Lesson Y8-U01-L05

Y8-U01-L05 Why Earthquakes Happen Quiz: KS3 Geography, Unit 7

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y8-U01-L05, Why Earthquakes Happen: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Geography (National Curriculum), Unit 7: Year 8: Restless Earth: Tectonic Hazards, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is the focus of an earthquake?

    • The point underground where the earthquake starts
    • The point on the surface directly above the earthquake
    • The crack in the road where the ground splits open
    • The line where two plates meet at the surface

  2. What is the epicentre of an earthquake?

    • The deepest point of the ocean floor near a plate boundary
    • The place where magma reaches the surface
    • The point on the surface directly above the focus
    • The centre of the Earth, where the core lies

  3. What is friction at a plate boundary?

    • The wind that blows dust across a fault line
    • The grip between rough plate edges that stops them sliding
    • The heat rising from the mantle that melts rock
    • The force of lava pushed up a volcano's vent during a large eruption on the coast

  4. What are seismic waves?

    • Waves of sound made by people on a fault line
    • Energy waves that spread out from the focus and shake the ground
    • Waves of light given off by hot magma that glow brightly under the ground
    • Waves of water that rush onto the shore after a storm

  5. What is magnitude?

    • A number that measures how much energy an earthquake releases
    • The distance from the epicentre to the nearest city, measured in kilometres on a map
    • The number of aftershocks that follow the main quake
    • The depth of the earthquake below the ground surface

  6. Which instrument is used to measure seismic waves?

    • A seismometer
    • A thermometer
    • A rain gauge
    • A barometer

  7. Which number range is usually used for earthquake magnitudes in this lesson?

    • Roughly 1 to 9
    • Roughly -10 to 10
    • Roughly 0 to 100
    • Roughly 1 to 20

  8. What event releases the stored energy in an earthquake?

    • Lava rises and pushes the ground upward
    • Rain soaks the soil until it collapses, causing the ground to slide into the valley
    • Friction is overcome and the plates suddenly slip
    • The Sun heats the rock until it cracks

  9. Which earthquake has the greater magnitude: magnitude 6 or magnitude 7?

    • They release the same energy, because both are earthquakes
    • Magnitude 7
    • It depends only on the depth of each earthquake
    • Magnitude 6, because lower numbers mean stronger shaking

  10. The 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8 and the 2023 Morocco earthquake had 6.8. Roughly how many times more energy did the Turkey-Syria earthquake release?

    • About 32 times more
    • About 1,000 times more
    • About 7 times more
    • About 2 times more

  11. Two earthquakes measure 6.4 and 7.5 on the magnitude scale. Which one is the weaker earthquake?

    • The 7.5 earthquake
    • Cannot be known from magnitudes
    • The 6.4 earthquake
    • They are equally strong

  12. Earthquakes in a survey measured 6.4, 6.8, 7.5 and 8.2 on the magnitude scale. Which magnitude is greater than 6.8 but less than 7.8?

    • 8.2
    • 6.8
    • 6.4
    • 7.5

  13. Put these stages of an earthquake into the correct order.

    • Waves shake the ground, friction locks, plates slip, pressure builds
    • Plates lock by friction, pressure builds, friction is beaten, plates slip, waves shake the ground
    • Plates slip, waves shake the ground, friction locks the plates, pressure builds slowly over many years
    • Pressure builds, waves shake the ground, plates slip, friction locks

  14. An earthquake's focus is 10 km underground. Where is its epicentre?

    • On the ocean floor, 10 km from the coast
    • On the surface, directly above the focus
    • 10 km below the surface, under the epicentre
    • At the centre of the Earth, far from the surface

  15. A pupil says the earthquake energy is made at the moment the plates slip. Which response is best?

    • No, the energy was stored by pressure while the plates were stuck
    • Yes, magma heats the plates and creates the energy in that instant
    • Yes, friction creates all the energy in one sudden burst
    • No, the energy came from the Sun heating the plate edges

  16. Why is damage often worst near the epicentre?

    • Waves slow down at the epicentre, so they linger for longer
    • Only the epicentre has buildings that are built to last, so damage is low everywhere else
    • The epicentre is always under the ocean, where waves are weakest
    • Seismic waves reach the surface there first and with the most energy

  17. Why are earthquakes most common along plate boundaries?

    • Friction locks the plates there, so stress builds and large energy is released when they slip
    • The rock at boundaries is softer, so it cracks more easily
    • Boundaries lie close to the surface, so earthquakes cannot form in the middle of plates
    • Earthquakes are only caused by the Moon at boundaries, which pull the plates apart every month

  18. Why is a magnitude 7.8 earthquake not always the most destructive?

    • Only the epicentre matters, so the magnitude is irrelevant to the amount of damage caused in any city
    • Damage also depends on depth, distance from people, and how well buildings withstand shaking
    • Magnitude measures damage rather than energy, so 7.8 is always weaker than 6.8
    • Damage depends only on the magnitude number, so a higher number always means more deaths

  19. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes close to a poorly built city. Which factor most increases the damage?

    • The earthquake happens under the ocean, far from any land
    • The city is built on solid rock far from the focus
    • The earthquake is shallow and close to the city, so the shaking is strong there
    • The earthquake is very deep and far from the city, so its shaking rarely reaches the ground

  20. Why can the ground stay still for long periods before a major earthquake?

    • Rocks are soft, so they cannot store energy before a quake
    • The plates are pulled apart by the Moon every century, so the ground moves gently and steadily
    • The plates move too slowly to be noticed by any instrument
    • Friction holds the plates locked while pressure slowly builds in the rock

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