EARTHQUAKES AND

FAULTS
for SCIENCE Grade 8
Quarter 2 / Week 1
 FOREWORD

The Department of Education through the Bureau of

Curriculum Development Curriculum Standards
Development Division has crafted the Most Essential
Learning Competencies (MELCs) for teachers to address
the needs and demands brought about by the
pandemic.

This Self Learning Kit (SLK) has been designed to cater

the needs of the learners during this trying times. This Self
Learning Kit, introduces learners to scientific knowledge
and language related to earthquakes and faults.
Students will read content-rich texts, develop and
construct model about how movements along faults
generate earthquakes. Lastly, it provides students
opportunity to engage in meaningful hands – on
activities.

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 OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:
K: describe the appearance of a fault;
S: explain the different types of faults using models
and illustrations; and
A: recognize the importance of studying the Earth’s
surface.

LEARNING COMPETENCY

Using models, or illustrations, explain how movements

along faults generate earthquakes. (S8ES-IIa-14)

I. WHAT HAPPENED

Alam mo ba kung
bakit LUMILINDOL?
Bakit???

Sumigaw
kasi ako ng
CRUSH KITA!
Kaya
hayun,
kinilig yung
EARTH…

Source: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/earthquake-flat-cartoon-banner-vector-illustration-1497295229

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PRE-ACTIVITIES/PRE-TEST:
Multiple Choice
Directions: Choose the letter of the best answer. Write your
answers in your science notebook.
1. How are faults generally describe?
A. Faults are breaks in Earth’s crust with a displacement.
B. Faults are boundaries between tectonic plates.
C. Faults are raised portions of the ground after an earthquake.
D. Faults are locations that generate earthquakes.
2. Which of the following is true about normal faults?
A. The hanging wall slides down footwall.
B. The hanging wall slides up the footwall.
C. The hanging wall slides laterally along the footwall.
D. The hanging wall does not move relative to the
footwall.
3. How do landmasses move along a strike-slip fault?
A. Two landmasses move sideways in opposite directions.
B. Two landmasses move towards each other.
C. Two landmasses move against each other.
D. Two landmasses move at a regulate rate.
4. Which of the following causes an earthquake?
A. Movement of tectonic plates
B. Movement of faults
C. Ground shaking
D. Landslides and mass wasting events
5. An exposed cut in the soil layers reveals two diagonal lines on
the ground that resemble two sides of a triangle. Displacements
with the layers were observed too. Which of the following is the
likeliest scenario?
A. Multiple faults are probably in the area.
B. The exposed cut is just two diagonal breaks in the soil.
C. The exposed cut is likely a meeting point of more than
two tectonic plates.
D. The area is sinking forming fractures on the layers.
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II. WHAT I NEED TO KNOW

Over time, rock is deposited on the surface of the Earth in

layers. By looking at the layers, and subsequently the
displacement of layers, scientist can infer which processes have
been at work. Earth’s crust is broken up into large plates of land
like a jigsaw puzzle. These large plates of rocks are called
tectonic plates. These plates float on the liquid mantle of the
Earth and the processes of mountain formation and valley
creation are constantly at work. Earthquakes are the signs that
the surface features of the Earth are continually changing. It is
one of the earth’s most frightening and destructive phenomena
of nature.

An earthquake is a sudden movement of the Earth, caused

by the abrupt release of strain that has accumulated over a long
period of time. For hundreds of millions of years, the forces of plate
tectonics have shaped the Earth as the huge plates that form the
Earth’s surface slowly move over, under and past each other.
Sometimes the movement is gradual. At other times, the plates
are locked together, unable to release the accumulating energy.
When the accumulated energy grows strong enough, the plates
break free. If the earthquake occurs in a populated area, it may
cause many deaths and injuries and extensive property damage.

Faults are cracks that occur between the tectonic plates.

Movement is apparent at these fault lines.

Figure 1: Parts of a Fault

(https://examples.yourdictionary.com/3-main-types-of-faults-in-geology.html)
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 1. Fault plane is the surface area between two rock blocks
created by an earthquake.
2. Fault trace is the visible crack in the Earth’s crust that
indicates where a fault is. Also known as fault line.
3. Fault scarp is the vertical step that rises during tectonic
activity.
4. Hanging wall is the rock block that hangs over the fault
plane.
5. Footwall is the rock block that occurs below the fault
plane.

ACTIVITY # 1: SHAKE OUT

Materials Needed:
 Physiographic map of the world
 Crayons or colored pencils
 Scissors
 Tape or glue
 Ruler
 Construction paper
 Fault Model Sheet (see attached on this
kit)

Note: Submit your finished output to your teacher. In answering

guide questions, write your answers in your science notebook. The
teacher should provide photocopy of the fault model sheet to
each student.

Part 1

1. Construction of the Fault Model using the Fault model

sheet.
 Color the fault model that is included according to the
color key provided.
 Paste or glue the fault model onto a piece of construction
paper.
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  Cut out the fault model and fold each side down to form
a box with the drawn features on top.
 Tape or glue the corners together. This box is a three
dimensional model of the top layers of the Earth’s crust.
 The dashed lines on your model represent the fault.
Carefully cut along the dashed lines. You will end up with
two pieces.

2. Develop a model of a normal fault.

 Locate points A and B on your model. Move point B so
that it is next to point A. Observe your model from side the
side (cross-section).
 Draw the normal fault (in a bond paper) as represented
by the model they have just constructed. Label your
drawing.

Guide Questions:
1. Which way did point B move relative to point A?
2. What happened to rock layers X, Y, Z?
3. Are the rock layers still continuous?
4. What will likely have happened to the river? The road? The
rail road tracks?

Part 2

1. Develop the reverse (thrust) fault

 Locate points C and D on your model. Move point C next
to point D. Observe the cross-section of your model.
 Draw and label the reverse fault as represented by the
model they have just constructed.

Guide Questions:
1. Which way did point D move relative to point C?
2. What happened to rock layers X, Y, and Z?
3. Are the rock layers still continuous?
4. What will likely have happened to the river? The road?
The railroad tracks?
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 Part 3
1. Develop a model strike-slip fault.
 Locate points F and G on your model. Move the pieces of
the model so that point F is next to point G.
 Draw an overhead view of the surface as it looks after
movement along the fault.

Guide Questions:
1. If you were standing at point F and looking across the
fault, which way did the block on the opposite side
move?
2. What happened to rock layers X, Y, Z?
3. Are the rock layers still continuous?
4. What will likely have happened to the river? The road?
The railroad tracks?

Types of Faults

1. DIP-SLIP FAULT refers to faults where movement of blocks is

parallel to the dip of the fault surface. There are two types of dip-
slip fault: Normal fault and reverse fault.

A. Normal Fault
It is formed by tensional
stresses that pull rocks apart.
Normal faults create space.
These faults may look like
large trenches or small cracks
in the Earth’s surface. The
fault scarp may be visible in
these faults as the hanging
wall slips down the footwall.
Example is the Great Rift Figure 2: Normal Fault
(Source:ttps://link.quipper.com/en/organizations/54
Valley in Africa. 68b9652294ee08440001de/curriculum)
If you’re looking at a mountain that lies on a normal fault,

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you’ll see that the hanging wall has “dipped and slipped” under
the footwall level. This gives the mountain a leaning, sloping look.
In a flat area, a normal fault looks like a step of offset rock (the
fault scarp).

In situations where multiple normal faults are present,

alternating uplifted and down-dropped blocks may form. The
uplifted or raised areas are called horsts while the down-dropped
or lowered ones are referred to as grabens.

Figure 3: Multiple Normal Fault

(Https://link.quipper.com/en/organizations/5468b9652294ee08440001de/curriculum)
B. Reverse Fault

Reverse faults are also dip-slip faults; they behave the

opposite way that a normal fault does. The hanging wall slides up
over the footwall during tectonic movement in these faults.
Reverse faults with a 45-degree dip or less are known as thrust
faults, while faults with over 45 degrees’ dips are over thrust faults.
Reverse faults look like two rocks or mountains have been
shoved together. Unlike normal faults, reverse fault does not
create space. They are found in areas of geological compression.
An example includes the Himalaya Mountains where the Indian
Plate is pushing into the Eurasian Plate.
Figure 4:
Reverse Fault
(https://www.google.com/se
arch?q=reverse+fault&tbm=is
ch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=s3Q
WEE0aDxXmaM%252Ck0v5tx
C2bLEX-
M%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-
kR8Y0z85aZgdda2iG8cShgHh
R8fRQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi
U8Zqw8Y3tAhUtBKYKHQM6D1
YQ_h16BAgKEAU#imgrc=Blb
ObrQcTBQxMM)

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2. STRIKE-SLIP FAULT can be further classified as left lateral or right
lateral strike-slip faults depending on which direction the blocks
move relative to a certain reference block. Many strike-slip faults
are found on the ocean floor. But if you’re looking at a strike-slip
fault, it may look like the land on either side has moved in
opposite directions. This
movement may cause
offset rivers, parallel
valleys, and abrupt ends
to the mountain chains.
The San Andreas Fault in
California is a strike-slip
fault. Figure 4: Strike – Slip Fault
(Source:https://link.quipper.com/en/organizations/5468b9652294ee08
440001de/curriculum)

3. OBLIQUE FAULT has

both the dip-slip and
strike-slip components.
It can be formed by
the combination of
shear stress, and
tensional or
Figure 4: Oblique Fault
compressional stress. (Source:https://link.quipper.com/en/organizations/5468b9652294ee084400
01de/curriculum)

III. WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

EVALUATION/POST TEST
Directions: Answer the following questions below. Write your
answers in your science notebook.

1-2. What are faults?

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

3. If a displacement is parallel to the strike of the fault, then the

fault is a _________________.
a. dip-slip fault c. strike-slip fault
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 b. Oblique-slip fault d. Blind

4. If a displacement is parallel to the dip of the fault, then the fault

is a _________________.
a. dip-slip fault c. strike-slip fault
b. oblique-slip fault d. blind

5. If a displacement is neither parallel to strike or to dip, then the

fault is a _________________.
a. dip-slip fault c. strike-slip fault
b. oblique-slip fault d. blind

6 - 8. What kind of fault is illustrated below?

a. dip-slip fault b. strike-slip c. oblique-slip

6. _________

7. ________

8. ___________

(www.sci.sdsu.edu/visualgeology/naturaldisasters/chapters/chapter5faults.pdf)

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9 - 10. In the following illustration, please label the hanging wall
and footwall blocks.

(www.sci.sdsu.edu/visualgeology/naturaldisasters/chapters/chapter5faults.pdf)

References:

https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_nat
dis_lesson02_activity3

https://www.earthsciweek.org/classroom-activities/a-
model-of-three-faults

https://www.shakeout.org/downloads/ShakeOut_ES3_Fault
HandModels.pdf

https://www.google.com/search?q=reverse+fault&tbm=isc
h&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=s3QWEE0aDxXmaM%252Ck0v5txC2
bLEX-M%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-
kR8Y0z85aZgdda2iG8cShgHhR8fRQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiU
8Zqw8Y3tAhUtBKYKHQM6D1YQ_h16BAgKEAU#imgrc=BlbObr
QcTBQxMM
www.sci.sdsu.edu/visualgeology/naturaldisasters/chapters/
chapter5faults.pdf

Https://link.quipper.com/en/organizations/5468b9652294ee
08440001de/curriculum

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FAULT MODEL SHEET

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Division of Negros Oriental

SENEN PRISCILLO P. PAULIN, CESO V

Schools Division Superintendent

FAY C. LUAREZ, TM, EdD, PhD

OIC-Assistant Schools Division Superintendent
Acting CID Chief

NILITA L. RAGAY, EDD

OIC-Assistant Schools Division Superintendent

ROSELA R. ABIERA
Education Program Supervisor – (LRMDS)

ARNOLD R. JUNGCO
Education Program Supervisor - (SCIENCE/MATH)

MARICEL S. RASID
Librarian II (LRMDS)

ELMER L. CABRERA
PDO II (LRMDS)

ANGELYN P. ABUEVA
Writer

NOELYN E. SIAPNO
Lay-out Artist
_____________
BETA QA TEAM

JOAN Y. BUBULI
LIELIN A. DELA CRUZ
MIEL C. PACULANANG
ARJIE T. PALUMPA

ALPHA QA TEAM

JULIET B. GANTALAO
ARGELYN A. MAHUMOT
LESTER C. PABALINAS

DISCLAIMER
The information, activities and assessments used in this material are designed to provide accessible learning
modality to the teachers and learners of the Division of Negros Oriental. The contents of this module are carefully
researched, chosen, and evaluated to comply with the set learning competencies. The writers and evaluator were clearly
instructed to give credits to information and illustrations used to substantiate this material. All content is subject to
copyright and may not be reproduced in any form without expressed written consent from the division.

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SYNOPSIS

This Self Learning

Kit gives emphasis on
concepts about
earthquake and faults.
This will provide the
Grade 8 learners
concepts and facts
about the Earth that is
continuously
changing.

In addition, this Self

Learning Kit will
enhance learner’s
critical thinking and
analysis skills through a
model constructing
activity.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ANGELYN P. ABUEVA, Secondary School
Teacher III of Mabinay Science High School,
Mabinay, Negros Oriental. She has been
teaching for almost nine years in the said
institution. A graduate of Bachelor of
Secondary Education major in Biological
Sciences at Negros Oriental State University.

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