2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami

Introduction

An earthquake is the trembling of the surface of the Earth, following from the unexpected release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. A tsunami is when a long, high sea wave is made by an earthquake or other commotion. On 26 December 2004, a horrific earthquake and tsunami occurred. The event is called 'The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami'. There were a lot of countries affected some of them include India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and more.

In this Web Quest, you will learn more about this devastating event. You will research facts and more information to answer questions and to get an understanding of what happened on this day. You will also learn more about earthquakes and tsunamis. Hopefully, in the end, you will get have a clear understanding of the event. Good luck!                                    ​​​

Task

There are two parts of this task which will later add up to your final grade. Task One is about basic information about earthquakes and tsunamis. Task 2 is a research quiz about the event. The total points for each task listed below. 

30 points - Research Web Quest (A quiz on basics) 

  • Learn more about how earthquakes and tsunamis happen 
  • Discover about magnitudes  
  • Explore through facts of the earthquakes and tsunamis 

30 points - Research Web Quest (A quiz on the event)

  • Explore through facts of the event 
  • Investigate on why was the event so deadly 
  • Comparing other deadly earthquakes and tsunamis  

 

Process

Task 1: Research and answer the following questions. 

How do earthquakes happen? 

http://www.geo.mtu.edu/UPSeis/why.htm 

How do tsunamis happen?

http://cwarn.org/tsunami/how-tsunami-occur 

 What is a magnitude? 

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/glossary/?term=magnitude 

True or false? 

Scientists use the different speeds of seismic waves to locate the epicentre (the point on the surface directly above where the earthquake originated) of earthquakes. 

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/earth/earthquakes.html 

True or false? 

Only on very few occasions, a tsunami is caused by a giant meteor in the ocean.

https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-tsunami-facts.php 

 

Task 2: Research and answer the following questions 

At least, how many fatalities were resulted? 

https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-2004-indian-ocean-tsunami 

How long was the earthquake? 

http://www.tectonics.caltech.edu/outreach/highlights/sumatra/what.html 

Why was the tsunami so deadly? 

https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-2004-indian-ocean-tsunami 

What was the deadliest tsunami in the world? 

https://www.infoplease.com/world/earthquakes/deadliest-earthquakes-record 

What time did the earthquake happen? 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/2004_indian_ocean_earthquake.htm 

What is the magnitude measured for this event? 

https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-2004-indian-ocean-tsunami  

Evaluation

Your final grade will be a combination of points you have earned in both the parts of the tasks.

Below you will find a grading rubric that outlines the score for varying levels of achievements. 

Criteria   High (30 points)  Sound (20 points)  Basic (10 points) 
Research Web Quest  All the research was complete. No wrong answers were completed  Most of the research was complete. No wrong answers were completed.  Most of the research were incomplete. A few wrong answers. 

Limited (0 points) 

No research is done. All the answers are wrong. 

Conclusion

The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami were probably the worst and the deadliest earthquake and tsunami ever. Anything like this can happen anytime, anywhere. It is important to know about an earthquake and tsunamis, even just the basics can help you a lot.