Introduction

You have been chosen to help a newlywed couple decide where to buy their new house. The only problem is that they only have two choices. One is in a volcano zone and the other is on an earthquake fault! How will you help them choose? Perhaps you want to know whether earthquakes or volcanoes are more powerful. How often do earthquakes and volcanoes occur. Maybe you need to determine why earthquakes and volcanoes occur. There is a lot of information you are going to need to help our newlyweds make this very important decision.

Task

You will be divided into groups of two or three. One of you will be the volcanologist, or someone who studies volcanoes, and one of you will be the seismologist, or someone who studies earthquakes. Each one of you will have 5 questions to answer. After both of you have completed your research, you will come together and decide what your recommendation is to the newlywed couple.

You will work with your partner/group to develp a powerpoint of 5-10 slides giving at least three reasons defending why you chose to live where you did and at least three reasons why you chose not to live in the other location. If you have time at the end you are welcome to add animation and pictures to help persuade the newlyweds to agree with your choice.

Resources

Volcanologist Questions

Write the answers to these questions on a piece of paper. Please write in complete sentences ). Use the internet resources to find the answers.

1 . Are most volcanoes located near the edges or near the centers of continents?
2 . List 5 major cities in the United States which are located on or near active volcanoes?
3 . How much of the Earth originated from volcanoes?
4 . What effect does a volcano have on the surrounding area?
5 . What types of updates are provided before a volcanic eruption occurs in Alaska?

Volcanologist Links

Seismologist Questions

Write the answers to these questions on a piece of paper. Please write in complete sentences ). Use the internet resources to find the answers.

1. Is there any pattern to the location of earthquakes?
2. Which major cities in the United States are located in earthquake zones?
3. What is the range of magnitude for earthquakes and what scale is used to measure them?
4 . What effect do earthquakes have on the surrounding area?
5 . How should a person act if they experience an earthquake?

Seismologist Links

Evaluation

Click here to see the scoring guide for how you will be evaluated.

Conclusion

So, where do you want to live? Near an earthquake or a volcano? Remember, learning never stops.