Earthquakes and Volcanoes Unit Project
(70 points)
My group's topic is: ______________________________________________
This project is due on: ______________________________
Introduction
The surface of Earth is constantly changing. New material is formed as old material is
reincorporated into Earth's interior. The crust is broken into sections called plates which are constantly
moving. Earth's surface is further changed by volcanic and earthquake activity caused largely by the
motion of plates. These two natural disasters have had a large impact not only on what scientists know
about the interior of the Earth, but also on the way societies live their lives.
The Task
You are currently working for a historical society that is gathering information on specific areas
of the world that have experienced Earthquakes and volcanoes. Each group will be given a different
location to research, create a PowerPoint presentation, and present to the rest of the historical society.
Your PowerPoint presentation must be at least 11 (including the title page) slides in length and contain
the following information:
 Title page including the name of your country or volcano and the group members names.
 Location (map) – 5 points
 Height/type of volcano or magnitude of the Earthquakes – 5 points
 The number of deaths/impact on society/cause of deaths – 5 points
 Impact on surrounding environment/area – 5 points
 Which plate or fault line the location is near – 5 points
 2 pictures with captions (possibly before and after) – 10 points
 3 interesting facts described in length – 15 points
The Process
To successfully complete the project you will need to research your topic using accredited
websites and books. “Copy and pasting” from the internet will result in a ZERO on the project. Use
the following websites to help you in your research:
 http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
 http://www.scec.org/
 http://www.emsc-csem.org/#2
 http://earthquakefacts.net/
 http://www.livescience.com/volcanoes/
 http://volcanology.geol.ucsb.edu/
 http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/volcano-profile.html
The Presentation
Each group will present their PowerPoint to the rest of the historical society (10 points) in order
to gain further understanding of how both Earthquakes and volcanoes impact our land and the society's
that live on that land.
The Assessment
Each group must create a 5 question quiz/handout that the entire historical society must
complete during or at the end of the presentation. The quiz is worth 10 points for the group members;
however, any member of the historical society that fails to complete a quiz will lose 1 point for each
quiz that is not taken.