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Because magnitude is a measurement of the amount of energy released in an earthquake and this value will remain constant once the earthquake has finished. However the estimates seismologists make of this value may change as they gain more information about the earthquake...

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Q: Why does an earthquake have only one magnitude?
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Is a 7.0 earthquake medium earthquake?

A low earthquake is 1-3 magnitude, a medium earthquake is 4-6 magnitude and a high earthquake is 7+ magnitude.No. A 7.0 magnitude quake would be considered a "major" quake.Here is the scale of earthquake magnitude classes:ClassMagnitudeGreat8 or moreMajor7 - 7.9Strong6 - 6.9Moderate5 - 5.9Light4 - 4.9Minor3 -3.9


What magnitude was the March 28 earthquake?

It was a pretty terrible event that affected thousands of people. It can be confusing talking about the magnitude of an earthquake as different countries can use different scales (Japan uses a different one from the international standard as one example). The 28 March earthquake was Magnitude 8.6 as measured in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia at 4.09 pm in 2005. The extra energy release to go further up the scale is exponential (meaning that a magnitude 2 earthquake is much more than double the energy of a magnitude 1 earthquake).


How does a Richter magnitude 5 earthquake generate compared to a Richter magnitude 3 earthquake?

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One seismogragh can determine?

The distance to the epicentre of an earthquake and it's magnitude.


Does the earthquake magnitude system have a maximum value of 9?

No it is based on a scale of 1 to 10 and the only way a 10.0 earthquake could happen would be all of the faults join together to form one big earthquake.

Related questions

What is the difference in energy output between a magnitude 5 earthquake and a magnitude 6 earthquake?

A magnitude 6 earthquake has 10 ten times the energy of a magnitude 5 earthquake.


What is an earthquake's magnitude a measure of?

An earthquake's magnitude is a measure of how strong it is


Does an electric kitchen mixer use a magnitude?

only if there is an earthquake


What is the strongest magnitude earthquake ever measured on the Richter magnitude?

The strongest earthquake that can be measured using the Richter magnitude scale is one with a magnitude of 8.0. For earthquakes larger than this, the moment magnitude scale must be used.


What is the difference in strength between a 7.0 magnitude earthquake and a 9.0 magnitude earthquake?

-3.0 magnitude or if you want the ground motion: Each time the magnitude increases by one unit, the measured ground motion becomes 10 times larger. For example, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.0 on the Richter scale will produce 10 times as much ground motion as an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.0. Furthermore, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 will produce 100 times as much ground motion (10 × 10) as an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.0.


Magnitude is an earthquake's what?

The magnitude of an earthquake is caluated to measure the amount of energy released during the earthquake.


What was the magnitude of the earthquake?

7.2 magnitude


What is the energy level difference between a magnitude 5 earthquake and magnitude 6 earthquake?

A magnitude 6 earthquake emits roughly 31 times more energy than a magnitude 5 earthquake. The magnitude 6 quake will also have a maximum seismic wave amplitude of ten times the magnitude 5 earthquake.


What magnitude was the earthquake that hit Chile?

The Earthquake of February 27,2010 had a magnitude of 8.8


What was the magnitude of the recent earthquake in haiti?

The magnitude of Haiti's recent earthquake was 7.0


Why is a 6.0 magnitude earthquake so much more destructive than a 5.0 magnitude earthquake?

Because the "magnitude scale is not linear, it is logarithmic (its numbers are an order of magnitude apart) this mean that the a magnitude 6 earthquake is TEN TIMES more powerful than a magnitude 5 earthquake and a HUNDRED TIMES more powerful than a magnitude 4 earthquake.


Why is 6.0 magnitude earthquake so much more destructive than a 5.0 magnitude earthquake?

Because the "magnitude scale is not linear, it is logarithmic (its numbers are an order of magnitude apart) this mean that the a magnitude 6 earthquake is TEN TIMES more powerful than a magnitude 5 earthquake and a HUNDRED TIMES more powerful than a magnitude 4 earthquake.