Earthquakes & Seismic Waves
📋 What it is
Earthquakes release built-up strain as seismic waves that ripple through Earth and shake the surface.
🗣️ Coach says
When plates grind and stick, strain builds until it suddenly SLIPS — an earthquake. The released energy travels as seismic waves, rippling out like pond ripples and shaking the ground. Scientists measure these waves both to gauge a quake’s size and to peer into Earth’s hidden interior.
🧠 Memory hook
Plates stick → strain builds → sudden SLIP = earthquake. Energy travels as seismic waves that shake + reveal Earth’s inside.
😂 Giggle
Why did the earthquake feel guilty?
Because it was always at fault!
😲 Whoa!
Seismic waves from big earthquakes travel right through the planet and come out the other side — scientists use them like an ultrasound to "see" Earth’s core.
✅ Quick check: What causes an earthquake at a plate boundary?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
Plates stick as strain builds, then suddenly slip, releasing energy as seismic waves that shake the ground.
Earthquakes are sudden strain release along faults.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Push two books together until one suddenly slips — that jolt is a mini "earthquake".