Which fault is characterized by one block sliding down and away from another?

• A. Normal Fault
• B. Strike-Slip Fault
• C. Reverse Fault
• D. Epicenter

Answer: (A)

Extensional forces pull the crust apart, so the block perched above the fault plane (the hanging wall) hesitantly slides downward relative to the block below (the footwall). That downward movement, often described as one block sliding down and away from the other, is the defining feature of a normal fault.

The other options don’t fit this movement: a strike-slip fault involves horizontal, side-to-side motion along the fault; a reverse fault has the hanging wall moving upward relative to the footwall due to compression; an epicenter is simply the surface point above where an earthquake originates, not a fault type.