Ready Before It Shakes: teacher key

Earthquakes, grade 5 edition, written for 5th grade. No one can say when an earthquake will come, but people can be ready. See how alerts, safe moves and stronger buildings help.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. How long before the shaking can a phone alert come?
   • Seconds (answer)
   • Days
   • Weeks
2. What does a seismograph do?
   • Strengthens old buildings
   • Records the shaking of the ground (answer)
   • Predicts the date of a quake
3. Where do most earthquakes happen?
   • Far from any plate
   • Only in kitchens
   • Where the edges of plates meet (answer)
4. Why does a phone alert help?
   • It comes in time to drop, cover, and hold on (answer)
   • It stops the plates from moving
   • It tells the date of the next quake
5. What does 'strain' do in rock, like a rubber band pulled too tight?
   • It cools the rock
   • It builds up until the rock breaks and slips (answer)
   • It stops plates moving

Words

• plates: big crust pieces
• friction: rubbing that sticks
• seismograph: shaking recorder
• aftershocks: later small quakes
• engineers: building designers