Year 7 · Science · Earth and space sciences
Earthquakes, volcanoes and extreme weather
Students learn how sudden events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, cyclones, floods and bushfires change Earth's surface, and how communities prepare for them.
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These lessons were written around Australian Curriculum strands and matched to UK year groups by age (Year 1 is the year a child turns 6 in England). They are not mapped to the National Curriculum in England or the curricula of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, so check them against your own plans.
Learning goals
Learners will
- Explain how earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are caused by movements and heat inside Earth.
- Describe how sudden events such as earthquakes, eruptions, cyclones, floods and bushfires quickly change Earth's surface.
- Describe ways communities prepare for and reduce the damage from these events.
Success looks like
- I can explain what causes an earthquake and a volcanic eruption.
- I can give an example of how each event changes the land.
- I can describe at least three ways a family or community can prepare for a natural disaster.
The big idea
Earth's surface is always changing. Some changes, such as weathering and erosion by rain and wind, are very slow and can take thousands of years. Other changes happen in minutes, hours or days. These sudden events can reshape the land and affect the people who live there.
Earth's outer rocky layer is broken into giant pieces called tectonic plates. They move very slowly, only a few centimetres each year, which is about as fast as your fingernails grow. Where plates push against, pull apart from or slide past each other, rocks bend and stress builds up.
An earthquake happens when that stress becomes too great and the rocks suddenly slip. The energy travels through the ground as waves that make it shake. Earthquakes can crack the ground, lift or drop land, start landslides and damage buildings. An earthquake under the sea can push up a huge volume of water and start a tsunami: a series of powerful waves that can flood coastlines.
Deep underground it is hot enough to melt rock. This melted rock is called magma. A volcano is an opening where magma, gases and ash escape onto the surface. Once it is on the surface, the melted rock is called lava. Lava flows can bury land, and when they cool they form new rock. Some islands are the tops of volcanoes that have grown up from the sea floor.
Extreme weather changes the surface too:
- Tropical cyclones bring destructive winds and very heavy rain. They can push sea water onto the land in a storm surge, wash away beaches and sand dunes and knock down trees.
- Floods happen when more water arrives than rivers can hold. Fast-flowing floodwater erodes riverbanks, carries away soil and drops thick layers of mud and sand elsewhere. A big flood can even change a river's path.
- Bushfires (also called wildfires) burn the plants that hold soil in place. After a fire, rain can wash bare soil away much more easily, and landslides are more likely on steep slopes.
Communities cannot stop these events, but they can prepare for them. Scientists monitor and warn people. Engineers design buildings that can sway and flex in earthquakes. Families make emergency plans, pack emergency kits and know when and where to evacuate. Everyone should follow advice from emergency services.
Worked examples
Sudden or slow?
Sort these changes: a river slowly wearing a valley deeper, an earthquake cracking a road, a flood washing away a riverbank, wind slowly wearing down a rock.
- Ask: does this change happen in minutes, hours or days (sudden) or over many years (slow)?
- An earthquake happens in seconds to minutes: sudden.
- A flood washing away a bank happens over hours or days: sudden.
- A river deepening a valley and wind wearing down rock take thousands of years: slow.
Answer: Sudden: the earthquake and the flood. Slow: the river wearing a valley and wind wearing down rock.
Shake test for buildings
Which kind of building is more likely to stay standing in an earthquake: tall and narrow, or low with a wide base?
- Build two towers from the same number of blocks on a tray or large book: one tall and narrow, one low with a wide base.
- Gently slide the tray back and forth on the table the same way and for the same time for both towers. This is your 'earthquake'.
- Repeat three times so the result is fair and reliable, and record what happens each time.
- The low, wide tower usually stays up. The tall, narrow tower usually topples first.
Answer: A wide base makes a building more stable in shaking. Real engineers also use strong frames, cross-bracing and flexible joints so buildings can sway without collapsing.
Make a family emergency plan
List what a family should prepare before a natural disaster.
- Find out which events could affect where you live, such as floods, storms, fires or earthquakes.
- Agree on a safe meeting place and how you will contact each other if you are separated.
- Pack an emergency kit: drinking water, food that keeps, a torch with spare batteries, a battery radio, a first aid kit, medicines, copies of important documents and pet supplies.
- Learn the warning signs and listen to official warnings. Leave early if you are told to evacuate.
Answer: A plan includes knowing local risks, a meeting place and contact plan, an emergency kit and following official warnings.
Practice check
Have a go, then check your answers. Each answer comes with an explanation.
Answer guide for parents
Earth's outer rocky layer is broken into huge, slowly moving pieces called…
Tectonic plates — Tectonic plates move a few centimetres each year.
What is melted rock called once it flows out of a volcano onto the surface?
Lava — Underground it is magma; on the surface it is lava.
An earthquake under the sea floor can cause…
A tsunami — A sudden movement of the sea floor pushes water up and starts tsunami waves.
Why is soil more easily washed away after a bushfire?
The plants whose roots held the soil have burnt — Without plants and their roots, bare soil is easily eroded by rain.
Which of these is a SLOW change to Earth's surface?
Wind gradually wearing down a rock over thousands of years — Weathering and erosion by wind usually take a very long time. The others happen suddenly.
What is hot, melted rock underneath Earth's surface called?
magma — Magma becomes lava when it reaches the surface.
The safety advice for an earthquake is 'Drop, Cover and ____ On'. What is the missing word?
Hold — Drop to the ground, take cover under a sturdy table and hold on until the shaking stops.
A huge spinning storm that forms over warm tropical oceans is called a tropical c________.
cyclone — Tropical cyclones are also called hurricanes or typhoons in some parts of the world.
Watch out for
- Many students think Earth's surface only changes slowly, or only changes suddenly. Both happen: slow weathering and erosion, and sudden events such as earthquakes and floods.
- Some think volcanoes are only destructive. Eruptions also build new land, and volcanic soil can become very fertile over time.
- Students may think the ground under them is completely still. Tectonic plates are always moving, just too slowly for us to notice.
Tips for parents
- Find out which natural hazards could affect your own area and make your family's emergency plan together.
- Keep discussions calm and practical. Focus on how preparation keeps people safe, especially if your child is worried about disasters in the news.
- Safety: during the block 'earthquake', keep faces back from falling blocks. If you try the bicarbonate of soda volcano, do it outdoors or on a tray, wear safety glasses, and remember the mixture is not for eating.
Go further
- Model eruption: in a small bottle on a tray, mix 2 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda, a squirt of dishwashing liquid and a few drops of red food colouring, then an adult pours in half a cup of vinegar. Discuss how this is a model: real eruptions are driven by heat and gas pressure, not a kitchen chemical reaction.
- Flood model: build a 'town' of small blocks next to a sand riverbank on a sloping tray, pour water down the river and see what gets eroded. Then add a 'levee' of sand and try again.
- Research one famous volcanic eruption or earthquake and explain how it changed the land and what people learnt from it.
About 50 minutes
You'll need
- Building blocks, dominoes or small boxes
- A tray or large book, and a table
- Sand or soil in a shallow tray, and a jug of water
- Paper and pencils for an emergency plan
- Optional (enrichment): bicarbonate of soda, vinegar, dishwashing liquid, red food colouring, a small bottle and a tray
Key words
- tectonic plates
- The huge, slowly moving pieces that Earth's outer rocky layer is broken into.
- earthquake
- A sudden shaking of the ground caused when rocks deep underground suddenly slip and move.
- magma
- Hot, melted rock beneath Earth's surface. When it comes out of a volcano it is called lava.
- tropical cyclone
- A huge, spinning storm with very strong winds and heavy rain that forms over warm tropical oceans. It is also called a hurricane or typhoon in some parts of the world.
- erosion
- The carrying away of soil and broken rock by water, wind or ice.
- evacuate
- To leave a dangerous place and move somewhere safer.
Still tricky?
For parents
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