Why do Volcanoes have Magma?
Why does hot air rise when the core is burning hot?

For your answer, we sent scientist Pierre Kerr (ac210@freenet.carleton.ca) to Volcano World. This is what he found out.

Thanks, I needed a holiday. Actually, Volcano World is not really a place but is a computer program that is run by NASA. I went there with my computer and brought back some information about recent volcanoes.

The Earth is a bit like an egg. Only the very outside is hard and rocky. Inside, it's very hot. So hot that rock melts. This melted rock is called magma. In some places, the outer shell of the Earth has cracks. It is through these cracks that magma flows to the surface. Once it reaches the surface, it is called lava. This is what makes a volcano.

Hot things expand and so are lighter than the same substance when it is cool. Magma that is hotter will slowly rise closer to the surface. The rock that makes up the surface of the Earth is cooler than magma, thank goodness. It stays on top because it has cooled until it is hard and forms a shell.

The attached information shows some pictures of volcanoes. The one in Hawaii is an active volcano that has lava flowing into the Pacific ocean.

Take a look in your school library for more information about volcanoes, especially this book:

The Solar System

Robin Kerrod

523.2 ker

Answer #% % filename Document2 page% % page 1 of% % numpages 1 % % date \@ "MMMM d, yyyy"April 4, 1995