Nature vs Engineers

Competing against nature

Question: What is an
earthquake?

Answer:
An earthquake is what happens when
two blocks of the earth suddenly slip
past one another. The surface where
they slip is called the fault or fault
plane. The location below the earths
surface where the earthquake starts
is called the hypocenter, and the
location directly above it on the
surface of the earth is called the
epicenter.

What it looks like:

Pangea: the supercontinent

About 130 mya
Plate tectonics
Continents move about 1 10cm a
year

Question: Can you find the United

States?

Answer:

Question:
Do you know where the major fault
lines in the United States are
located?
Hint: there are two major fault lines
in the continental United States.

Answer:
The New Madrid
Fault line
Includes five states
in the central
U.S.A.
Largest known
earthquake to
date: February 7,
1812, 8.6

The San Andreas

Fault line
Runs almost the
entire length of
California
1989, near Santa
Cruz 6.8 disrupted
the World Series

New Madrid Fault line

San Andreas Fault line

San Andreas Fault line

Game 3 of the 1989 World

Series

Destruction caused by
earthquakes

Question:
How do engineers build buildings and
other structures that are located in
these areas that are known for
earthquakes?

Answer:
One way engineers deal with this
problem is by designing buildings
that can absorb the shockwaves from
earthquakes.

Example:

Todays Project
Using the materials given, we will
design and construct a building that
will be able to withstand an
earthquake.