Earthquakes: an application of mathematicsThe earthquake of October 13, 2010 triggered a great buzz on the Norman campus of the University of Oklahoma, surprising the students making it to class or sitting in the middle of a calculation. This magnitude 4.3 earthquake occurred 10 miles southeast of Norman and was felt as far north as Stillwater. For many students, the few seconds of shaking were unrecognizable as an earthquake, because Oklahoma's seismicity is not well known. In reality, Oklahoma experiences multiple earthquakes, almost daily; they are usually not strong enough to be felt. Although understanding how and why earthquakes occur in Oklahoma involves knowledge of faults and rock types, the methods used to locate the epicenter of an earthquake and determine its magnitude require knowledge of the mathematical principles involved . The focus of an earthquake is the place on earth where the earthquake originates where the fault first ruptures. The epicenter of an earthquake is the place on the Earth's surface, just above the source. When trying to locate the epicenter of an earthquake, understanding seismic waves is crucial. There are two types of seismic waves: body waves and surface waves. Amur and Raleigh waves are surface waves that pass through the Earth's surface and are responsible for the majority of shaking felt during an earthquake. The two types of body waves, p- and s-waves, are more useful in determining information about earthquakes. Body waves propagate within the Earth, propagating from the focus of the earthquake to seismograph stations. The arrival times of p and s waves are used to locate the epicenter of the earthquake because the waves are recorded on...... middle of paper ...... here are debates on the scale the more accurate, although most seismologists claim that the moment magnitude scale is the most accurate. .edu/~cammon/HTML/Classes/IntroQuakes/Notes/waves_and_interior.htmlhttp://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/geol204/eqcauses.htmhttp://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/geol204/eqcauses. htmhttp://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/measure.phphttp://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/measure.phphttp://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/richter.phphttp: //earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/measure.phphttp://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/measure.phphttp://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/measure.phphttp:// www.okgeosurvey1.gov/media/Oct13-2010-FactSheet_Revision2.pdf