Volcanos
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Science Concept & Application
Volcanoes erupt when a convergent boundary occurs between two tectonic plates. This is why volcanoes are mainly found on tectonic boundaries. A convergent boundary is when an oceanic plate, which is usually the thinner of the two, subducts or descends under a continental plate, usually the thicker of the two plates. The oceanic plate pushes molten rock or magma up causing pressure to build up in the volcano. The pressure build-up causes tension on the continental crust. Eventually, the Volcano erupts.
I made my model out of newspaper strips, homemade mache, Mod Podge, a plastic bottle, and tape. We super glued the plastic bottle to the center of an aluminum foil pan. I crumbled up pieces of newspaper and taped them down to make the shape of the volcano. After that, we made a homemade mache mix. The mixture was water and flour that was microwaved until it was like heavy whipping cream. We dipped newspaper strips in it and placed them on the tape and crumpled up newspapers. We had to let that dry for a few days. Then I changed to Mod Podge because we thought it would dry quicker than our first solution. I put another layer of newspaper strips on but this time with Mod Podge. I let that dry and then it was time to paint. I used regular black paint. I had to paint three layers over three days. Then we sprayed an acrylic sealer to make it last longer. This whole process took around two weeks to finish. For my experiment, I used baking soda, white vinegar, water, and red food coloring. In the first experiment, I put in three teaspoons of baking soda and half a cup of water. The water and baking soda caused a chemical reaction of the water getting slightly hotter. This happened because there is a chemical reaction between the two. The water is neutral and the baking soda is a base. I put a bit of red food coloring to make it look cooler. After that, I put a cup of vinegar in the bottle. The vinegar acted as an acid and caused pressure to build up in the bottle. The explosion wasn’t as big as I wanted so I did another. In the second experiment, I did three teaspoons of baking soda and ¼ a cup of water. We thought if we had less water we would get a bigger reaction from the vinegar and baking soda mixing. I used ¾ a cup of vinegar. The mock eruption was better this time. The higher the amount of vinegar we used the bigger reaction we got. The reaction was bigger because it caused the pH of the solution to change and there were more frequent molecule collisions. |
Career
The career I chose is a volcanologist. Volcanologists study and collect data on volcanos. They study the process of eruptions, analyze rock samples, and measure volcanic activity. Most volcanologists have degrees in chemistry, geology, physics, and mathematics. They can also have degrees in oceanography, computer science, engineering, environmental science, and the list just keeps going. It takes four to five years to become a volcanologist.
I chose volcanology because I had no idea this was even a job. It’s cool to know there is a specific group of scientists to study just how a volcano erupts. The way they can tell when a volcano is going to erupt or how dangerous it is is fascinating. Volcanologists make over 90 thousand a year. California volcanologists make up 116 thousand, while Alaskian volcanologists earn around 146 thousand. Volcanology relates to science because it's geological. Scientist
For my famous scientists, I decided to do two famous volcanologists.
Katia and Maurice Krafft were world-renowned volcanologists. They used film and pictures to illustrate their search for fresh lava. The two were a married couple from France. They died in a pyroclastic flow on Mount Unzen in Nagasaki, Japan, on 3 June 1991. Maurice and Katia now have a documentary about them called “Fire of Love”, and the film is made up from over 200 hours of footage of them out in the field but also several interviews. Katia Krafft was born on April 17, 1942, in Guebwiller, France. Katia graduated college with degrees in physics and chemistry. Maurice Krafft was born on March 25, 1946, in Mulhouse, France. Maurice first became interested in volcanoes at seven on a family trip to Naples. Maurice went on to study geology at college. One of their last projects was “Understanding Volcanic Hazards and Reducing Volcanic Risks”. Overall the Kraffts were great people who died doing what they love. |
Essay
I conducted two experiments on how the volcano might explode. I used different amounts for each experiment to see if they affected the outcome. In this essay, I will explain how actual volcanoes erupt, how I made my model, and what the different parts of each experiment change. I’ll start by describing how a volcano erupts and why they are mainly on tectonic boundaries.
Volcanoes erupt when a convergent boundary occurs between two tectonic plates. This is why volcanoes are mainly found on tectonic boundaries. A convergent boundary is when an oceanic plate, which is usually the thinner of the two, subducts or descends under a continental plate, usually the thicker of the two plates. The oceanic plate pushes molten rock or magma up causing pressure to build up in the volcano. The pressure build-up causes tension on the continental crust. Eventually, the Volcano erupts. That magma is then turned into lava. As the volcano erupts it exspelles volcanic ash and rock fragments. The ash can travel up to a hundred miles away or more. The eruption could launch the hot rocks up to twenty miles away.
During an eruption something called pyroclastic flow can occur. A pyroclastic flow is a dense, and destructive mass of hot ash, and lava, ejected from a volcano. These pyroclastic flows travel quickly down the volcano. The flow can reach up to speeds as fast as two hundred miles per hour. In 1815 the largest eruption in history occurred in Indonesia at Mount Tambora. The eruption sent ash as far as Eigh-hundred-and-ten miles away. The pyroclastic traveled up to two hundred miles per second.
Most volcanoes form underwater. This is the same process as the oceanic plate with a continental plate but it is two oceanic plates. An example of underwater volcanoes is the Ring of Fire which has more than four-hundred-and-fifty volcanoes. If the Ring of Fire were to catastrophically erupt, it would most likely cause a global famine. This would happen because of the amount of ash and sulfur dioxide that’s expelled during the eruption. This would also cause the planet to drastically cool for several months. Volcanoes also make up over 80% of Earth’s surface. Around fifty to seventy of these volcanoes erupt a year. The release of the volcanic gas sulfur dioxide would increase global cooling and deplete Earth's ozone layer. On the other hand, another gas released, called carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas, can promote global warming. This means even here in Missouri we could experience changes from a volcanic eruption in Indonesia. Also, volcanic eruptions can be predicted with a seismograph (something that is usually used to measure earthquakes) because the magma resonates quicker and can be seen as a long-period event on a seismograph.
I made my model out of newspaper strips, homemade mache, Mod Podge, a plastic bottle, and tape. We super glued the plastic bottle to the center of an aluminum foil pan. I crumbled up pieces of newspaper and taped them down to make the shape of the volcano. After that, we made a homemade mache mix. The mixture was water and flour that was microwaved until it was like heavy whipping cream. We dipped newspaper strips in it and placed them on the tape and crumpled up newspapers. We had to let that dry for a few days. Then I changed to Mod Podge because we thought it would dry quicker than our first solution. I put another layer of newspaper strips on but this time with Mod Podge. I let that dry and then it was time to paint. I used regular black paint. I had to paint three layers over three days. Then we sprayed an acrylic sealer to make it last longer. This whole process took around two weeks to finish.
For my experiment, I used baking soda, white vinegar, water, and red food coloring. In the first experiment, I put in three teaspoons of baking soda and half a cup of water. The water and baking soda caused a chemical reaction of the water getting slightly hotter. This happened because there is a chemical reaction between the two. The water is neutral and the baking soda is a base. I put a bit of red food coloring to make it look cooler. After that, I put a cup of vinegar in the bottle. The vinegar acted as an acid and caused pressure to build up in the bottle. The explosion wasn’t as big as I wanted so I did another. In the second experiment, I did three teaspoons of baking soda and ¼ a cup of water. We thought if we had less water we would get a bigger reaction from the vinegar and baking soda mixing. I used ¾ a cup of vinegar. The mock eruption was better this time. The higher the amount of vinegar we used the bigger reaction we got. The reaction was bigger because it caused the pH of the solution to change and there were more frequent molecule collisions.
Volcanoes erupt when a convergent boundary occurs between two tectonic plates. This is why volcanoes are mainly found on tectonic boundaries. A convergent boundary is when an oceanic plate, which is usually the thinner of the two, subducts or descends under a continental plate, usually the thicker of the two plates. The oceanic plate pushes molten rock or magma up causing pressure to build up in the volcano. The pressure build-up causes tension on the continental crust. Eventually, the Volcano erupts. That magma is then turned into lava. As the volcano erupts it exspelles volcanic ash and rock fragments. The ash can travel up to a hundred miles away or more. The eruption could launch the hot rocks up to twenty miles away.
During an eruption something called pyroclastic flow can occur. A pyroclastic flow is a dense, and destructive mass of hot ash, and lava, ejected from a volcano. These pyroclastic flows travel quickly down the volcano. The flow can reach up to speeds as fast as two hundred miles per hour. In 1815 the largest eruption in history occurred in Indonesia at Mount Tambora. The eruption sent ash as far as Eigh-hundred-and-ten miles away. The pyroclastic traveled up to two hundred miles per second.
Most volcanoes form underwater. This is the same process as the oceanic plate with a continental plate but it is two oceanic plates. An example of underwater volcanoes is the Ring of Fire which has more than four-hundred-and-fifty volcanoes. If the Ring of Fire were to catastrophically erupt, it would most likely cause a global famine. This would happen because of the amount of ash and sulfur dioxide that’s expelled during the eruption. This would also cause the planet to drastically cool for several months. Volcanoes also make up over 80% of Earth’s surface. Around fifty to seventy of these volcanoes erupt a year. The release of the volcanic gas sulfur dioxide would increase global cooling and deplete Earth's ozone layer. On the other hand, another gas released, called carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas, can promote global warming. This means even here in Missouri we could experience changes from a volcanic eruption in Indonesia. Also, volcanic eruptions can be predicted with a seismograph (something that is usually used to measure earthquakes) because the magma resonates quicker and can be seen as a long-period event on a seismograph.
I made my model out of newspaper strips, homemade mache, Mod Podge, a plastic bottle, and tape. We super glued the plastic bottle to the center of an aluminum foil pan. I crumbled up pieces of newspaper and taped them down to make the shape of the volcano. After that, we made a homemade mache mix. The mixture was water and flour that was microwaved until it was like heavy whipping cream. We dipped newspaper strips in it and placed them on the tape and crumpled up newspapers. We had to let that dry for a few days. Then I changed to Mod Podge because we thought it would dry quicker than our first solution. I put another layer of newspaper strips on but this time with Mod Podge. I let that dry and then it was time to paint. I used regular black paint. I had to paint three layers over three days. Then we sprayed an acrylic sealer to make it last longer. This whole process took around two weeks to finish.
For my experiment, I used baking soda, white vinegar, water, and red food coloring. In the first experiment, I put in three teaspoons of baking soda and half a cup of water. The water and baking soda caused a chemical reaction of the water getting slightly hotter. This happened because there is a chemical reaction between the two. The water is neutral and the baking soda is a base. I put a bit of red food coloring to make it look cooler. After that, I put a cup of vinegar in the bottle. The vinegar acted as an acid and caused pressure to build up in the bottle. The explosion wasn’t as big as I wanted so I did another. In the second experiment, I did three teaspoons of baking soda and ¼ a cup of water. We thought if we had less water we would get a bigger reaction from the vinegar and baking soda mixing. I used ¾ a cup of vinegar. The mock eruption was better this time. The higher the amount of vinegar we used the bigger reaction we got. The reaction was bigger because it caused the pH of the solution to change and there were more frequent molecule collisions.
