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P waves, also called primary waves, are the first waves to be registered on a seismograph. The S waves, or secondary waves, are the second and slower wave to register on the seismograph. When locating an earthquakes epicenter seismologists take the first reading of the P wave, and then take the reading from the S wave. At the station of where the earthquake was recorded, seismologists draw a large circle from where the earthquakes epicenter could be. TO exactly located the earthquakes epicenter there needs to be at least 3 dfferent staions where the earthquake hit to determine its epicenter using the S and P time interval. 

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Q: What is the difference of the P waves and S waves used to locate an earthquake's epicenter?
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Related questions

What does the of each circle represent in a epicenter?

I got it from my science book its geologist use seismic waves to locate the earthquakes epicenter (that's what the circle center is epicenter)


What does the center of each circle represent in a epicenter?

I got it from my science book its geologist use seismic waves to locate the earthquakes epicenter (that's what the circle center is epicenter)


What does the center of each circle represent in the epicenter?

I got it from my science book its geologist use seismic waves to locate the earthquakes epicenter (that's what the circle center is epicenter)


Which waves created by earthquakes are the strongest at the epicenter?

s waves


How do geologists locate the epicenter?

Seismic Waves


Do scientists follow seismic waves to locate the epicenter?

No.


What are the tipe of earthquakes?

The epicenter is where the waves first hit the surface, the 'focus' is the point where the waves come from initially.


What type of data do geologists use to locate earthquakes epicenter?

Seismologists use the data from triangulated seismographs to locate an earthquake's epicenter. The difference in time between the arrival of p and s waves at a seismometer tells the distance to the epicenter of an earthquake. To get the exact location, scientists must collect data from at least three seismometers. The point where all three circles is the epicenter of the earthquake. +++ The Epicentre is generally obvious: it is the point of maximum disturbance on the surface. The centre of the actual slip is the Focus, and this has to be calculated from seismograph data by triangulating from wave velocities.


What is a seismologist and what types of scientific tools do they use to locate earthquakes?

Seismologist use a seismometer or seismograph to record the P and S-wave arrival times.Please see the related question for detail on how this is used to locate an earthquake epicenter.Geologists use seismic waves to locate an earthquake's epicenter.


How do p and s waves provide the location of the earthquakes epicenter?

you have to find the s and p to find and then you have the awnser


Do earthquakes start at the epicenter?

Yes earthquakes start at the epicentre and in waves the energy ripples out across continents giving us the shaking feeling like an earthquake is happening.


Which two waves from an earthquake can triangulate the epicenter?

P-waves (Primary) and S-waves (Secondary). Using the difference in time between the arrival of P- and S-waves, you can then determine the distance from the epicenter. Once you've determined the distance from the epicenter of three different stations, you'll be able to triangulate the epicenter (the point where all three circles cross).