Faults and Earthquakes

“Turn on the TV, read the news, or browse the internet, and almost immediately you will learn that something destructive happened somewhere without human involvement. The power of nature is strong and terrifying—think tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, or earthquakes. Earthquakes are just one of the spectacularly frightening events that can change the landscape in a matter of seconds.”

• Characterize and define the three main types of faults
• Describe the process of earthquake or tsunami formation and their consequences
• Explain what seismology is, what a seismograph is, and how it works
• Developed digital skills: creating keywords, searching online, understanding natural phenomena through 3D models, explaining processes using 3D models
• Keywords: seismic waves, seismology, seismograph, earthquake, tsunami

Duration: 10 minutes

Start the lesson with some questions to assess students’ current knowledge and experiences:

• Do you think the Earth’s plates beneath us move or are they stationary? What is your reasoning?
• Have you ever witnessed or seen on TV or in newspapers any movement of the Earth? Do you remember where and when?
• What can such movement of the Earth cause?
• How can we protect ourselves from damages caused by these movements? Suggest possible solutions.

After answering these questions, students should be able to identify key terms such as volcano, earthquake, and tsunami. This introduction allows you to start explaining how Earth’s movements change its surface.

Duration: 10 minutes

Open the 3D model "Faults" in the Corinth geology library. Within this model, you can switch between different types of faults, rotate, and zoom in. You can pause the animation using the timer below the model. This allows you to phase the steps and show differences between fault types.

If the model does not load, open it directly:
app.corinth3d.com/content/p_geol_zlomy

Duration: 10 minutes

Materials: Computer with internet, projector

Create groups of 3–4 students.

Explain that events such as volcanoes, tsunamis, or earthquakes change the Earth’s surface.

Students should search online for images or videos from before and after such events. Start with a discussion of keywords they will use for searching, such as "before and after tsunami," "changes caused by earthquakes," "images of land before and after a volcano," etc. Write the keywords on the board.

Have students search online and write down or remember the country and year of the event that changed that area.

Activity Goal: Identify which country and year were affected by an earthquake. Students learn to create keywords and search based on them, improving research skills and computer work.

Duration: 10 minutes

“An earthquake is the result of fault movement. The place below the surface where it originates is called the hypocenter, and the point directly above it on the surface is the epicenter. Earthquakes can trigger foreshocks, a main shock, and aftershocks.”

During the explanation, open the "Earthquake" model in the Corinth library (Geology). Highlight parts as you discuss them to help students visualize the earthquake formation.

• Fault
• Movement along the fault
• Hypocenter
• Epicenter
• Seismic waves
• Tsunami

If the model does not load, open it directly:
app.corinth3d.com/content/p_geol_zemetreseni_tsunami

Duration: 10 minutes

How do people predict when Earth’s movement becomes life-threatening? Do we use instruments to measure it?

Briefly introduce students to seismology and the seismograph:

“Seismology studies Earth’s movements and seismic waves that propagate beneath and on the surface. Seismic waves are imaginary waves full of energy released during sudden rock movements inside the Earth or explosions. Instruments that detect and measure these waves are called seismographs.”

Show the propagation of seismic waves in the 3D Corinth "Earthquake" (Tsunami) model by clicking on the Seismic Waves section. The animation demonstrates how waves spread from the hypocenter, where the fault originates.

Duration: 15 minutes

Materials: markers, flexible ruler, tape, heavy object, newspapers or other paper for writing

• Spread newspapers or paper on a table.
• Attach a marker to the ruler to form a right angle.
• Place a heavy object in front of the paper and secure the other end of the ruler with tape. The marker should be close to the paper for writing.
• Ask students what would happen to the paper during seismic tremors. Then shake the table slightly and observe results—the marker should draw a line.
• Repeat with stronger shaking to observe a larger curve.
• Create another “seismograph”: one in a tray of sand or water, one on the tabletop. Observe how the material beneath affects results.

Activity Goal: Students understand how a seismograph works, learn the measurement units, and confirm that stronger earthquakes create greater line curvature.

Duration: 10 minutes

Materials: 1-liter plastic bottle per student, cooking oil, food coloring, water, paper, colored pencils

• Each student fills the bottle 2/3 full.
• Add food coloring to the water and then oil until the bottle is full. Screw the cap tightly.
• Students place the bottle on the table and invert it to simulate waves.
• Students observe the waves and draw or describe their movement on paper.
• Discuss factors affecting wave movement, e.g., ocean floor, rocky coastlines, and the Moon.

Activity Goal: Students observe the variability of water movement in waves and identify the rules of wave motion.

The teacher discusses with students what they learned and what interested them. A mind map can be created on the board, or observations recorded in other ways. During the final discussion, summarize the new knowledge and recommend additional educational resources for students to revisit or further study the topic.