1. Week 1 & 2 - Structure of the Earth
Week 1 & 2 - Tectonic plates
Week 3 & 4 - Types of plate boundary
Plate boundaries can be classified in several ways. Plate boundaries where plates are moving towards each other, are called convergent, plate boundaries where plates are moving apart are called divergent and plate boundaries where plates are moving alongside each other are called transform
Week 5 & 6 - The eruption of Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland, in 2010
Air travel throughout the world was cancelled. £1.1 billion was lost by the airline industry with 100,000 cancelled flights across Europe. 10 million people could not fly
Week 5 & 6 - Why do people live close to volcanoes?
Geothermal energy can be harnessed by using the steam from underground which has been heated by the Earth's magma. This steam is used to drive turbines in geothermal power stations to produce electricity for domestic and industrial use. Countries such as Iceland and New Zealand use this method of generating electricity.
Volcanoes attract millions of visitors around the world every year. Apart from the volcano itself, hot springs and geysers can also bring in the tourists. This creates many jobs for people in the tourism industry. This includes work in hotels, restaurants and gift shops. Often locals are also employed as tour guides.
Lava from deep within the earth contains minerals which can be mined once the lava has cooled. These include gold, silver, diamonds, copper and zinc, depending on their mineral composition. Often, mining towns develop around volcanoes.
Volcanic areas often contain some of the most mineral rich soils in the world. This is ideal for farming. Lava and material from pyroclastic flows are weathered to form nutrient rich soil which can be cultivated to produce healthy crops and rich harvests.
Transport was severely disrupted. Many people were left stranded in many parts of the world
In the UK there were a shortage of flowers, fruit and electronic goods in the days during the eruption. This was because they are normally flown in from other countries.
In Kenya, Africa, 400 tons of flowers were burnt because they could not be flown into the UK and had no other way of getting here before they died.
Kenya lost £3.8million. Thousands of Kenyan farmers lost their jobs
In Iceland, water in rivers rose by up to 2 meters. Lots of homes were damaged by the water.
Week 3 & 4 - Formation of volcanos:
Two plates move away from each other.
Molten rock (magma) rises from the mantle to fill the gap between the two plates. This forms a mid-ocean ridge.
Volcanoes can also form here, along the edges of the plate boundary, due to the rising magma.
Challenge
Create an annotated model of either a volcano or earthquake. This could be a specific event or one in general. You could do this using play doh, recycling, paper – there are no limits to your creativity!