Dear Stephen, I would like to know how I could experiment with how the eruption affects the shape of the volcano. Matt Dear Matt, Here are few ideas. The slope of the flank of the volcano is related to the size of the volcanic material. Larger pieces have steeper slopes.
Smaller pieces have gentler slopes.
You might visit a local stone quarry and buy gravel and sand of different sizes. Ask you students to make piles of the different size materials and measure the angles of the slopes. Plan on them making a mess. Pour an equal volume on a gently sloping board and measure the distance they travel. Relate their observations back to types of volcanoes.