Surface waves compared to body waves are:

Surface waves compared to body waves are:

• A. Slower, and cause more damage
• B. Slower, and cause less damage
• C. Faster, and cause more damage
• D. Faster, and cause less damage

Answer: (A)

Surface waves travel along the Earth’s surface and interact strongly with near-surface materials, which often amplifies their motion. They move slower than body waves (the P- and S-waves) that travel through the interior, but their shaking tends to be larger in amplitude and lasts longer because the surface layers can trap and extend the motion. This combination—slower speed, larger amplitudes, and longer duration—produces the most damaging ground shaking, especially for buildings that resonate with the wave periods typical of human-made structures. Body waves arrive sooner and generally cause less intense surface shaking at a given distance, so the worst damage usually comes from the later-arriving surface waves.