VOLCANOES+AND+THE+RING+OF+FIRE

> Nearly a million people lived in and around Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines before it erupted on June 15, 1991. At the time, few people even believed that this mountain was, in fact, a volcano; after all, it had been dormant for nearly 500 years. Fortunately, the volcano sent some signals before its eruption that allowed most people in the area to evacuate in time. As a result, approximately 350 people died in the eruption and in the mudflows that followed. The eruption of Mount Pinatubo was one of the most severe eruptions ever recorded; it spewed out between 3.7 and 5.3 km3 of magma. In contrast, the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State produced just a tenth of this volume. > The Philippine people are still struggling to recover from the devastating environmental and economic losses that resulted from Mount Pinatubo’s eruption. Meanwhile, there are signs that another Philippine volcano, Mount Mayon, is beginning to wake up. In Japan, Mount Fuji also has begun to emit smoke and noxious gases. What is going on in this part of the world? Why are there so many active volcanoes in places like the Philippines and Japan? What other volcanoes are showing signs of activity? How are these volcanoes related to those in the Philippines and Japan? > [|Top] > Your job in this WebQuest is to explore the active volcanoes of the world and discover how these volcanoes are related. In order to do this, you first will have to learn a little about plate tectonics, and about what happens when plates collide on Earth’s surface. You will learn about three different types of plate boundaries, and what kinds of volcanic activities are associated with each type. You will describe the plate boundaries located along the edges of the Pacific Ocean and identify an area known as the ring of fire. Then you will list information in a table on at least five active volcanoes from the ring of fire. Finally, you will draw a simple map of the ring of fire area and identify each of the volcanoes in your table on the map. > [|Top] > Look at the web sites given here to find the information that will enable you to complete your table and map on active volcanoes located in the ring of fire. > [|Top] > 1 class period for research and completion of the table and map > [|Top] > Now that you have completed your research on active volcanoes found along the ring of fire, prepare a table that lists at least five active volcanoes found there. In the left column, write in the names of the volcanoes that you have researched. At the top of the rows, write in the location, date of last volcanic activity, and any important facts about the volcano. Finally, draw a simple map of the ring of fire area and identify each of the volcanoes listed in the table on the map. The table is started for you below. > **Table 1. Ring of Fire Volcanoes** > || Mount Mayon || Philippines || May 16, 2001 || The dome vented gases; lava fragments are still being shed || > || Mt. Krakatau || Indonesia || May 27, 2001 || Seismographs detected 7 deep and 54 shallow volcanic earthquakes || > ||  ||   ||   ||   || > ||   ||   ||   ||   || Once you have completed the table with information gathered from the Internet, you should be able to pinpoint the location of each volcano on a simple map you draw. > [|Top] > In the process of completing this WebQuest, you have become informed about the ring of fire and the volcanoes associated with it. You have become familiar with plate tectonics, and with the different types of plate boundaries. You have learned what type of plate boundary the ring of fire represents. You completed a table listing five active volcanoes, and included pertinent information in the table about the recent volcanic activity of each volcano. Finally, you drew a simple map and identified each volcano represented in the table on your map. > [|Top] > In this WebQuest, students complete Internet research on the ring of fire and its associated volcanoes. Students learn more about plate tectonics and about the different types of plate boundaries. They learn why more active volcanoes are located along the edges of the Pacific Plate. They find out which volcanoes are active, and where these volcanoes are located. They prepare a table and compile information for at least five active volcanoes. Finally, they draw simple maps and locate each of the volcanoes listed in their tables on their maps. > [|Top] > Students will complete a table that lists volcanoes in the ring of fire that have had recent volcanic activity. They will have to sort through the information in several of the web sites to find volcanoes located in southeast and east Asia, along the coasts of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California, and along the western coasts of Mexico, Central America, and South America. Each web site has some of the information they will need to complete the table. Students should be able to sift through the information available to identify pertinent details for their tables. From their Internet research, students should be able to list at least five active volcanoes, and be able to locate them on their simple map. > **Objectives** >> >> > [|Top] > Students will use the Internet links given to find out all about plate tectonics, plate boundaries, and active volcanoes along the ring of fire. They will learn about the recent volcanic activity of at least five of these volcanoes, and describe some important facts about each volcano. They will draw maps of the ring of fire area based on maps found at various Internet links. Finally, they will complete tables about active volcanoes in the ring of fire and locate each volcano on the maps they have drawn. > [|Top] > 1 class period for research and completion of the table and map > [|Top] > As students progress through the list of web sites, you may help them to focus on what they need to know to fill in the table. Several of the web sites have links to other web sites with relevant information. If time allows, you may want to allow students to explore this subject further. However, three of the sites listed are the best sites on this subject available on the Internet; further research may not yield additional data. > [|Top] > Evaluation of student work will depend upon the extent of the material listed in their tables. Students must have at least five active volcanoes listed in their tables and identified on their maps. However, students may have more than five listings; additional listings may add points to their total score as long as other criteria have been met. Make sure that the volcanoes listed can be found along the ring of fire where the Pacific Plate converges with other tectonic plates. Once students have completed the table, you may wish to use the rubric below for scoring their work. The rubric is based on five volcanoes in the table. > || **//Table and Map > Rubric//** || **//Possible > Points*//** || **//Self-//** > **//Assessment//** || **//Teacher//** > **//Assessment//** || > || At least five volcanoes were included || 10 ||  ||   || > || Table had at least four columns of information || 10 ||  ||   || > || Date of last volcanic activity given for each volcano || 10 ||  ||   || > || One important fact given for each volcano listed || 10 ||  ||   || > || Location of volcanoes on map correct || 10 ||  ||   || > || **Total Possible Points** || **50** ||  ||   || > *//Rate each category according to the following scale: Excellent – 9-10 points; Very Good – 7-8 points; Good – 5-6 points; Satisfactory – 3-4 points; Poor – 1-2 points; and Unsatisfactory – 0 points.// [|Top] > Students should be able to fill in the table and locate the volcanoes listed on the map. Students should be able to answer questions about plate boundaries as they relate to the ring of fire. Students should be able to identify the web sites they used to fill in their tables and locate volcanoes on their maps. > [|Top] > || || ||
 * An Internet WebQuest**
 * VOLCANOES AND THE RING OF FIRE****
 * Introduction**
 * Task**
 * Resources**
 * **[|Plate Tectonics.]** Go to this National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) site to learn more about plate tectonics. You can view animations here of the formation of a mid-ocean ridge, a subduction zone, and a fault. Scroll down and click on the book to open the site, then click on whatever subject you are interested in. If you click on plate boundaries, you can learn more about the three types of lithospheric plates.
 * [|**Understanding Plate Motions.**] Visit this U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) site to learn about the different type of plate boundaries. Scroll down to oceanic-continental convergence, then click on ring of fire to see a larger graphic of the Pacific Ocean and its convergent plate boundaries.
 * **[|Savage Earth: The Earth at Work.]** Go to this Public Broadcasting System (PBS) online site to find out more about how plates move around on Earth’s surface. Scroll down to see a map of Earth with the major tectonic plates outlined in yellow. The map also shows the locations of earthquakes during the 20th century. Notice that the earthquakes are clustered at the plate edges. Click on ring of fire to learn about the most volcanically and seismically active region on Earth. You can find out what percentage of Earth’s active and dormant volcanoes lie along this area at the margin of the Pacific Ocean here.
 * **[|Active Volcanoes, Plate Tectonics, and the "Ring of Fire."]** At this USGS site you can see a map of the world, showing the different tectonic plates and the active volcanoes found around their edges. Notice the concentration of volcanoes along the western edge of the Pacific Plates, part of the ring of fire.
 * [|**Exploring the Environment: Volcanoes.**] Visit this NASA Classroom of the Future site to learn more about volcanoes, and why they are located where they are. To move to the next page, scroll down and click on page 2. Read through all of the pages available to find out how the Hawaiian Islands formed.
 * **[|Global Volcanism Program: Volcanoes of the World.]** Go to this site by the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, to see the Volcano Basic Data files that include geographic and geologic information on all Holocene volcanoes (those with known activity during the last 10,000 years). You can search by the name of a particular volcano, or by region of the world in which it is located to obtain data about individual volcanoes.
 * [|**Earth’s Active Volcanoes.**] At this Michigan Technological University site you can find a map showing the locations of active volcanoes around the world. Scroll down and choose a region to study, then click on it. Click on any volcano to see photographs of the volcano, or to learn about recent volcanic activity.
 * [|**Volcano Watch.**] At this site by the Space Science and Engineering Center of the University of Wisconsin – Madison, you can learn about the world’s most active volcanoes. The site lists about ten volcanoes and includes images of each volcano. This site is updated every 30 minutes. Scroll down to any of the volcanoes listed and click on the volcano’s name to view recent activity there.
 * [|**The Electronic Volcano.**] Go to this Dartmouth College site to learn more about active volcanoes. The site has links to sites with catalogs of active volcanoes, data sets, and videos of active volcanoes. Scroll down to volcano name to search for information about a particular volcano.
 * Time**
 * Process**
 * **Name of Volcano** || **Location** || **Date of Last Activity** || **Important Facts** ||
 * Conclusion**
 * || || **WebQuest Teacher Page**
 * An Internet WebQuest**
 * VOLCANOES AND THE RING OF FIRE****
 * Introduction**
 * Task**
 * **Research** plate tectonics, plate boundaries, and the ring of fire.
 * **Identify** active volcanoes that are located along the ring of fire.
 * **Describe** recent volcanic activity of at least five active volcanoes found along the ring of fire.
 * Resources**
 * Time**
 * Process**
 * Evaluation**
 * Conclusion**