Stratovolcano

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/stratovolcano

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Stratovolcano (Composite Volcano)
2. What is the magma viscosity?High due to felsic to intermediate silica content, leading to steep slopes
3. Why do stratovolcanoes erupt explosively?Because their thick, gas‑rich magma can’t flow easily, so when it rises the gas expands and blasts the volcano.
4. Where can we find stratovolcanoes?They are mostly found along the Pacific Ring of Fire and other places where one tectonic plate slides under another.

Pyroclastic Flow: A fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter that flows down the flank of a volcano.
Tephra: Fragmented volcanic material ejected into the air during an eruption, including ash, lapilli, and bombs.
Holocene Epoch: The current geological epoch, which began approximately 11,700 years ago after the last glacial period.
Tectonic Plates: Massive, irregularly shaped slabs of solid rock that make up the Earth's lithosphere.