Lesson Y8-U01-L05

Why Earthquakes Happen Quiz: KS3 Geography, Unit 7

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y8-U01-L05, Why Earthquakes Happen: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Geography (National Curriculum), Unit 7: Year 8: Restless Earth: Tectonic Hazards, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is the exact point underground where an earthquake starts called?

    • Focus
    • Epicentre
    • Fault line
    • Tremor point

  2. What is the point on the Earth's surface directly above the earthquake focus?

    • Focus
    • Crater
    • Epicentre
    • Hypocentre

  3. Which force locks rough tectonic plate edges together and stops them sliding?

    • Buoyancy
    • Friction
    • Gravity
    • Magnetism

  4. What energy waves spread outwards from the earthquake focus to shake the ground?

    • Light waves
    • Seismic waves
    • Ocean waves
    • Sound waves

  5. What does earthquake magnitude measure?

    • Energy released
    • Fault length
    • Plate speed
    • Epicentre depth

  6. Which instrument is used to measure seismic waves?

    • A seismometer
    • A thermometer
    • A rain gauge
    • A barometer

  7. Which scale is commonly used to measure the destructive intensity of earthquakes based on observed effects?

    • Mercalli scale
    • Celsius scale
    • Richter scale
    • Moment magnitude

  8. What physical process triggers a sudden earthquake?

    • Magma cooling
    • Crust melting
    • Plates slipping
    • Convection stopping

  9. Which earthquake releases significantly more energy?

    • Magnitude 5
    • Magnitude 7
    • Magnitude 4
    • Magnitude 6

  10. The 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8 and the 2023 Morocco earthquake had 6.8. Roughly how many times more energy did the Turkey-Syria earthquake release?

    • About 32 times more
    • About 1,000 times more
    • About 7 times more
    • About 2 times more

  11. Which magnitude represents the weaker earthquake?

    • 7.5
    • 9.0
    • 6.4
    • 8.1

  12. Earthquakes in a survey measured 6.4, 6.8, 7.5 and 8.2 on the magnitude scale. Which magnitude is greater than 6.8 but less than 7.8?

    • 8.2
    • 6.8
    • 6.4
    • 7.5

  13. What happens immediately after tectonic friction locks plates?

    • Caves form
    • Pressure builds
    • Plates melt
    • Magma rises

  14. Where is an earthquake's epicentre located?

    • At the core
    • Directly above focus
    • Deepest underground
    • Along plate boundaries

  15. When is earthquake energy actually stored in the Earth's crust?

    • Before the slip
    • During the shaking
    • After the slip
    • Once waves stop

  16. Why is earthquake damage usually worst at the epicentre?

    • Magma reaches surface
    • Plates melt completely
    • Wind speeds peak
    • Shaking is strongest

  17. Why do most earthquakes occur along plate boundaries?

    • Friction locks plates
    • Rock is coldest
    • Wind pressure builds
    • Water erodes rock

  18. What factor besides magnitude affects earthquake damage?

    • Lunar phases
    • Building quality
    • Cloud cover
    • Ocean tides

  19. Which earthquake feature makes shaking particularly severe at the surface?

    • Cold magma
    • Slow waves
    • Shallow focus
    • Deep focus

  20. Why does the ground stay still before an earthquake?

    • Earth cools down
    • Gravity stops
    • Plates stop moving
    • Friction locks plates

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