How to Set Up the Earthquake Demonstration
This material was originally created for
Starting Point:Introductory Geology
and is replicated here as part of the SERC Pedagogic Service.
and is replicated here as part of the SERC Pedagogic Service.
Materials needed for the earthquake demonstration are as follows:
- plywood (122 cm x 30 cm)
- 2 bricks
- ~30 cm of rubber surgical tubing (or bungee cord)
- fine to medium grit sand paper, ~96 cm x 10 cm
- ~80 cm of strong cord
- sandpaper
- clamps large enough to surround bricks
- hooks to attach brick clamps to surgical tubing
- winch with crank and handle (an old boat winch works well)
- talcum powder
Set up time for the copper extraction demonstration is 2 to 5 hours, depending on availability of material and construction skills of builder. USGS Earthquake Model ( This site may be offline. ) provides a list of materials, diagrams, and detailed set-up procedures.
Back to Earthquake Demonstration page