Consider the following:
- 1.Pyroclastic debris
- 2.Ash and dust
- 3.Nitrogen compounds
- 4.Sulphur compounds
How many of the above are products of volcanic eruptions?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) All four
An eruption brings out solid, liquid and gaseous material: lava, fragments of rock, fine ash and dust, and gases. The gases include nitrogen and sulphur compounds, so all four listed items are volcanic products.
- ✓ 1. Pyroclastic debris — rock fragments blown out by the explosion — is thrown out along with lava flows and volcanic bombs.
- ✓ 2. Fine ash and dust are ejected in eruptions and can spread over large areas.
- ✓ 3. Nitrogen compounds are among the gases released by volcanoes.
- ✓ 4. Sulphur compounds are also released as volcanic gases, alongside small amounts of chlorine, hydrogen and argon.
Remember · Volcanic output: lava, pyroclastic debris, volcanic bombs, ash and dust, and gases (nitrogen and sulphur compounds, minor chlorine, hydrogen, argon).
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Fundamentals of Physical Geography, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 11 · Fundamentals of Physical Geography, Chapter 3 “The material that reaches the ground includes lava flows, pyroclastic debris, volcanic bombs, ash and dust and gases such as nitrogen compounds, sulphur compounds and minor amounts of chlorene, hydrogen and argon.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·