Asked by hfhfh

On April 11, 2012, two earthquakes were measured off the northwest coast of Sumatra. The first had a magnitude of 8.6. The second had a magnitude of 8.2. By what approximate factor was the intensity of the first earthquake greater than the intensity of the second earthquake?

mc020-1.jpg
M = the magnitude of an earthquake
I = the intensity of an earthquake
I0 = the smallest seismic activity that can be measured, which is 1

0.40
1.02
1.05
2.51

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Use I = I0·10^M so the ratio = 10^(8.6−8.2) = 10^0.4 ≈ 2.51.