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© TERRY G. MCCREA/SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

Volcanoes Assessment

Students working with model volcano setups

INTRODUCTION You have now finished your investigations of volcanoes. During the next three periods, you will complete a three-part assessment. In Part A, you will be asked to design and carry out an investigation in which you test the effects of ash fall on the temperature of the earth’s surface. Working individually, you will plan an investigation, record a plan, state the hypothesis, conduct the investigation, and then record observations as they relate to the concepts and skills addressed in Volcanoes. In Part B, you will analyze rocks and describe how they formed, identify them by name, explain the difference between magma and lava, identify volcanoes by type, and interpret a diagram showing ash fall. In Part C, which is based on the entire module, you will use a world map and observation table to describe where tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanoes occur on the earth and why they occur there. OBJECTIVES FOR THIS LESSON Review and reinforce concepts and skills from Lessons 18 through 24. Design and conduct an experiment to investigate the effects of ash fall on the temperature of the earth’s surface. Identify four rocks by name and type, and classify the conditions under which each rock formed. Use knowledge and data interpretation skills gained in Lessons 18 through 24 to answer questions. Identify locations of tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanoes and describe why these events occur where they do.

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Volcanoes PerformanceBased Assessment (Part A) PROCEDURE teacher will give you your own copy 1. Your of Student Sheet 25.1a: Volcanoes Performance-Based Assessment—Planning and Observation Sheet (Part A). You will fill out the first page of this planning sheet before starting the lab. You will record your observations and conclusions on the other pages. teacher will show you one set of 2. Your materials. Although you will share materials with your group, you are to complete the written portion of the assessment by yourself, unless your teacher tells you otherwise. Keep in mind these points:

A.

Each funnel represents a volcanic mountain.

B.

The cornstarch, sand, and terrarium soil around Volcano A represent ash and other volcanic materials that erupted into the air from an active volcano. Volcano B is inactive.

C.

Use the thermometers to find out any possible difference between the temperature of the earth’s surface near an active, erupting volcano and the temperature of the earth’s surface near an inactive volcano.

MATERIALS FOR PART A

For you 1 copy of Student Sheet 25.1a: Volcanoes PerformanceBased Assessment— Planning and Observation Sheet (Part A) For your group 1 clear plastic tray filled with sand, terrarium soil, and cornstarch 1 empty clear plastic tray 8 clear plastic cups 2 small funnels 2 bookends 1 clamp lamp with bulb 2 digital thermometers 4 stopwatches (or access to class clock or wristwatch showing time in seconds) 1 beaker of roomtemperature water Access to electricity

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D.

Use your own stopwatch or timer or the second hand on the class clock.

E.

You will have a certain amount of time to complete the first page of Student Sheet 25.1a before someone turns on the clamp lamp. If you need more time, you can finish the planning sheet after you collect the temperature data.

3. Complete Part A of the assessment. you are finished, turn in Student 4. When Sheet 25.1a. Leave the materials in the center of each area. To prepare for the next class, put the thermometers (still turned on) into the beakers of room-temperature water. you have time, read “The Volcano 5. IfLovers,” on pages 279–281.

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LESSON 25

Volcanoes Written Assessment (Part B) PROCEDURE teacher will give you one copy of 1. Your Inquiry Master 25.1b: Volcanoes Written Assessment (Part B) and one answer sheet. Write all your answers on the answer sheet. Do not write on the inquiry master.

2. Complete Part B of the assessment. you are finished, give your teacher 3. When the answer sheet and Inquiry Master 25.1b. Leave the rocks and Inquiry Master 25.1a in the center of your table.

VOLCANOES ASSESSMENT

MATERIALS FOR PART B

For you 1 copy of Inquir y Master 25.1b: Volcanoes Written Assessment (Par t B) 1 copy of Student Sheet 25.1b: Volcanoes Written Assessment— Answer Sheet (Part B) (or other answer sheet) For your group 1 copy of Inquiry Master 25.1a: Rock Identification Sheet (Part B) 1 set of rocks, labeled #1, #2, #6, and #8 3 hand lenses 1 double-eye loupe

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MATERIALS FOR PART C

For you 1 copy of Student Sheet 25.1c: Post-Module Assessment (Part C) metric ruler Colored pens, pencils, crayons, or markers

Post-Module Assessment (Part C) PROCEDURE one copy of Student Sheet 25.1c: 1. Collect Post-Module Assessment (Part C). You completed the same observation table (first page of this student sheet) in Lesson 1. By doing it a second time, you and your teacher can assess how much you have learned about tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanoes. how you will use the map in 2. Discuss Student Sheet 25.1c to locate where catastrophic events occur on the earth. You do not have to record exact locations of specific events. Just mark general locations of each type of event.

3. Complete Part C. REFLECTING ON WHAT YOU’VE DONE with your teacher your responses 1. Review to the assessment questions in Parts A, B, and C. how you will present your 2. Discuss Anchor Activity.

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© ROBERT GILL; PAPILIO/CORBIS

THE VOLCANO LOVERS

A sparse savanna stretches to the foot of the Ol Lengai Volcano situated in the Rift Valley, Tanzania.

French geologists Maurice and Katia Krafft loved watching volcanoes erupt. They were so fascinated by these powerful forces of nature that watching volcanoes became their life’s work. For over 20 years, they witnessed more than 140 eruptions—on every continent except Antarctica. The Kraffts not only watched these eruptions, but they also took close-up pictures of them. They put themselves at great risk by getting close to volcanoes to understand them better. They knew the dangers of the fiery molten lava and scalding clouds of ash. Maurice and Katia met during the 1960s while they were studying geology at the same university in France. Their passion for volcanoes brought them together. In 1968, after they were married, they founded a center for volcanology. (“Volcanology” is the study of volcanoes.) Their goal was to take measurements of molten lava, to analyze volcanic gases, and to record volcanic eruptions on film.

Through books and lectures, the Kraffts raised enough money to support their expeditions. As soon as they heard about an eruption anywhere in the world, they packed and boarded the next plane. In an average year, they visited about three big eruptions. In 1988, when volcanoes seemed to be erupting everywhere, the Kraffts circled the globe several times. The films made by the Kraffts reveal the beauty and power of volcanic eruptions. The Kraffts picked up useful details that helped geologists understand volcanoes better. For example, they filmed molten lava that was black, instead of red, flowing from a volcano in the African country of Tanzania. No one knew about this kind of lava, which came from rock that melts at 500 °C. The more common red lava comes from rock that melts at about 1000 °C. Having witnessed hundreds of volcanic eruptions, the Kraffts were concerned about the danger of volcanoes when people living

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© BETTMANN/CORBIS

LESSON 25

On the island of Heimaey, Helgafjell Volcano erupts, pouring out tons of lava and ash over the homes, barns, and farmland of the island that is the center

© MICHAEL S. YAMASHITA/CORBIS

of Iceland’s rich fishing industry.

This aerial view of Unzen, a volcano in northern Kyushu, shows the path of a pyroclastic flow expelled by the volcano. It wiped out or flooded a large section of Shimabara, a town on the coast below.

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near them are not properly warned. For instance, when the Nevada del Ruiz volcano in Colombia, South America, started erupting, volcanologists advised authorities of the danger to people living in nearby towns. Authorities did not believe that people living 47 kilometers away were in danger, and the scientists’ warnings were not heeded. As a result, 22,000 people died in the mudflows caused by a later eruption. Had these people walked 200 meters to the nearest hill, Maurice said, they would have lived. The Kraffts and others felt something had to be done to protect the 500 million people who live near the world’s active volcanoes, such as in Iceland. Maurice offered the best of his film footage, plus his knowledge of both volcanoes and cinematography, to make a video that would document the hazards of volcanoes. In June 1991, Maurice and Katia went to Unzen Volcano in Japan. A deadly mix of hot gas, ash, and rock was surging down the volcano’s upper slopes 35 times a day. It was the perfect chance for the Kraffts to film the flows and educate officials about the danger. Each time a chunk of lava near the summit broke away and began tumbling down, it shattered. The rock slide became a rock-and-ash

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VOLCANOES ASSESSMENT

K. JACKSON, U.S. AIR FORCE/PROVIDED BY NGDC/NOAA, BOULDER, CO

stream that careened down the mountain at up to 100 kilometers per hour. At the point when the mountain was sending down medium-sized flows, Maurice and Katia were witnessing quite a show. Suddenly, a huge chunk of the lava plunged toward them. They had no time to escape. The Kraffts, along with 49 other people, were killed. Only two weeks later, because of the influence of the Kraffts’ video, an evacuation saved an estimated 20,000 lives from a major eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, in the Philippine Islands. The work to which these two scientists devoted their lives continues to benefit people around the world. Through the films that the Kraffts made, the world can also share what they saw: the awesome beauty of a spectacular and deadly force of nature. 

R. BATALON, U.S. AIR FORCE/PROVIDED BY NGDC/NOAA, BOULDER, CO

The first major eruption of Pinatubo on June 12, 1991

Aerial view of the north side of Pinatubo crater with a small explosion in progress on June 22, 1991

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