Science Lesson Activity- Volcano

I was wondering if you could give me some feedback. Do you think this is a good "Activity before Content" for my lesson?

Magma Flow: How does the temperature affect the movement of magma?

Read the directions and what is required during this explore, and make a prediction about the outcomes.

1) Fill the teaspoon with margarine

2) Put the margarine into the baby-food jar

3) Hold the jar in your hand and turn on its side

4) Observe movement of the margarine

5) Fill bowl halfway with warm water

6) Set the baby-food jar in the warm water

7) Pick up jar and turn on its side after three minutes

8) Again, Observe the movement by the margarine

Explain what you observed during the activity. What was different about what you predicted and what you observed?

What the students will observe is that the margarine did not move when the jar was first tilted. After it was warmed up, the margarine was able to move more freely. This happens because the molecules in the butter had more energy. Warm molecules move away from each other. This causes solids to melt and liquids to thin. This is the same as the temperature of magma. The warmer the magma is, the faster it moves up through the volcano’s vent ( channel of a volcano that connects the source of magma to the volcano’s opening).