Lesson 3.5.3

3.5.3 What are the main hazards generated by seismic activity? Quiz: OCR Geography, Unit 9

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 3.5.3, What are the main hazards generated by seismic activity?: 20 multiple choice questions for the OCR Geography (H481), Unit 9: Hazardous Earth, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. At what depth range do shallow-focus earthquakes typically originate beneath the Earth surface?

    • 300-700 km
    • 0-70 km
    • 700-1000 km
    • 70-300 km

  2. Which scale measures earthquake intensity based on observed structural damage and human reaction?

    • VEI Scale
    • Richter Scale
    • Moment Magnitude Scale
    • Modified Mercalli Scale

  3. What instrument logarithmic scale measures an earthquake magnitude using seismic wave amplitudes?

    • Saffir-Simpson Scale
    • Richter Scale
    • Modified Mercalli Scale
    • Moment Magnitude Scale

  4. Which modern scale measures the total energy released by an earthquake along its fault line?

    • Beaufort Scale
    • Richter Scale
    • Moment Magnitude Scale
    • Modified Mercalli Scale

  5. Which process causes saturated, loose soil to temporarily lose strength and behave like a liquid?

    • Lahars
    • Solifluction
    • Liquefaction
    • Pyroclastic flow

  6. What primary seismic hazard involves the vertical or horizontal shifting of the Earth crust along a fault line?

    • Ground displacement
    • Liquefaction
    • Lateral spreading
    • Soil creep

  7. Which landform is created when crustal extension causes a central block of land to slip downwards between faults?

    • Ocean trench
    • Rift valley
    • Escarpment
    • Fold mountain

  8. What primary trigger causes tsunamis during deep-sea earthquakes?

    • Thermal expansion
    • Tidal forcing
    • Atmospheric pressure
    • Sea-bed uplift

  9. A house built on soft, water-saturated silt tilts and sinks during earthquake tremors. Which hazard caused this?

    • Tsunami
    • Lahars
    • Liquefaction
    • Ground displacement

  10. Which earthquake scale is most suitable for describing variations in local destruction across a single city?

    • Moment Magnitude Scale
    • VEI Scale
    • Richter Scale
    • Modified Mercalli Scale

  11. An earthquake ruptures a dam wall, releasing millions of litres of reservoir water downhill. What hazard results?

    • Ground shaking
    • Secondary flooding
    • Liquefaction
    • Lahars

  12. Seismic shaking triggers a large mass of saturated mud and rock to rapidly move down a steep slope. What is this?

    • Landslide
    • Liquefaction
    • Rift valley
    • Pyroclastic flow

  13. A severe earthquake causes steep cliff faces along a coastal fault line to collapse vertically. What feature forms?

    • Escarpment
    • Mid-ocean ridge
    • Ocean trench
    • Rift valley

  14. Deep-focus earthquakes occur primarily at depth along which type of tectonic plate boundary?

    • Divergent boundary
    • Conservative boundary
    • Convergent boundary
    • Transform boundary

  15. Why do shallow-focus earthquakes generally cause more severe ground shaking at the surface than deep-focus earthquakes?

    • Greater mantle depth
    • Faster displacement
    • Less wave attenuation
    • Higher eruption magnitude

  16. What secondary seismic hazard occurs when an underwater landslide displaces water above a continental slope?

    • Tsunami
    • Ground rupture
    • Escarpment formation
    • Liquefaction

  17. What is the maximum depth typically associated with deep-focus earthquakes along subduction zones?

    • 300 km
    • 1200 km
    • 70 km
    • 700 km

  18. Why is the Moment Magnitude Scale preferred over the Richter scale for recording massive earthquakes?

    • Uses subjective data
    • No scale saturation
    • Calculates water depth
    • Measures human impact

  19. A one-unit increase on the logarithmic Richter scale represents how many times more released energy?

    • 10 times
    • About 32 times
    • 2 times
    • 100 times

  20. What structural landform is formed between two parallel normal faults under regional extensional tectonic stress?

    • Dykes
    • Horsts
    • Sills
    • Grabens

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