Earthquake Strength

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On the Richter scale for measuring earthquake strength, an earthquake with a given reading on the scale is 10 times stronger than an earthquake with a reading of 1 less on the scale. If earthquake A measures 2 on the scale and earthquake B is 1,000 times stronger than earthquake A, how does earthquake B measure on the scale?

Review: Earthquake Strength


Explanation

The first sentence tells us that "ten times stronger" means "plus one on the scale." In the particular case at hand, therefore, we are talking about "1,000 times stronger," which is ten times stronger one time, so plus one on the scale; ten times stronger another time, so another plus one on the scale; and a final ten times stronger, so a third plus one on the scale, for a total of +3 on the scale. This is +3 relative to a reading of 2, so the reading of the stronger earthquake is 5.

The correct answer is (B).


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