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Volcanoes at the Edge of Tectonic Plates

Volcanoes at plate boundaries release molten rock, ash, and gas. This quiz helps you revise where they form, why they erupt, and the hazards they create.

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Fascinating Fact:

Many volcanoes at plate edges also produce secondary hazards, including lahars, ash fall, and pyroclastic flows that threaten nearby communities.

In GCSE Geography, you study how volcanoes often form at the edges of tectonic plates, such as destructive and constructive margins. The quiz explores magma movement, different eruption styles, and how secondary hazards like ash clouds, lahars, and pyroclastic flows affect people, infrastructure, and the environment.

Key Terms

Tectonic plate: A large slab of the Earth’s crust that slowly moves on the semi-molten mantle beneath.
Subduction zone: A plate boundary where an oceanic plate sinks beneath another plate and melts, often creating volcanoes.
Pyroclastic flow: A fast-moving, extremely hot mixture of gas, ash, and rock that flows down the sides of a volcano.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

Why do so many volcanoes form at tectonic plate boundaries?

Many volcanoes form at tectonic plate boundaries because plates move apart or one plate is forced under another, allowing magma to rise to the surface and create eruptions.

What is the difference between constructive and destructive plate margins?

At constructive margins plates move apart and magma rises to form new crust, while at destructive margins an oceanic plate sinks beneath another plate, melts, and can feed explosive volcanoes.

What secondary hazards can volcanic eruptions cause?

Volcanic eruptions can trigger ash clouds that disrupt travel, mudflows when ash mixes with water, landslides on steep slopes, and dangerous gases that threaten nearby people and ecosystems.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

Volcanic eruptions are often seen as being negative, however, they can have some positive effects on an area. Which of the following is NOT a positive effect for a volcanic area?

Dramatic scenery can attract tourists

Ash from volcanic eruptions near the sea attracts more fish as they feed from the extra nutrients that dissolve into sea water

The high level of heat in the ground near to volcanoes can provide the hot water for geothermal energy

Certain types of ash and lava break down to provide nutrients for soil

Geothermal energy is a renewable resource. We made up the answer about the fish!

2 .

What is a destructive plate boundary?

Where one plate is being pushed back down into the mantle

Where two plates are moving apart, destroying the area between them

Where two plates are moving sideways past each other

Where new land is being formed and then eroded quickly by the sea and earthquakes

As the plate is pushed down into the mantle it gradually melts - the mantle is very hot, at least 500°C where it meets the crust

3 .

What type of magma occurs in volcanoes at constructive plate boundaries?

High viscosity magma

Superheated magma

Low viscosity magma

Supercooled magma

Low viscosity means more it is runny. The magma from volcanoes found at this type of plate boundary comes directly from the mantle and can flow long distances before it cools and solidifies

4 .

Which of the following is a primary effect of a volcanic eruption?

Ash blocking rivers causing crop destruction by flooding

Lava flow destroying property

Debris carried by rivers damaging bridges

Silting up of harbours caused by ash carried away from the area where the eruption happened by rivers

Primary effects are effects that have been caused directly by the eruption

5 .

Which of the following is NOT a reason why more people might die when a volcano erupts in an LEDC?

The ash cloud blots out the sunlight, killing crops and leading to starvation

Low literacy skills

Not everyone has a radio or TV

Poor communications infrastructure

People with low literary skills will not be able to read leaflets and posters telling them what to do. Some people in LEDCs are too poor to be able to afford radios and TVs so they don't get the early warnings. Poor communications infrastructure means that warnings might not reach everyon in the danger zone and if it does, the poor road network makes evacuation harder

6 .

What type of magma usually occurs in volcanoes at destructive plate boundaries?

Superheated viscosity

Ashless viscosity

Low viscosity

High viscosity

The molten rock from the plate that is being destroyed is mixed with many other types of rock on its journey to the surface

7 .

What is a constructive plate boundary?

Where plates move apart

Where plates move together

Where plates move sideways past each other

Where the plates are not moving

It is also sometimes called a diverging plate boundary

8 .

Where do volcanoes occur?

In well defined narrow belts around the world

Randomly around the surface of the Earth

Only on land

On small islands

These belts are where plates meet

9 .

What is the name given to magma that flows out of a volcano onto the Earth's crust?

Igneous rock

River rock

High density magma

Lava

The type of igneous rock that is formed depends on the chemical composition of the magma

10 .

What else comes out of a volcano as well as lava?

Liquid water

Ash and gases

Ice particles

Fossils

Even volcanoes with runny lava send ash clouds high into the air, a good example of this is the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. There was so much ash sent high into the air that many aircraft flights were cancelled for safety

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Volcanoes

Author: Kev Woodward (PGCE, Science & Chemistry Teacher, Quiz Writer)