American Museum
of Natural History: 10th
Grade:
Grade Levels: 10th grade
Time requirements: Approximately 90 minutes preparation time and 135
minutes class time
Topics Covered by
This Lesson: volcano formation,
vent, hot spot, lava/magma, tephra, forms of volcanoes, granite rocks,
batholiths, basaltic, dike/sill, plate tectonics, subduction zone
PreVisit:
Purpose: To investigate the prior knowledge that students
have of volcanic eruptions and their products, and to also clarify any
misconceptions. Also, I want to
elicit from the students the questions that they need to answer and the
problem, which we want to investigate before going to the museum.
Objective:
Describe conditions that cause volcanoes. Describe the relationships between volcanoes
and the earth's moving plates. Describe the contents of volcanoes and the variety of materials
that are released on eruption.
Make a model volcano
by using baking soda, red food coloring, vinegar, and model clay.
This is similar to how trapped gases can cause a real volcano to erupt. The difference is that in a real volcano, the force that causes
the eruption comes from deep in the earth’s crust. It is not caused by a reaction of surface
materials.
Materials Required: modeling clay, baking soda, red food coloring,
vinegar, safety goggles
Student Learning
Prerequisites: Most students have
probably opened a warm carbonated beverage only to have it gush from its
container. Compare this to volcanic eruptions. Gases in the beverage along with the relatively warm
temperature cause the liquid to be forced from the container. In a similar way, the water vapor and
other gases determine the force f a volcanic eruption. Use the example above with previous
knowledge of plate tectonics, earthquakes, magma, a general description of the
various type of volcanic rocks.
Visit: Students will visit the Museum of Natural
History, the planet earth section and investigate the two exhibits on intrusive
and extrusive volcanic eruptions.
The aim is not necessarily to describe the difference between these two
forms of volcanic eruptions, but to look at the various types of rocks formed
from these eruptions. Students
should understand that magma is the major product of volcanic eruptions, and
the types of rocks that form from it depend on the location of the volcano and
other factors. Besides the magma
extruded from volcanoes, there are other byproducts such as various types of
gases and ashes. Students will be
going around these and other exhibits on volcanic eruptions describing in
detail the names and types of rock forms from volcanic eruptions. This should include detail drawings of
what they see.
Post Visit: After the museum visit, students will be quizzed
on the types of rocks they saw on the trip by having similar rocks placed
around the classroom and see if they could identify each using the detail drawings
and descriptions they obtained from the museum. The lesson would be extended into understanding why and how
these different forms of rocks are made from the magma of volcanoes.
Possible Questions: How these rocks form? Why not just one form of rock? What are the different types of gases and ashes
produced? What are the factors
that determine what is produced?
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