Viscosity means how easily a liquid can resist flowing. We did an experiment where we raced water and syrup down a piece of cardboard to see which had a higher viscosity. We found that water has a lower viscosity than syrup so the water got to the bottom quicker. We also learned that water has different viscosity at different temperatures.

We didn't have any lava to use for our experiment, but we found online that lava has a high viscosity at normal temperatures which means that it can't flow very easily. But, when it gets very hot during an eruption, the lava can move into all sorts of cool shapes. Check out these pictures that we found!

                                                                               lava cascade                                                                                                        lava dome

Pahoecoil  Pahoetoe

        A'a                                                                                                                                                                                Pahoehoe

pictures from http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Imgs/Jpg/Photoglossary/                                                                                   

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