Geography · Unit 6

Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Plate tectonics and natural hazards

Plate tectonics is the single idea that makes physical geography cohere. Once you accept that the surface is broken into moving plates, the distribution of volcanoes, earthquakes, mountains and ocean trenches stops being a list and becomes a consequence.

The unit covers the boundary types and what each produces, the anatomy of volcanoes and earthquakes, and how people live in hazard zones - prediction, preparation, and why they stay.

This unit breaks down into 20 short steps and 120 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 3. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.

Steps: 20
Questions: 120
Difficulty: 1-3

What this unit covers

Volcanoes
Living with Hazards
Earthquakes
Plate Tectonics
Plate Boundaries

Where this fits

Do this before Mountains and Landforms and before Rocks, Soils and Weathering; both assume it.

Where people slip

The boundary type determines the hazard. Constructive, destructive and conservative boundaries produce different volcanoes and different earthquakes, so identifying the boundary comes first.

How the unit is structured

Volcanoes and Earthquakes runs as 20 short steps that unlock in order. 15 are practice rounds and 5 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 3 as you progress.

Step 1 · easierStep 20 · harder

Challenge rounds

Example questions

30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 120 in the unit altogether.

Earthquakes

Build the sentenceLevel 1
1. Build a sentence about what happens during an earthquake.
Answer: The ground shakes during an earthquake
During an earthquake the ground shakes as energy travels through it.
Fact or fibLevel 1
2. The focus of an earthquake is high up in the sky.
Answer: False
False - the focus is the point underground where the earthquake actually starts.
Fill the blankLevel 2
3. The point on the Earth's surface directly above where an earthquake starts is called the ____.
- epicentrecorrect
- focus
- crater
- delta
The epicentre is the point on the surface right above the earthquake's focus.
Match the pairsLevel 2
4. Match each earthquake word to its meaning.
Answer: Focus = Point underground where the quake begins; Epicentre = Point on the surface above the focus; Richter scale = Measures how strong a quake is; Seismometer = Instrument that records the shaking
The focus is underground, the epicentre is above it, the Richter scale measures strength and a seismometer records the shaking.
Choose all that applyLevel 3
5. Which of these are primary effects of an earthquake (the immediate, direct results)? (Select all that apply)
- Ground shakingcorrect
- The ground cracking and rupturingcorrect
- Buildings and bridges collapsingcorrect
- Outbreaks of disease days later
Primary effects happen at once from the shaking itself, such as ground movement, ground rupture, and collapsing buildings; disease is a later, secondary effect.
Guess the numberLevel 3
6. Roughly how many times more energy is released for each whole-number step up the Richter scale?
Answer: 32 times
Although the amplitude rises tenfold per step, the energy released increases by about 32 times for each whole number.

Living with Hazards

Fill the blankLevel 1
7. A giant sea wave caused by an undersea earthquake is called a ____.
- tsunamicorrect
- tornado
- hurricane
- avalanche
A tsunami is a huge ocean wave set off by an undersea earthquake or eruption.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
8. Which of these are reasons people live near volcanoes?
- The soil is fertile for farmingcorrect
- There is geothermal energycorrect
- There are minerals to minecorrect
- Tourists come to visitcorrect
- Volcanoes make the air colder
Fertile soil, geothermal energy, minerals and tourism all draw people to live near volcanoes.
Fact or fibLevel 2
9. A tsunami can travel right across an ocean and still flood coasts far away.
Answer: True
Tsunami waves move very fast and can cross a whole ocean to hit distant coasts.
Match the pairsLevel 2
10. Match each benefit of living near a volcano to what it provides.
Answer: Fertile volcanic soil = Good farmland; Geothermal heat = Electricity; Volcanic minerals = Mining jobs; Volcano scenery = Tourist visitors
Volcanoes bring fertile farmland, geothermal electricity, minerals to mine and scenery for tourists.
Build the sentenceLevel 3
11. Build a sentence about how scientists watch a volcano for danger.
Answer: Scientists use seismometers to detect volcanic earthquakes
Small earthquakes recorded by seismometers often signal that magma is moving before an eruption.
Guess the numberLevel 3
12. In the deep, open ocean a tsunami can race along at roughly what speed, about as fast as a jet airliner?
Answer: 700 km/h
In deep water tsunamis travel around 700-800 km/h, but they slow down and grow much taller as they near the coast.

Plate Boundaries

Multiple choiceLevel 1
13. What do we call a place where two tectonic plates meet?
- A plate boundarycorrect
- A plate river
- A plate valley
- A plate island
The place where two plates meet is called a plate boundary.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
14. Which of these can happen where two plates push together?
- Tall mountains can be pushed upcorrect
- The plates crumple and foldcorrect
- Deep ocean trenches can formcorrect
- The plates move far apart
- A wide new ocean opens up
Where plates collide, the crust folds up into mountains and can form deep trenches.
Fact or fibLevel 2
15. The San Andreas Fault in California is a place where two plates slide past each other.
Answer: True
At the San Andreas Fault two plates grind past one another, causing earthquakes.
Fill the blankLevel 2
16. When two plates ____ each other, the crust can crumple and push up mountains.
- push intocorrect
- move away from
- float above
- melt around
Colliding plates push into each other, crumpling the crust into mountain ranges.
Match the pairsLevel 2
17. Match each type of plate movement to the landform it creates.
Answer: Plates pulling apart = Mid-ocean ridge; Plates colliding = Mountain range; Plates sliding past = Fault line; One plate sinking under another = Deep ocean trench
Different plate movements make ridges, mountains, faults and trenches.
Build the sentenceLevel 3
18. Build a sentence describing what happens to a plate at a destructive margin.
Answer: At destructive margins oceanic plates are subducted
At destructive margins the denser oceanic plates are subducted down into the mantle, where they melt.

Plate Tectonics

Guess the numberLevel 1
19. How many main layers does the Earth have (crust, mantle, outer core and inner core)?
Answer: 4 layers
The Earth has four main layers: the crust, the mantle, the outer core and the inner core.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
20. Which layer is the thin, rocky outer surface of the Earth that we live on?
- Crustcorrect
- Mantle
- Outer core
- Inner core
The crust is the thin, solid outer layer of the Earth where we live.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
21. Which statements about tectonic plates are true?
- They are giant pieces of the Earth's crustcorrect
- They move slowly over many yearscorrect
- They float on the mantlecorrect
- They stay completely still forever
- They are made of water
Tectonic plates are huge slabs of crust that float on the mantle and move slowly over time.
Fill the blankLevel 2
22. Tectonic plates float and move very slowly on top of the ____.
- mantlecorrect
- crust
- sky
- sea
The plates rest on the hot, slowly flowing rock of the mantle, which lets them move over time.
Match the pairsLevel 2
23. Match each layer of the Earth to what it is made of.
Answer: Crust = Thin solid rock; Mantle = Hot flowing rock; Outer core = Liquid metal; Inner core = Solid metal
The crust is thin solid rock, the mantle is hot flowing rock, the outer core is liquid metal and the inner core is solid metal.
Odd one outLevel 2
24. Which of these is NOT one of the Earth's inside layers?
- Tropospherecorrect
- Crust
- Mantle
- Inner core
The troposphere is a layer of the atmosphere, not one of the Earth's solid inside layers.

Volcanoes

Fill the blankLevel 1
25. Molten (melted) rock found below the ground is called ____.
- magmacorrect
- lava
- ash
- sand
Underground molten rock is called magma; it is only called lava once it reaches the surface.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
26. What is molten rock called once it erupts and flows on the Earth's surface?
- Lavacorrect
- Magma
- Granite
- Coal
Molten rock is called lava after it erupts onto the surface.
Picture questionLevel 1
27. 🌋 What natural feature is shown here, with hot lava erupting from an opening in the ground?
- Volcanocorrect
- Waterfall
- Glacier
- Sand dune
A volcano is an opening in the crust where magma erupts as lava, ash and gas.
Guess the numberLevel 2
28. The 1980 eruption blew away the top of Mount St Helens, lowering its summit by roughly how many metres?
Answer: 400 metres
The eruption removed about 400 metres of the mountain, dropping its summit from around 2950 m to 2550 m.
Odd one outLevel 2
29. Which of these is NOT a volcano?
- Mount Everestcorrect
- Vesuvius
- Etna
- Mount Fuji
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain but it is not a volcano; the others all are.
Choose all that applyLevel 3
30. Which features are typical of composite volcanoes? (Select all that apply)
- Steep, cone-shaped sides
- Violent, explosive eruptions
- Thick, viscous lava
- Gentle, effusive lava flows
Composite volcanoes have steep sides, thick viscous lava, and violent explosive eruptions; gentle effusive flows belong to shield volcanoes.

Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.

How you practise

This unit mixes 17 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.

Build the sentence
Choose all that apply
Fact or fib
Fill the blank
Guess the number
Listen and choose
Match the pairs
Multiple choice
Odd one out
Picture question
Put in order
Sequence recall
Sort into groups
Spell it
Tap the pairs
True or false
Type the answer

Practise Volcanoes and Earthquakes

120 questions across 20 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.

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Read about Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.

More units in Geography

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