Hi Everyone!
Recently in science, we have been learning about the Earth's structure along with the continents and tectonic plates and space. To connect what we have been learning Mr Heath (our science teacher). Decided to let us make creative projects such as making volcanos, solar systems, and so on. We were required to make 2 -3 projects. I feel like all of us had chosen to create a volcano first since we were allowed to make it erupt with elephant toothpaste. In my group, I had Hope and Megan.
Mt Tambora Volcano
Aim:
To create a volcano
Equipment:
Newspaper
Glue
Bottle
Cardboard
Paint - brown, red, green, orange
Elephant toothpaste chemicals
Paintbrush
Tray/container (you can just use a large piece of cardboard for your base)
Red Food colouring
Method:
- Get all equipment prepared.
- Use a bottle as the structure for the volcano.
- Paper mache the outside for a more realistic design, make sure to leave out the opening of
the bottle. (This will be the opening of the volcano)
- Use a newspaper for rocks, by scrunching them into balls.
- Paint over the paper mache and rocks to add colour to your designs, create more definitions
and details using the paint. Such as lava leaking out and so on.
- Set up the elephant toothpaste inside the bottle.
Research:
Mount Tambora, also known as Mount Tambora, is a volcanic mountain located on the
The northern coast of Sumbawa Island, Indonesia.
Mount Tambora has been recorded as the largest volcanic eruption in our history which
killed tens of thousands of people. This catastrophic eruption took place in 1815 on April 5,
this is when people first started to notice. Tremors and pyroclastic flow became more obvious
5 days later a humongous blast blew apart the mountain. Earthquakes due to tectonic plates
created many catastrophic events for the people. As this volcano is located on an island,
tsunami's were also added to the blast and the pyroclastic flows. As all these natural disasters
followed each other, it killed at least 10,000 islanders. Following that, the precious homes of
35,000 more, the death toll is more than 71,00 so it's known as the deadliest volcano.
How do volcanoes form?
Volcanoes form when two tectonic plates crash together. Describing it more specifically it is
when two plates move under one another. So when enough magma builds up in the magma
chambers. It will eventually force its way up to the surface and erupt, this is the main reason
for volcano eruptions.
What is the difference between lava and magma?
Magma consists of molten rock in other words semi-liquid rock which is stored in the earth crust.
While lava is magma that reaches the Earth's surface through a volcano vent.
Conclusion
Our volcano project was a success with the appearance and the experiment. Our goal was to make
sure our volcano looked exactly or at least similar to the photo above. As Mr Heath, our science
teacher promised a prize for whoever achieved that goal. Not only did we need to be creative
and get the appearance of our volcano outstanding. But we also needed to get our
measurements right for the experiment. Luckily our experiment came out successfully which
you can see in the video. The appearance of our volcano was definitely a success since we
came in the first place. As promised Mr Heath had given us our prize which we were happy about.
Something different I would have done would be to concentrate more colour on the elephant
toothpaste. Since our ‘so-called’ lava appeared as pink. Another that I thought about if we ever do
this again would be to create a more realistic shaped volcano. We make it looks more like a volcano
frankly speaking our sort of looked like half a black rock. As it had a more dome-shaped figure, it was
also my first time doing paper mache. Overall the procedure of creating this project was
really enjoyable and fun.