Explain how volcanoes and mountains form through Earth processes such as plate movement, magma, and pressure over time.
Mountains and volcanoes both form from powerful Earth processes, but in different ways. Many mountains form when two of Earth's plates push against each other for a very long time, slowly folding and lifting solid rock upward, similar to how a rug bunches up if you push both ends toward the middle.
Volcanoes form differently: melted rock deep underground, called magma, is often less dense than the solid rock around it, so it works its way upward. If it finds a weak spot or crack in Earth's surface, it can erupt as lava, and repeated eruptions pile up layer after layer of hardened lava and ash, slowly building a volcanic mountain.
Mastery looks like: They can explain and compare two different mountain-forming processes: plate collision and folding, versus repeated volcanic eruption and layering.
Common stumbles: Assuming all mountains form the same way; forgetting that magma rises because it is less dense than surrounding rock, not because of pressure alone.