Magma’s Viscosity (determines volcano type)

What is viscosity? Science Definition – a fluid’s ability to resist flowing Easy Definition – a fluid’s thickness/stickiness

Viscosity Demonstration OBJECTIVE: determine which liquids are more or less viscous. Use the numbers 1 (least viscous) through 4 (most viscous) to rank the liquids. Vegetable oil Maple Syrup Honey Ketchup

What does it have to do with volcanoes? The viscosity of magma/lava determines what type of volcano it is.

Remember the following… low viscosity means “runny” lava that flows easily  Low amount of silica  forms a gentle slope volcano high viscosity means “sticky” lava that flows slowly  High amount of silica  forms a steep-sided volcano

What lava type could each of the 4 liquids from the demonstration represent? oil =Honey = Syrup =Ketchup =

Time to build our own volcanoes!!! e/pompeii/interactive/interactive.html