The Richter scale measures how much the ground shakes in an earthquake. Note that this is not equal to the energy released by an earthquake. However, there is a simple relationship between Richter...

The Richter scale measures how much the ground shakes in an earthquake. Note that this is not equal to the energy released by an earthquake. However, there is a simple relationship between Richter magnitude and earthquake energy.


A 1-point increase on the Richter scale corresponds to an energy increase of about 30 times. Thus a 5.0-magnitude earthquake releases about 30 times as much energy as a 4.0-magnitude earthquake. The 5.0-magnitude earthquake releases about 900 () times the energy of a 3.0-magnitude quake.

(a) How much more energy does an 8.0-magnitude earthquake release than a 7.0-magnitude earthquake?

(b) How much more energy does a 7.0-magnitude earthquake release than a 5.0-magnitude earthquake?

(c) How much more energy does a 7.0-magnitude earthquake release than a 4.0-magnitude earthquake?

(d) How much less energy does a 6.0-magnitude earthquake release than a 7.0-earthquake?