Which of the following is a type of earthquake wave?

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

SSC GD Constable (2022) Official Paper (Held On : 13 Jan 2023 Shift 1)

Answer 1

The correct answer is P-waves.

Key Points

Earthquake:

An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor, or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves
There are two types of earthquake,
- Body wave: 'P' wave and 'S' wave
- Surface wave: 'L' wave and 'R' wave

Additional Information

Earthquake wave	Characteristics
P - waves	P-wave is one of the two main types of elastic body waves, called seismic waves in seismology. Also known as the primary wave or the pressure wave. P-waves travel faster than other seismic waves and hence are the first signal from an earthquake to arrive at any affected location or at a seismograph. P-waves may be transmitted through gases, liquids, or solids.
S - waves	S-waves are transverse waves that move perpendicular to the direction of propagation. S-waves are slower than P-waves. Therefore, they appear later than P-waves on a seismogram. Fluids cannot support the perpendicular motion, so S-waves only travel in solids.
R - waves	Also known as the Rayleigh wave. It has both compressional and shear motions. These waves result from the interaction of P-waves and vertically polarized S-waves with the surface and can exist in any solid medium.
L - waves	Also known as love wave It is a purely shear wave. These waves are formed by horizontally polarized S-waves interacting with the surface, and can only exist if there is a change in the elastic properties with depth in a solid medium, which is always the case in seismological applications. This is more destructive at the epicenter.