Volcanoes

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/volcanoes

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?Volcanism (the broader geological process)
2. What causes a volcano to erupt?Volcanoes erupt when magma, which is less dense than the surrounding rock, rises through weaknesses in the Earth's crust. The magma forms from partial melting driven by the convection of the mantle, especially at divergent and convergent plate boundaries and over mantle plumes.
3. How does the composition of magma affect the style of eruption?High-silica, gas-rich magmas are very viscous and tend to produce explosive eruptions, while low-silica, gas-poor magmas flow more easily and create effusive eruptions that produce lava flows.

Subduction Zone: An area where one tectonic plate slides beneath another, often leading to volcanic activity.
Pyroclastic Flow: A fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter that flows along the ground.
Stratovolcano: A tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, ash, and rock fragments.