PanickyPapaya
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I need help finding the values of S and A. I’m super confused, I don’t even know what the variables in the given equation stand for.
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- Thread starter PanickyPapaya
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I need help finding the values of S and A. I’m super confused, I don’t even know what the variables in the given equation stand for.
Dr.Peterson
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You don't need to know the value of S in the formula; in fact, you can't. Just call it S, and hope that it will cancel out of your final answer. You are given M for two quakes; use the formula to find I for them, and proceed from there.
(The variables "s" and "a" are just two values of M (magnitude), and have nothing to do with S in the formula. There is no variable A mentioned here.)
Please show work, so we can offer additional guidance.
(The variables "s" and "a" are just two values of M (magnitude), and have nothing to do with S in the formula. There is no variable A mentioned here.)
Please show work, so we can offer additional guidance.
Of particular note is that the "log" used here is the logarithm base 10. If you try to work with it as the natural log, impossible answers come out of the calculations, such as that the Sichuan earthquake was magnitude 13.4. Such an earthquake could theoretically turn mountain ranges into oceans and vice versa, or it might just tear the entire planet apart.