The high viscosity of the mud causes it to behave like rhyolitic lava. Boiling water does not cast large volumes of liquid into the air in violent fits and starts like, for example, a boiling vat of mud. When lava can no longer contain the increasing gas pressure within, cataclysmic rhyolitic eruptions occur.īasaltic eruptions are gentler because gas bubbles to the surface before it generates explosive pressure. Rhyolitic lava's high silica content causes it to be quite viscous.That viscosity prevents gas within it from readily escaping as the magma rises to Earth's surface through a break in its crust.

Two basic types of lava made Craters: rhyolite and basalt.The main difference between the two is the amount of silica (SiO2) they contain. Some lava raced across the land like heated olive oil, while other flows crept along like tons of tepid toothpaste. Early eruptions were violent, like a shaken can of soda, while later eruptions were sedate, like water being poured into a glass. water).Ĭraters of the Moon was once a liquid sea of lava (although not all at once) until it 'froze' and turned to a solid. A liquid's behavior can also be greatly modified by the presence of dissolved gases (e.g., soda vs. But there are many different liquids, each with unique freezing points, boiling points, and viscosities. When we think about the properties of liquid, water usually comes to mind. In this science lab, students learn about the properties of lava by experimenting with liquids having varying gas contents and viscosities. Grade Level: Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade Subject: Science State Standards: PS1-5-3, PS1-MS-1, PS1-MS-2, ESS2-MS-1

Viscosity test science fair experiments