This GCSE Geography quiz challenges you on volcanoes at the edge of tectonic plates. You should be well aware that volcanoes exist mainly in narrow belts around the world. As the theory of plate tectonics was developed and improved, it became possible to understand how volcanoes were formed, why there were several different types of volcano and why they existed mainly in certain areas of the world.
Before plate tectonics, no-one really understood how volcanoes were formed. It was known that there were magma chambers under volcanoes and that there were different types of volcano which depended on what lava was erupted, but that was about all.
[readmore]
In 1912, a German meteorologist called Alfred Wegener had a theory that at least some of the continents had been joined together in the past. He came to this conculsion when he was comparing the coastlines of Africa and South America. They seemed to fit together reasonably well. When he looked at the edges of the continental shelves of the two continents, the fit was even better. He also spotted that there were rocks and fossils which matched up too.
But our understanding of volcanoes didn't really change for a long time. Geologists ignored his ideas because he was a meteorologist. Those scientists who seriously considered this idea of 'Continental Drift' could not see that there could be any mechanism of moving the continents around. But gradually, geologists found other pieces of evidence that suggested that Wegener was correct and in the middle of the 1960s, the discovery of magnetic stripes on the sea bed confirmed that it was slowly moving on a very long time scale. Wegener's theory became the theory of plate tectonics which is now widely accepted.
Where plates come together or are moving apart, volcanoes appear. At constructive plate boundaries, as the edges of the plates move apart, a type of magma which produces rocks like basalt pushes its way up from the mantle to the surface, forming volcanoes. This type of lava is not very viscous, so it is relatively mobile (runny like warm treacle). The volcanoes are wide and relatively flat.
At destructive plate boundaries, one plate is pushed down into the mantle where it melts. The molten rock from the plate mixes with other types of rock as it rises through the crust. The magma is more viscous and so it does not flow as far meaning that the volcanoes have a taller and narrower shape. Sometimes, the magma is so viscous that the neck of the volcano is blocked. When the pressure builds up enough, the volcano will explode, with disastrous consequences for the living world around the volcano.
[/readmore]
1.
|
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 |
|
|
2.
|
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 |
|
|
3.
|
What type of magma occurs in volcanoes at constructive plate boundaries? |
|
[ ] |
High viscosity magma |
[ ] |
Superheated magma |
[ ] |
Low viscosity magma |
[ ] |
Supercooled magma |
|
|
4.
|
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 |
|
|
5.
|
What else comes out of a volcano as well as lava? |
|
[ ] |
Liquid water |
[ ] |
Ash and gases |
[ ] |
Ice particles |
[ ] |
Fossils |
|
|
6.
|
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 |
|
|
7.
|
What type of magma usually occurs in volcanoes at destructive plate boundaries? |
|
[ ] |
Superheated viscosity |
[ ] |
Ashless viscosity |
[ ] |
Low viscosity |
[ ] |
High viscosity |
|
|
8.
|
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 |
|
|
9.
|
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 |
|
|
10.
|
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 |
|
|
1.
|
Where do volcanoes occur? |
|
[x] |
In well defined narrow belts around the world |
[ ] |
Randomly around the surface of the Earth |
[ ] |
Only on land |
[ ] |
On small islands |
|
|
2.
|
What is a constructive plate boundary? |
|
[x] |
Where plates move apart |
[ ] |
Where plates move together |
[ ] |
Where plates move sideways past each other |
[ ] |
Where the plates are not moving |
|
|
3.
|
What type of magma occurs in volcanoes at constructive plate boundaries? |
|
[ ] |
High viscosity magma |
[ ] |
Superheated magma |
[x] |
Low viscosity magma |
[ ] |
Supercooled magma |
|
|
4.
|
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 |
[x] |
Lava |
|
|
5.
|
What else comes out of a volcano as well as lava? |
|
[ ] |
Liquid water |
[x] |
Ash and gases |
[ ] |
Ice particles |
[ ] |
Fossils |
|
|
6.
|
What is a destructive plate boundary? |
|
[x] |
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 |
|
|
7.
|
What type of magma usually occurs in volcanoes at destructive plate boundaries? |
|
[ ] |
Superheated viscosity |
[ ] |
Ashless viscosity |
[ ] |
Low viscosity |
[x] |
High viscosity |
|
|
8.
|
Which of the following is a primary effect of a volcanic eruption? |
|
[ ] |
Ash blocking rivers causing crop destruction by flooding |
[x] |
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 |
|
|
9.
|
Which of the following is NOT a reason why more people might die when a volcano erupts in an LEDC? |
|
[x] |
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 |
|
|
10.
|
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 |
[x] |
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 |
|
|