Seismic Waves - GCSE Physics

This video introduces seismic waves. There are two types of seismic waves, generated in earthquakes, and they are: Primary waves (P-waves) and secondary waves (S-waves). When we detect these seismic waves at stations around the world we can start to build up a picture of what lies beneath us.

Primary waves, which travel fastest, are longitudinal whereas secondary waves are transverse. Primary waves are detected at every point on Earth after an earthquake whereas secondary waves are not detected on the opposite side of Earth to where the earthquake originated. This is because below the Earth's crust, the Earth has a liquid layer: the mantle. The waves also refract as they cross boundaries of different densities.

Thanks for watching,

Lewis

Relevant for GCSE Physics 9-1 in the following exam boards:
AQA (including Trilogy) (Physics Higher only)
OCR A (Physics Higher only)
OCR B (Physics Higher only)
WJEC (Physics only)

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[gen_sciments]

Thank you, Teacher. I love how u used instructional media. This really helpful for learning.

[Breazyy]

Hi Lewis, sorry for not being in your last thew A-Level live streams. I was busy but I'll be back today ;)