Thread: Maths Earthquake Problem!?

I've been assigned a task to find the epicenter of an earthquake:

"3 of the Australian government seismic measurements stations have reported the following data -

Difference between arrival times in seconds (S and P waves*)
Gold Coast - 97.8
Townsville - 71.1
Mt Isa - 54.5

*You may assume that the speed of a P-Wave is 7.5km/s & the speed of an S-Wave is 4.5km/s"

It then gives a suggested method to be followed:
- Find distance from each 3 place to the epicente
- Build diagram that uses longitude and latitude as its co-ordinate system
- Define any further variables
- Develop vector relationships between each of the cities and the epicenter of the earthquake and use these to find the epicentre
- Generalise model for any 3 seismology centres and arrival times

OKAY so I'm kind of confused about how I'm supposed to find the epicentre and also how I am supposed to incorporate vectors and latitude/longitude into the solution
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Hey monicaisobel.

Can you explain what these P and S waves are? How are these waves sent and how are they received (also which ones are sent and which ones are received back)?