What do the numbers mean on the ritcher scale?

The Richter scale measures the magnitude of an earthquake, quantifying the amount of energy released at the earthquake's source. The scale is logarithmic, meaning each whole number increase represents a tenfold increase in measured amplitude and roughly 31.6 times more energy release. For example, a 5.0 magnitude earthquake has ten times the wave amplitude of a 4.0 and releases about 31.6 times more energy. Values typically range from 0 to 10, with higher numbers indicating more powerful earthquakes.