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Focus Vs Epicenter

The focus of an earthquake is the point below the earth's surface where the rupture originates, while the epicenter is the point directly above the focus on the surface. The epicenter is used to locate where the earthquake occurred in relation to nearby areas, as the focus cannot be seen. Key differences are that the focus is the actual origin point below ground, while the epicenter is above ground and allows people to visualize where the earthquake started. Studying the focus can determine the cause of the quake, while the epicenter provides information about its location and impact.

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Sophia Abiog Ricci
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157 views2 pages

Focus Vs Epicenter

The focus of an earthquake is the point below the earth's surface where the rupture originates, while the epicenter is the point directly above the focus on the surface. The epicenter is used to locate where the earthquake occurred in relation to nearby areas, as the focus cannot be seen. Key differences are that the focus is the actual origin point below ground, while the epicenter is above ground and allows people to visualize where the earthquake started. Studying the focus can determine the cause of the quake, while the epicenter provides information about its location and impact.

Uploaded by

Sophia Abiog Ricci
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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BY:EHZIQUIEL SOPHIA

RICCI

1.The difference between the epicentre and the focus of earthquakes is this: The focus of the
earthquake is where the actual earthquake occurred and the epicentre is on the gr ound
directly above the focus. The epicentre is used to say where the earthquake was in relation to
places near where it occurred.

Focus vs Epicenter
Focus and epicenter are words that are commonly heard in geology when earthquakes and their causes are being
taught. With similarities in between, these two terms cause a lot of confusion for the students. These words are
frequently used while reporting incidents of earthquakes in media. This article attempts to highlight the differences
between focus and epicenter for the readers.
Focus

Focus is the point below the surface of the earth where an earthquake originates. This is the point where rocks first
rupture or break when an earthquake takes place due to movement of bedrock and release of energy in a violent
form. This point is also called hypocenter, and this is from where seismic waves travel to all other directions. The
waves are extremely forceful at the start but slowly die down. These waves can make earth vibrate like a tuning
fork.
Epicenter
As focus cannot be seen by people, the concept of epicenter was introduced to let people visualize the focus from
where the earthquake originated. This epicenter is a point directly above the focus and is situated on the surface of
the earth. Thus for practical purposes, epicenter is taken to be the center or the origin of earthquake though the
point below the surface of the earth remains the spot where it originated.
What is the difference between Focus and Epicenter?
Focus is the actual point below the surface of the earth where an earthquake originates whereas epicenter is a
point directly above it, and it lies on the surface of the earth.
It is the focus that is the origin of the earthquake and seismic waves travel in all direction like ripples in a pond
when a stone is thrown inside.
Epicenter is also called hypocenter.
Area around epicenter is the one that is hit the hardest by an earthquake and can be seen by the people.
When the focus is shallow, the magnitude of the earthquake registered at the epicenter is higher than when the
focus is deep.
The cause of the earthquake is determined by studying focus whereas epicenter gives information

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