C o m p lete Geo gr a p hy fo r C AM B RI D GE I GCSE

Chapter 3 Answers to additional questions

1 produce partial melting and volcanoes. This is
a Fig. 3.3 shows bare rock, cliffs and sharp peaks. shown in Fig. 3.13.
There is snow or ice (glaciers) on the lower c You would expect shearing stress to occur at a
slopes. Two main sharp ridges are shown in the conservative plate margin. The best-known
foreground, with others in the background. example of this is the San Andreas fault system
b Active volcanoes are located in belts along plate in California (Fig. 3.15). This causes earthquakes
boundaries – but not all plate boundaries. but not volcanoes.
 The ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’ includes the
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volcanoes in Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan,
a The main material being produced in Fig. 3.23 is
the Rockies, Mexico and the Andes.
ash. It is pulverised, solidified lava, which is
 There are volcanoes in the Mediterranean and
produced by highly explosive volcanoes. The
East Africa.
viscous, silica-rich lava blocks the vent. Pressure
 There are no volcanoes at the plate boundary
builds up beneath the blockage (helped by
in the Himalayas.
gases). The pressure is eventually released by a
 There are volcanoes away from plate
powerful explosive eruption.
boundaries in the Pacific Ocean (Hawaii) and
b The main hazards caused by volcanoes are: ash
Atlantic Ocean (the Canary Islands).
falls, pyroclastic flows, lateral blasts, mudflows
 There are volcanoes on the oceanic ridges,
(lahars), volcanic gases, acid rain, post-eruption
e.g. Iceland.
famine and disease, tsunami and lava flows.
c i The Earth is the third nearest planet in the
c i The depression at the top of a volcano is
solar system to the Sun.
the crater.
ii The outer layer of the Earth is called the crust.
ii A volcano which has not erupted for some
iii Fold mountains are long mountain ranges
time, but may erupt again in the future, is
formed by the compression and crumpling of
referred to as dormant.
rock layers.
iii A small volcanic cone growing on the side of a
iv The upper parts of the Earth’s surface, made
larger volcano is a parasitic cone.
up of the crust and the upper mantle, are
iv A volcano made from alternate layers of lava
called plates.
and ash is called a stratovolcano.
v The middle layer of the Earth, between the
v A cave, several kilometres across, which
crust and the core, is the mantle.
stores molten rock beneath a volcano is called
2 a magma chamber.
a Your diagram should look something like the
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cross-section through the Andes in Fig. 3.10.
a Things that can be done to reduce the risk from
b Deep within the Earth, heat is being produced by
volcanoes include:
radioactivity. At the hotter areas, the plastic rocks
 diverting lava flows
in the Earth’s mantle become lighter and rise –
 building mudflow barriers
causing convection currents. These convection
 improving building design (e.g. stronger roofs
currents drag the rigid plates above them –
to withstand ash falls)
causing them to move.
 monitoring volcanoes
c i A place where two plates converge and one is
 remote sensing
destroyed is called a destructive plate margin.
 hazard mapping and planning.
ii An island arc is a chain of islands in a crescent
b Fig. 3.24 shows a conical mountain with a lot of
shape, formed from volcanoes at a destructive
bare rock, cliffs, steep slopes, layers of rock (on
plate margin involving two oceanic plates.
the top left and the bottom), pale-coloured rock,
iii A long, narrow area of the ocean floor about
areas of snow or ice and wooded slopes in the
10 km deep, usually at a destructive plate
foreground (probably of coniferous trees).
margin, is called an ocean trench.
c The main advantages brought by volcanoes are:
3 geothermal power, fertile soils, the creation of
a i Converging arrows indicate compression. more land, tourism opportunities and minerals
ii Separating arrows indicate tension. like sulfur for mining.
b In the Andes, the continental plate (South
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American Plate) is colliding with an oceanic plate
a Fig. 3.29 shows Heimaey’s new coastline, the
(Nazca Plate). The thinner, denser oceanic plate
new volcano of Eldfell and the narrower harbour
plunges beneath the continental plate
entrance (making the harbour more enclosed).
(subduction). This causes partial melting of the
The foreground of Fig. 3.30 shows the lava flows
oceanic plate. The resulting magma rises and
from 1973 that threatened the harbour and
causes volcanoes. This is shown in Fig. 3.10.
covered previous buildings.
At the Himalayas, the collision is between two b Iceland is in the middle of the North Atlantic
continental plates (the Eurasian and Indian). Ocean. It’s on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is a
There is no subduction of an oceanic plate to constructive plate boundary.

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© Oxford University Press 2012
Chapter 3 Answers to additional questions C o m p lete Geo gr a p hy fo r C AM B RI D GE I GCSE

c  Beneath the ocean ridge there is a  Weak bedrock might cause the collapse of
concentration of heat deep in the Earth’s buildings.
mantle. This causes partial melting.  Bays on the coastline can concentrate the
 Small pockets of magma slowly collect and effects of tsunami.
rise towards the Earth’s surface.
b According to the Mercalli Scale, the types of
 When it reaches the surface, the magma cools
damage and effects caused by earthquakes
and solidifies to form new oceanic crust.
include: cars being disturbed (which might crash),
 The lava often flows out from long cracks
windows being broken (causing injury), loose
(fissures), so gently sloping shield
objects falling (causing injury), water, sewage and
volcanoes are built up, rather than conical
gas pipes fracturing (causing fires and disease),
stratovolcanoes.
landslides destroying houses and the intense
7 shaking collapsing other buildings (burying
a The reordered earthquake descriptions from the people). At level 12 on the Scale, no buildings are
Mercalli Scale should be as follows: left standing.

1 Vibrations like a lorry passing. Felt by people at rest. 9

a The earthquake at Sendai in Japan in March
2 Sleepers awakened. Some windows broken.
2011, according to the Richter Scale, was a
3 Difficult to stand up. People run outdoors. Walls crack. magnitude of 9.0.
4 Collapse of some buildings. Trees fall. b The causes of the March 2011 Japan earthquake
5 Landslides. Many buildings destroyed. are as follows:
 In Japan, the Pacific Plate is being subducted
6 Few buildings left standing. beneath the Eurasian Plate. However, these
7 Total damage. Ground surface rises and falls in waves. two plates do not always move at a constant
Objects thrown into the air. rate – they are often ‘stuck’ in one position.
 When this happens, stress builds up as the
b If buildings in earthquake zones have been plates continually try to move.
constructed on sands and clays, these materials  Eventually, there is a sudden movement along
can turn to liquid during earthquakes – causing a fault line as the plates break free – and the
the buildings to collapse. This is because the built-up energy is released. Vibrations then
shaking of the ground causes the water in the travel through the Earth as an earthquake or
sediments to separate out. seismic wave.
c i The point on the Earth’s surface directly above  When the earthquake occurred in March 2011,
an earthquake’s focus is called the epicentre. its focus was 32 km down in the subduction
ii The Richter Scale measures the total amount zone (about 130 km off the east coast of
of energy released by an earthquake. Japan).
iii A crack in the rocks of the Earth’s crust where c The scene in Fig. 3.38 is one of almost total
the rocks move and are displaced is called destruction – with most buildings crushed
a fault. and fragmented, so that they are no longer
iv The force per unit area acting on an object is recognizable as buildings. A few buildings are still
the stress. intact, but they might have been picked up and
v A tsunami is a large ocean wave produced moved by the wave (the single-storey building in
when there is movement or displacement of the middle of the photograph looks as if it may
the seabed due to an earthquake. have been moved). The building in the bottom
8 right corner of the photograph appears to have
a Some earthquakes are extremely destructive, little damage, but other sections of buildings are
while others are not, due to variations in the piled up against it.
following factors: d A tsunami is usually caused by an earthquake
 If the energy released (as measured by the that leads to a big displacement (movement) of
Richter Scale) is greater, there may be more the seabed. The wave gets bigger as it travels
destruction. into shallower water. It begins to move more
 If the depth of the focus beneath the surface slowly and the individual waves become more
is shallower, the effect will be greater. closely spaced and much higher.
 If the population density is greater in the
affected area, more people might be killed.
 If the buildings have not been built to
withstand earthquakes, more will collapse and
there will be more destruction and death (as
shown by the Haiti case study).

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© Oxford University Press 2012