There are many science projects students can do in the classroom to study volcanoes.
With lava and explosions, volcanoes are an exciting and interesting topic for many students. While most youngsters won't be able to study an erupting volcano firsthand, there are a number of science projects they can do in the classroom to recreate a volcano and better understand how one works.
Design a Volcano
One way to better understand a volcano is to create a model of one piece by piece while learning about each element. Start with a plastic bottle, which will represent the conduit. From there, built paper mache layers of the outside of the volcano using scraps of newspaper and Mod Podge glue to shape the cone. Student may need to ball up some newspapers to create the cone's initial curve. Use different colors of paper to illustrate the layers that make a volcano, including the sill, ash and flank. Paint the outside of the finished cone brown or whatever color the volcano they're studying should be.
Erupt a Volcano
Making a volcano erupt is one of the more exciting volcano science projects and involves only a few ingredients. Start with a plastic bottle (which could be the plastic bottle included in a more detailed volcano model). Pour a few teaspoons of baking soda into the base of the bottle. When it's time for the volcano to erupt, pour in about a cup of vinegar. The two chemicals will react, gushing "lava" out the top of the bottle. Beyond observing what an eruption looks like, students can observe and learn about the chemical reaction they witnessed, including how the vinegar (acetic acid) neutralizes the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).
Volcano Air Pressure Model
In addition to the classic baking soda and vinegar eruptions, students can understand another aspect of how volcanoes erupt through an air pressure model, which will simulate the magma pressure that builds underneath an actual volcano. Take a piece of cardboard, cutting a pen-sized hole in the middle. Elevate the cardboard between two chairs or desks, and spread an inch or two of sand over the surface. Using a can of compressed air or an air jet, blow a burst of air from underneath through the hole in the cardboard. Watch the sand erupt and fall into place. This should create a cone-shaped model of a volcano.
Recreate Plate Tectonics
Plate tectonics is the theory that the earth's surface is broken into shifting plates. Most of the world's volcanoes are found along these shifting plates, created when two plates move to make fissures between the earth's crust. Students can recreate this formation using a few sweet treats. On a piece of wax paper, spread some frosting about one-half inch thick. This represents the asthenosphere, the layer on which the plates ride. The plates themselves can be represented by graham crackers. Students should place the graham crackers in the frosting next to each other, then slowly move them apart or closer together. Observe how the frosting is pushed up where the plates separate or meet. This represents how volcanoes are formed, and how magma can come up to the surface when plates moved.
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