What Makes a Volcano Erupt Violently?

A volcano erupts violently when pressure builds up inside it and then bursts out. Imagine a soda bottle, if you shake it up and pop the lid off, it sprays all over. A volcano is like that soda bottle. When gas and lava are trapped deep underground, they push really hard until boom! It explodes.

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Examples

A shaken soda bottle bursts when you pop off its lid, just like a volcano erupts when pressure builds up.
When you blow up a balloon and then let it go suddenly, it whistles loudly, similar to how a violent eruption sounds.
If you drop a rock into water, the splash depends on how hard you throw it, like how much energy is released in an eruption.

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Categories: Science · volcanology,earth science,geology