Download Objective: What is the ring of fire?

Objective:
What is the ring of fire?
Task: Journal Question
What is a convection current?
Follow the instructions for the
mini-lab and answer the questions
in your journal notebook.
Modeling Convection Currents:
Answer the questions in complete sentences.
1.What does the cold water in the plastic cup
represent?
2.What does the red liquid represent?
3.What does the small cup represent?
3.Explain what happened. Include a drawing.
4.Would the same thing happen if the covered jar
contained cold water instead of hot water?
Explain.
5.Was your prediction correct? Explain why or why
not.
Modeling Convection Currents:
The cold water
represents the cooler
part of the mantle.
 The red hot water
represents magma.
 The small jar
represents the Earth’s
core.

Explanation:
Convection currents are driven by a
difference in temperature and density.
 The hot red water rises to the cooler
surface.
 The hot water is also less dense than the
cold water.
 The cold water will not rise because there
is no difference in temperature or density.

What is the ring of fire?
The ring of fire is a zone where major
earthquake and volcanoes occur.
 Most of the active volcanoes on
landmasses are located on the ring of fire.
 Many earthquakes also occur in this area.

What is a volcano?
Movement of magma
inside Earth is called
volcanism.
 A volcano is a
volcanic mountain
that forms when
magma breaks
through the crust.
 The opening from
which the lava flows
out of is called a
vent.

How are volcanoes classified?
Volcanic eruptions can be classified as
quiet or explosive.
 The three types of volcanoes are :

– Shield cones
– Cinder cones
– Composite cones
Composite Volcano
It’s made of quite and
explosive eruptions.
Each eruption adds
another layer of lava
forming a volcano with
a wide base and steep
sides.
Shield Volcano
It’s made from quite
eruptions. Layers of
lava build up to form
the cone. It has a
wide base and the
sides have gentle
slopes.
Cinder Cone
It’s made from
explosive eruptions.
Dust, ash and rock
particles are thrown out
the vent. It has a
narrow base and steep
sides since the rocks
roll down the sides.
What are earthquakes?
Earthquakes are
strong movements of
the Earth’s crust.
 A earthquakes occur
when both sides of a
fault are squeezed
together.
 A fault is a break on
the Earth’s crust in
which movement
occurs.

Effects of earthquakes:
Worktime:
Materials: A large map, red and blue clay,
a blue and red marker, map handout.
 Work in groups of 4. Each student will plot
the coordinate points on the map for
volcanoes (red) and earthquakes (blue).
 Copy the points onto your map hand out.
 Where do the volcanoes and earthquakes
occur?

Questions:
Which tectonic plate has the most activity?
 In what kind of boundary do most
earthquakes and volcanoes occur?
 Which boundary represents the midocean ridge? Explain how.
 Which boundary represents a trench?
 Which boundary is constructive? Explain.
 Which boundary is destructive? Explain.

mid Atlantic Ridge