Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2023 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

UNDERSEA SNEEZERS You don’t need a nose to sneeze. That’s what scientists learned when they spied on sponges in the ocean. Sponges are squishy and look sort of like rocks or sticks. But they’re really animals. They eat tiny bits of food from the water that flows through the holes in their bodies. Some unwanted bits end up inside the sponges, too. The sponges remove the junk with mucus. The mucus flows out of the sponge, sort of like a drippy nose. After mucus blobs have built up on the outside of the sponge, it squeezes its body to push the blobs into the ocean. This “sneeze” is slower than yours. But it gets the job done—no tissue needed. MAGPIES OUTSMART MAGPIE RESEARCHERS Australian magpies are big, black-and-white birds. They…

What is sulfur? Sulfur is an element, one of the basic building blocks of the universe. In its pure form, sulfur is a soft, bright yellow rock. All living things need sulfur. And volcanoes replenish our supply. Some sulfur compounds can kill bacteria, mold, and insects. Before modern antibiotics, doctors sprinkled wounds with sulfur powder to stop infections. Sulfur is still used to cure fungal infections and preserve fruit. Sulfur likes to pair up with other elements. It is found in many kinds of rock. In volcanoes, it forms smelly sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide gases. Coal and oil also contain sulfur. The sulfur needs to be removed before these fuels are burned, to prevent acid rain. Some of the sulfur removed from oil is used to make sulfuric acid.…

When a volcano erupts, it belches out clouds of ash, rock, and hot gases, as well as lava. Volcanoes are often found at the edges of tectonic plates, the huge, slow-moving slabs of rock that form Earth’s crust. Many erupt under the ocean. Earth’s surface, where we live, is rock a few miles thick. But under this hard crust, the earth is super hot. A few miles down, heat from gravity and radioactive decay melts rock into magma. Heat from the core keeps the magma layers melted and churning, like a boiling pot. Volcanoes are places where hot magma pushes up and flows out, forming a mountain. There are more than 1500 active volcanoes on Earth. They come in different shapes and sizes, and erupt in different ways. Some ooze…

No one could explain why the Pacific rim had so many volcanoes and earthquakes until the 1960s, when scientists discovered that Earth’s surface is made up of continent-sized rocky plates that drift slowly around. All those volcanoes ring the edge of a huge plate of rock that forms the floor of the Pacific Ocean. The Big Crunch Most of the drama of the Ring of Fire happens deep underwater, as the Pacific plate crunches against the other plates around its edges. The Pacific plate is denser and heavier than those around it. As it pushes against them, its edges slide underneath. But the jagged edges of continental plates don’t slide smoothly. Instead, they build up pressure and then suddenly snap, like a stuck door that finally gives way. The snap,…

Send your letters to Ask, 1 East Erie Street, Suite 525, PMB4136, Chicago, IL 60611, or have your parent/guardian email us at ask@cricketmedia.com. Dear Whatson, What is your favorite book? (If you have one. I don’t.) I love books so much I can’t decide! My favorite dessert is cake. We had one last night! It was chocolate with whipped cream and raspberries on it. What is your favorite dessert?Curiously, Calliope, age 8, Vermont Dear Calliope, People always ask me what my favorite book is, but like you, I don’t have an answer. Each is perfect in its own way. Rather like cakes. And if you have a book and cake, that’s twice as perfect. I like worms on mine—it’s a mole thing.Regards, Whatson Dear Marvin, I like pranks too! I…