Question

Find the relative size s of an earthquake with a magnitude R = 8.2 (R = log s). Round to the nearest whole number.

Answer 1

In order to calculate the value of s, we can use the logarithm definition below:

$\log_ab=c\rightarrow a^c=b$

So, for the given logarithm and using R = 8.2, we have:

$\begin{gathered} \log s=R\\ \\ 10^R=s\\ \\ s=10^{8.2}\\ \\ s=158489319 \end{gathered}$

Therefore the value of s is 158,489,319.