Science Olympiad Dynamic Planet Practice Test 2025 – Your Comprehensive Guide to Success!

When P waves (primary waves) and S waves (secondary waves) reach the Earth's surface, they generate surface waves, which primarily consist of two types: Love waves and Rayleigh waves. Among the options provided, the term "shearing" can be associated with how these surface waves, particularly Love waves, move. Love waves exhibit a side-to-side motion that can lead to shearing forces in the ground.

Shear waves (S waves) themselves are responsible for the motion associated with surface waves, which can result in significant ground shaking during an earthquake. This shearing motion is what can cause extensive damage to structures above the surface as the waves propagate outward from the epicenter.

The other options provided represent different concepts; tension refers to a force that can act on geological structures but isn't directly related to waves, a strike-slip fault describes a type of fault movement rather than a type of wave, and a seismogram is a recording of seismic waves, not a wave type itself. Thus, shearing is the best fit for the seismic activity described in the question.