On the Richter Scale, the Magnitude R of an Earthquake

question 117

Short Answer

On the Richter scale, the magnitude R of an earthquake is given by the formula where I is the intensity of the earthquake being measured and I₀ is the standard reference intensity.
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What is the magnitude of an earthquake that has intensity 10 millions times that of I₀?
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R = __________
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Suppose an earthquake is measured with a magnitude of 5 on the Richter scale with an error of at most 2%. Use differentials to find the error in the intensity of the earthquake.
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