Imagine you're in a big room full of different kinds of balls. You throw a ball at the wall, and it bounces back to you, but how hard or fast it comes back tells you something about the kind of ball it hit. Scientists do something similar using seismic waves. When an earthquake happens, it sends out these waves that travel through the Earth like sound waves in water. Depending on how the waves move, scientists know what's deep inside the Earth, like a giant layered cake.
Examples
- If you bounce a ball off the floor, it bounces back up, how high or fast it comes back depends on what kind of surface it hits.
- Imagine throwing a pebble into a pond: ripples spread out in different directions, and how they move can tell you about the depth of the water.
- When an earthquake happens, scientists watch how sound waves travel through the Earth to see what's inside.
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See also
- Geology in a Minute - What is Geology?
- Ask Series | What are Mountains?
- How Do Volcanoes Shape Earth's Surface?
- How Does 15 UNREAL Geological Oddities and Strange Rock Formations Work?
- How Do Volcanoes Shape Landscapes?