Lesson plan: Volcanic activity

December 21, 2000
Web posted at: 3:36 PM EST (2036 GMT)

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Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Analyze ground, seismicity and sulfur dioxide gas data to monitor and predict volcano activity.
• Evaluate the threat of eruption from the Popocatepetl volcano.

Standards

National Science Education Standards
Earth and space science, Content standard D, grades nine-12

High school students should know that interactions among the solid earth, the oceans, the atmosphere and organisms have resulted in the ongoing evolution of the earth system. We can observe some changes such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions on a human time scale, but many processes such as mountain building and plate movements take place over hundreds of millions of years.

Materials

CNNfyi.com article, "The heat is off?"
Internet access
Riverdeep's Volcano lab
Dictionaries, encyclopedias and other reference books
World map

Suggested time

One class period

Procedures

1. Ask students to discuss the most exciting images they've seen in movies and TV programs featuring volcanoes. Create a graphic organizer on the board using the information they have given.

2. Have students read the CNNfyi.com article "The heat is off?"

3. Locate Cholula, Mexico, on a world map.

4. Then ask the students:

• Why did residents of Cholula, Mexico, evacuate their homes?
• Why do you think they were hesitant to heed warnings?
• If you lived in Cholula, what evidence would you need to make you feel safe enough to return home?
• Where would you go to get accurate and reliable information?
• Spokesman Fernando Lopez stated, "There will no longer be a big eruption. It's releasing pressure." Is this statement conclusive?

5. Have students use the volcano lab to collect ground, seismicity and sulfur dioxide gas data from the Kilauea, Pinatubo and Mount St. Helens volcanoes. Have students determine how using the information they have gathered can assist scientists in determining the activity of volcanoes.

Assessment

Have students write a letter to the Mexican government making recommendations about the Popocatepetl volcano. Students will need to use the data they collected from other volcanoes to support their suggestions.

Accommodation

Visual/spatial: Have students create a labeled drawing that illustrates what happens when a volcano erupts.

Challenge

Have students compare and contrast the following volcanoes: Mount Vesuvius in Italy and Mount Fuji in Japan using the Types of Land Web site below.

Types of Land
Volcanoes
Volcano World
Seismic monitoring
Satellite image from Popocatapetl
Mexican center for natural disasters: Monitoring Popocatepetl
U.S. Geological Survey/Cascades Volcano Observatory: Popocatepetl
Southwest Volcano Research Centre
Volcano Database
Volcano Adventures

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