What Causes a ‘Volcano’ to Erupt and How Is It Different from an Earthquake?

Imagine a volcano like a giant soda bottle. When the pressure inside gets too high, poof, it explodes! A volcano erupts when molten rock (called lava) bursts out from underground. An earthquake, on the other hand, is like a shake in the ground caused by tectonic plates moving suddenly. They both come from the Earth's inside, but one shakes and the other explodes!

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Examples

A volcano is like a soda bottle that bursts when it’s full of fizz and pressure. An earthquake is like shaking the table under your glass.
When lava flows from a mountain, it's like a volcano exploding. When the ground shakes, it's like an earthquake happening.
Volcanoes are like fire inside mountains. Earthquakes are like tremors in the ground.

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Categories: Science · volcanoes,earthquakes,geology