Why Do Fools Fall in Lava? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius was the volcano that destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum among others, so it seems only fitting that we find the etymology of the word "lava" stems from its lava flows. The painting shown here was by artist Albert Bierstadt and titled "Mount Vesuvius at Midnight".

Answer: effusive eruption

Effusive eruptions are those in which lava flows from the volcano steadily as opposed to violently in one big explosive eruption. This type of eruption takes place when the magma within a volcano is able to allow the expulsion of gas from it instead of this gas building up. The magma then slowly spills onto the ground and creates lava flows like the one in the picture.

Answer: silicate

Two of the most common types of silicate minerals are quartz and feldspar, the latter of which is shown in the the photo. Silicate lavas are by far the most common type, composed of minerals from the Earth's crust. There are some unique types of lava, such as sulfur lava--a result of sulfur deposits being melted at extremely high temperatures--and olivine nephelinite lavas, which come from much deeper in the Earth than other lavas.

Answer: Yes

A'a lava formations move quickly across the ground, cooling more quickly than their counterparts. As the lava pushes itself more quickly than in other formations, exposure to the air cools it more quickly as well. When cooled, a'a lava flows tend to be rougher and more coarse as a result of the quicker cooling.

Answer: smooth, gentle slopes

Pahoehoe lava flows are the slow and steady type. They move gently, creating smoother surfaces as they cool. These lavas flows can often come from lava vents in the ground rather than a central volcanic cone. The word "pahoehoe" means "smooth, unbroken lava".

Answer: pillow lava

When encountering pillow lava, there are often several small lobes or "pillows" due to the nature of their formation. Lava is pushed to the surface and cooled, with a skin forming quickly. Since the skin has formed rapidly and the ocean waters are still quite cold, the lava can only fill a pillow a certain amount. Once that pillow is full, the lava breaks off and forms another pillow nearby, and this process continues until there are numerous clusters of lava pillows.

Answer: expanding gases

Bubbles and pockets of gas expand and dissolve as magma is rising from beneath the ground. As this takes place, pressure falls, causing the magma to gain momentum. These fountains have been observed to reach over 2000 m (6562 ft). The 1779 eruption of Mt. Vesuvius was believed to have reached 3000 m (9843 ft).

Answer: False

Lava lakes are most commonly formed when a previously-existing depression or crater is filled with lava, which has poured slowly into the hole. Sometimes the lava lake is created from underneath in which the lava digs upward and creates its own depression. Lava that has been launched into the air typically doesn't have the force necessary to create its own crater upon impact.

Answer: toes

Lava toes can be bulbous and look like human toes, though the term also applies to nodules that look nothing like the body part. Lava that forms lava toes is usually too slow to do damage to humans that can run away from it, but if a stationary object such as a house happens to be in the way, there is no sparing it.

Answer: cryolava

Cryolava comes from cryovolcanoes, which are sometimes referred to as "ice volcanoes". These special volcanoes don't exist on Earth since the planet is too warm. Though the only confirmed existence of cryovolcanoes in our Solar System is on Saturn's moon Enceladus, scientists at NASA believe there could be cryovolcanoes on Triton (Neptune), Titan (Saturn), and now Pluto.

When cryolava is erupted from a cryovolcano, it is believed to be in liquid and vapour form, but quickly condenses into small clouds of solids (ice) as the temperature on the surface of these planets is incredibly cold.