During an earthquake

PHYSICS · Multi-part · GCSE · Physics · Waves · Waves

Problem

During an earthquake, two kinds of seismic waves reach a recording station: the faster P-waves and the slower S-waves. (a) Identify whether P-waves and S-waves are transverse or longitudinal. (b) Using the nature of particle motion in these waves, explain why S-waves are unable to travel through the Earth’s liquid outer core while P-waves can.

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