Thread: How to compare magnitudes

Hello! I need help to find out: how can I compare 2 earthquake's magnitudes?
If you know the formula or a tip to do it please send me a message

THANK YOU!!!!! Caro

Using the richter scale.

Remember that the richter scale is logorithmic so a 9 is 10 times stronger than an 8 on the richter scale

So as far as comparing 2 earthquakes, it isnt as easy as finding the ratio of the magnitudes. I assume you have 2 magnitudes and you want to compare? To get a value that is easy to compare, just find 10^magnitude. For example, we can compare a 4.5 and a 6.2.

value 1: 10^4.5 = 31622.78
value 2: 10^6.2=1584893.19

so then the ratio of the 6.2 and the 4.5 is 31622.78/1584893.19=50 (about)

so a 6.2 is 50 times as strong as a 4.5