I chose to research earthquakes and the prediction of earthquakes because I was curious as to how they work. In this paper, Iwill discus the history of earthquakes, the kinds and locations of earthquakes, earthquake effects, intensity scales, prediction,and my own predictions.An earthquake can be defined as vibrations produced in the earth's crust. Tectonic plates have friction between them whichbuilds up as it tries to push away and suddenly ruptures and then rebounds. The vibrations can range from barely noticeable toa disastrous, and destructive act of nature. Six kinds of shock waves are generated in the process. Two are classified as bodywaves, that is, they travel through the inside of the earth and the other four are surface waves. The waves are further classifiedby the kinds of motions they incur to rock particles. Primary or compressional waves, known as P waves, send particlesmoving back and forth in the same direction as the waves are traveling, as secondary or transverse shear waves, known as Swaves, create vibrations perpendicular to their direction of travel.
