In an earthquake, the point where the first movement of rock occurs and energy is released is the epicenter. True or false?

This statement is false. The point where the first movement of rocks occur and energy is released is known as the focus. This point is also known as the hypocenter. It is at this location that the stored energy is suddenly released deep within the Earth. This energy then travels to the Earth surface in the form of p-wave and s-waves. Focus is often confused (especially by media such as newspapers, etc.) with...

This statement is false. The point where the first movement of rocks occur and energy is released is known as the focus. This point is also known as the hypocenter. It is at this location that the stored energy is suddenly released deep within the Earth. This energy then travels to the Earth surface in the form of p-wave and s-waves. Focus is often confused (especially by media such as newspapers, etc.) with another earthquake related term- the epicenter. While focus is the point of origin of earthquake and is deep within the Earth, epicenter is actually a point on Earth's surface, directly above the focus. We can locate the epicenter of an earthquake, by using data from 3 different seismographic stations.

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