Tsunami Homework

Name:_______________________
Date__________________________



1. Please fill in the blanks with the words from the word bank!

Word Bank

Ocean
rock
model
land
technology
life
Japanese
detected
higher
impact
tsunami
tides
waves
slide
tidal

A tsunami is a series of huge _____________________________ caused by the undersea displacement of a huge volume of water caused by an earthquake, volcano, rock _____________________________, or other catastrophic event. Most tsunamis are caused by underwater earthquakes, but not all underwater earthquakes cause tsunamis - an earthquake has to be over magnitude 7.5 for it to cause a tsunami. About 90 percent of all tsunamis occur in the Pacific _____________________________. A tsunami can travel at 700 kph (500 mph) - as fast as a jet flies. It can take only a few hours for a tsunami to travel across an entire ocean.

When a tsunami hits a coastline, it can cause great destruction and loss of _____________________________. Many tsunamis can be _____________________________ before they hit _____________________________, and the loss of life could be minimized with the use of modern _____________________________.

The word tsunami comes from the _____________________________ word meaning "harbor wave." Tsunamis are sometimes incorrectly called "_____________________________ waves" -- tsunamis are not caused by the tides (_____________________________ are caused by the gravitational force of the moon on the sea).

If you are on the beach and you see the water recede quickly and unexpectedly from the beach, run toward _____________________________ ground or inland -- there may be a _____________________________ coming. Also, if you are on the coast and there is an earthquake, there may be a tsunami, so run toward higher ground or inland. Many beaches have tsunami warning sirens -- do not ignore them.

You can make a tiny _____________________________ of a tsunami by dropping a _____________________________ into a bowl of water, causing ripples to propagate (travel) outwards from the site of _____________________________. Another way is to slightly jolt the bowl of water and watch it slosh over the rim on one side.

 

2. The most common causes of tsunamis are underwater _______________________.

3. What is one indicator of a Tsunami forming?
    _______________________________________________________________________.

4. Where are the high risk locations for Tsunamis? ______________________________________

5. How fast can a Tsunami travel? _____________________________


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