale

 Answer: C) Moment magnitude scale

Question 43. Which type of seismic waves are the fastest and the first to be detected during an earthquake?
A) S-waves (Secondary waves)
B) Love waves
C) P-waves (Primary waves)
D) Surface waves

 Answer: C) P-waves (Primary waves)

Question 44. The process of predicting the occurrence of an earthquake with precision is currently:
A)Highly accurate
B) Impossible
C) Only possible for very large earthquakes
D) Dependent on volcanic activity

 Answer: B) Impossible

Question 45. Which layer of the Earth is responsible for generating most earthquakes?
A) Mantle
B) Outer core
C) Inner core
D) Crust

 Answer: D) Crust

Question 46. What type of fault occurs when two blocks of the Earth’s crust slide past each other horizontally?
A) Normal fault
B) Reverse fault
C) Strike-slip fault
D) Thrust fault

 Answer: C) Strike-slip fault

Question 47. Which country experiences the most earthquakes in the world, often referred to as the “Ring of Fire”?
A) Japan
B) United States
C) China
D) Indonesia

 Answer: B) United States

Question 48. The San Andreas Fault is an example of which type of fault boundary?
A) Convergent boundary
B) Divergent boundary
C) Transform boundary
D) Rift boundary

 Answer: C) Transform boundary

Question 49. What is the term for a large sea wave generated by an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption?
A) Typhoon
B) Tornado
C) Tsunami
D) Hurricane

 Answer: C) Tsunami

Question 50. Which region of the Earth is known as the “Pacific Ring of Fire” due to its high seismic and volcanic activity?
A) Mediterranean Basin
B) Himalayan Mountains
C) Western Europe
D) Pacific Ocean basin