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Bing Volcanoes Quiz: 10 Questions With Answers
Volcanoes are natural vents in Earth's crust where lava, ash, and gases escape from magma chambers below. Most of Earth's volcanic activity happens underwater along plate boundaries, though volcanoes also form in unexpected places like hotspots far from tectonic plates.
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All 10 questions and answers
Every question with its answer and explanation. Open “Show answer” after you guess.
1 Where are most of Earth's volcanoes located?
- A On mountain peaks in continental areas
- B In desert regions with thin crust
- C Underwater at plate boundaries
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✓ Answer: C. Underwater at plate boundaries
Did you know? Most of Earth's plate boundaries are underwater, so most volcanoes are submarine and form new seafloor along mid-ocean ridges like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
2 What is the term for the study of volcanoes and volcanic activity?
- A Petrology
- B Seismography
- C Volcanology
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✓ Answer: C. Volcanology
Did you know? Volcanology combines the words volcano and -logy (the study of). The field developed in the mid-19th century as scientists learned more about volcanic processes.
3 At what type of plate boundary do volcanoes typically NOT form?
- A Transform boundaries
- B Divergent boundaries
- C Convergent boundaries
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✓ Answer: A. Transform boundaries
Did you know? Volcanoes are usually not created at transform tectonic boundaries where two plates slide past one another. They form at diverging or converging boundaries instead.
4 How are volcanoes classified based on eruption frequency?
- A Active, dormant, or extinct
- B Large, medium, or small
- C Explosive, gentle, or quiet
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✓ Answer: A. Active, dormant, or extinct
Did you know? Active volcanoes have erupted recently and may erupt again. Dormant volcanoes haven't erupted since the start of the Holocene about 12,000 years ago but may erupt. Extinct volcanoes have no magma source.
5 What is a characteristic feature of shield volcanoes?
- A Broad, shield-like profiles with gentle slopes
- B Crater formation from explosive eruptions
- C Steep conical mountains with layered deposits
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✓ Answer: A. Broad, shield-like profiles with gentle slopes
Did you know? Shield volcanoes are formed by low-viscosity basaltic lava that flows great distances and solidifies slowly. They have slopes of 5-10 degrees and are common in Hawaii and Iceland.
6 What causes volcanoes to form at mid-ocean ridges?
- A Divergent tectonic plates creating new oceanic crust
- B Convergent plates colliding underground
- C Mantle plumes rising from Earth's core
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✓ Answer: A. Divergent tectonic plates creating new oceanic crust
Did you know? At mid-ocean ridges, two tectonic plates diverge and hot mantle rock rises beneath thinned oceanic crust. This creates volcanism and new seafloor through submarine volcanic activity.
7 Which volcano type is composed of alternating layers of lava and tephra?
- A Cinder cones
- B Shield volcanoes
- C Stratovolcanoes
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✓ Answer: C. Stratovolcanoes
Did you know? Stratovolcanoes, also called composite volcanoes, are tall conical mountains built from multiple eruptions with different types of materials. Their high-silica lavas are viscous and produce explosive eruptions.
8 What geological feature forms where two tectonic plates collide at a subduction zone?
- A A field of cinder cones
- B A chain of volcanoes called a volcanic arc
- C A series of shield volcanoes
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✓ Answer: B. A chain of volcanoes called a volcanic arc
Did you know? Subduction zones are bordered by chains of volcanoes called volcanic arcs. Water released from the subducting plate lowers melting temperature, creating viscous magma that forms these volcano chains.
9 What are hotspot volcanoes thought to be created by?
- A Shallow earthquakes in continental crust
- B Friction between sliding tectonic plates
- C Mantle plumes rising from the core-mantle boundary
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✓ Answer: C. Mantle plumes rising from the core-mantle boundary
Did you know? Hotspots are formed by mantle plumes, columns of hot material rising from about 3,000 kilometers deep. As plates move across plumes, new volcanoes form while old ones become inactive, creating volcanic island chains like Hawaii.
10 How large must a volcano's eruption be to be classified as a supervolcano?
- A Over 1,000 cubic kilometers of deposits in a single event
- B Enough ash to circle Earth in one day
- C More than 100 cubic kilometers annually
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✓ Answer: A. Over 1,000 cubic kilometers of deposits in a single event
Did you know? A supervolcano is defined as having erupted with over 1,000 cubic kilometers of volcanic deposits in one explosive event. Such eruptions are very rare, with only four known in the last million years.
About Volcanoes
The word volcano comes from Vulcano, a volcanic island in Italy, which was named after Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. The study of volcanoes and volcanic activity is called volcanology, a scientific field that developed significantly in the 19th century as scientists better understood how volcanoes relate to plate tectonics.
Questions and facts checked against the Wikipedia article Volcano. How we write quizzes: editorial policy.
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