Science in the Classroom

To see 4KM and 4KJ's post...

SMOOTH MOVES

Hello 4KM and 4KJ,

After reading your post and watching your video presentations on Smooth Moves, I was fascinated. Science is one of my favourite subjects so I decided to search for more information on your topic.

Science talks about hypotheses and theories but words such as theory can be confusing for members of the public. On a different blog, I wrote about ideas, hypotheses and theories. Here's a link...

What is science? Looking at ideas, hypotheses and theories.

Just what are motion, force, friction, push, pull, gravity, and momentum?

(Definitions are all sourced through The Concise Macquarie Dictionary, Macquarie University, 1982 ISBN:  0 86824 109 1)

Motion

Definition: The process of moving, or changing place, or position.

Motion seems simple. An object goes from one place to another but I will give you something to consider.

A man is looking out a window when he sees a building pass by very quickly. Was the building moving?

I think most of us would say the man must have been moving because buildings don't pass windows. Look at the next.

A man is looking out of his window when he sees a bird pass the window. Was the bird or man moving?

This isn't as easy as it seems. Do you know why?

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Force

Definition: strength or power exerted upon an object.

Force is anything acting on an object. It can be pushing, pulling, gravity, a ball hitting you or even mum and dad telling you to do your homework or else. 🙂

Look at the picture below...

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Franz Joseph Glacier, New Zealand

This photo shows New Zealand's Franz Joseph Glacier. In colder, wetter times, the glacier gets bigger. The force of the moving ice pushes rocks down the valley. In the photo, you can see a boy standing on a rock ledge is standing on a curved groove rubbed into the stone cliff by the moving ice and rock. Can you imagine the force needed to push rocks together like this?

Friction

Definition:the resistance to the relative motion of surfaces of bodies in contact.

When two surfaces move over each other you can have friction. Rub your hands hard together and you will hear them rub and feel the warmth the friction between your two hands causes. When friction is high, two objects have more difficulty moving along each other's surfaces. It takes more force to make them move. When friction is low, two surfaces can move easily across each other. Look at these examples and decide which has high friction and which has low.

An ice skater's skates glide across the icy surface. Is friction high or low?

You rub your hand across rough sandpaper. Is friction high or low?

What about extreme examples in nature? Earthquakes also result from a friction reaction. Two great masses of rock push along each. They can become locked together not moving until force builds up enough to break the hold. The You Tube clip below discusses earthquakes.

 

This video is an embedded You Tube clip and is not my work.

Push

Definition: to exert force upon or against a thing in order to move it away.

Pushing is something you well understand. We use force to move things away from us. Which of these is an example of push?

1) Playing a game of tug-of-war.

2) Helping someone sitting on a swing move.

Pull

Definition: to haul or draw towards oneself or itself.

Whereas pushing moves things away from us, pulling moves them towards us. Which of the following is an example of pull?

1) Playing a game of tug-of-war.

2) Helping someone sitting on a swing move.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Gravity

Definition: the force of attraction by which terrestrial bodies tend to fall towards the centre of the earth.

I wasn't completely happy with the definition for gravity I found in my dictionary. All objects could be said to have gravity, even us, but it's the larger bodies that are large enough to have a big gravitational effect on us. This means gravity is different on different planets because they are different sizes and masses. If you were to stand on the Moon, you would weigh about one sixth your weight on Earth.

If you were able to stand on the Moon without a spacesuit, would you be able to jump higher and further than on Earth?

Here is a link to a site where you can find what you would weigh if you were able to stand on other planets, the Moon or our sun.

Your weight on other planets, the Sun and the Moon

Did you know gravity changes, and therefore your weight, the further you move away from the centre of our Earth? Someone standing on the top of Mount Everest would be a small amount lighter than the same person standing on a beach beside the sea.

Look at the below photo taken many years ago...

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

It's gravity allowing us to go down a slide but we don't go too fast because friction helps to slow us. The friction comes from us sitting and you can see the boys also using their hands to slow themelves. Without any friction as we sit on the slide, what might happen?

Momentum

Definition: the quantity of motion of a moving body, equal to the product of its mass and velocity.

Momentum is what we have when moving. Unless something acts on us, we will keep moving in the same direction. On the slide photo above, friction slows the momentum of the students.

To work out our momentum, you multiply our mass by our velocity (speed). This means the bigger our mass and/or speed, the higher our momentum and the more force is needed to stop us. This is why large semi-trailers take longer to stop than small cars or why a faster car takes longer to stop than a slower car.

In 2007, Queensland ran a TV commercial about stopping distances for cars. In each case, the car is the same but the speeds (velocities) are different. Watch the video below then see if you can answer the question...

This video is an embedded You Tube clip and is not my work.

Did the different speeds (velocities) of the car make a difference to how long it took the car to stop?

Did you know if you were in space away from the Earth and Moon and were able to use a spray can, the spray coming out of the can would start you moving? If nothing such as gravity or friction acted on you, you would continue in that direction and not stop.

Voyager I and II spacecraft were launched into space back in 1977. Their course took them out beyond all of the planets in our solar system. They will continue in the directions they were sent unless something stops them. This means their journey might last hundreds or many thousands of years. What a journey!

The link below shows you how far from Earth Voyager I and II now are. You will see the distances changing as you watch because they are moving very quickly. Voyager I is now over 18,000,000,000 (18 billion) kilometres from Earth.

How far from Earth are Voyager 1 and Voyager 2?

Now for a Little Science Fun

Schools and students have permission to use this video clip for non-commercial, educational purposes.

 After making this movie clip, Professor Flurfflefinger disappeared. Some believe he never really existed and the movie clip was a prank. Others believe he accidentally turned his anti-gravity on himself and is floating somewhere out in space. Still more believe real scientists laughed at his ideas so he now is in hiding promising to never talk about science again.

Do you think his demonstrations are real or fake? Why?

 

For the original post from Mrs. Yollis and class...

Biographical Bonanza

Dear Mrs. Yollis and Class,

I may not have been born in the United States but I thank it for taking me in as one of its own when I needed to escape the persecution by the Nazis in Germany in 1933. Germany had been the place of my birth in 1879 but living as a member of the Jewish faith, although I wasn’t particularly religious, was enough for my ideas to be condemned by the Nazis.

I must admit my early life was less than inspiring. I didn’t start speaking until I had turned two but even then I had a curious mind. When I was four my father gave me a compass. As I saw the needle always point north, I wondered why this would be so. This was perhaps what started my interest in mathematics and science.

Perhaps two of my most remembered works were my Theory of Special Relativity and my equation...

E=mc2   (Energy (E) = mass (m) x (the speed of light) squared

What is relativity? If you think of two cars doing the same speed, in the same direction, along a freeway, passengers in each car would see the others not moving but a person standing on the side of the road would see both pass quickly. Relative to each person in the cars, there is no movement. Relative to the person on the side of the road, there is movement.

Have you noticed when you’re inside your cars on a freeway nothing inside appears to be moving yet the scenery outside the car is speeding by?

My journey in mathematics and science started when I was quite young. Will any of you take up the challenge?

Albert Einstein

(Wikipedia Reference: Albert Einstein )

 

This image is in the public domain and was sourced through Wikimedia Commons.

This was a very early blog comment post on another blog. It has been transferred to this blog.

I thought I had better blog the comment on "SPLASH (Water related theme)" as this would allow me to add some photos I've taken as well...

What is water? It's a compound made of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. It can be made when hydrogen and oxygen are together and are sparked. The two gases explode in their reaction and water is produced. This can happen when lightning passes through the atmosphere or can be done in a lab (but is very dangerous).

Water is important to life.

We drink it

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We swim in it

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We boat and kayak in it

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Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia

We surf and sailboard in it

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Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia

We jump and dive in it

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Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia

Many animals rely on it for food and habitat

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Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia

 

Our problem is, most water in the world isn't suitable for drinking. It can be polluted or too salty yet most of the world's surface is covered in water.

This is why The Water Cycle is so important to us. When studying water, The Water Cycle shows us how water can move through the environment. Water EVAPORATES into water vapour and rises up into the air. As it cools, it forms into droplets. The droplets combine and when large enough fall as rain, now free of salt or pollutants.

You could try a simple experiment to see how The Water Cycle works...

You will need
two saucepans
a hot plate
water
ice

Method
An adult should always help when dealing with hot plates.
1. Put water in one saucepan and place it on hot plate to boil.
2. Put ice in the second saucepan.
3. Hold the saucepan with the ice above the saucepan on the hot plate when the hot plate pan has boiled.
4. Watch underneath the saucepan with ice and report what happens.

Beautiful

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Location: Yabba Creek, Imbil, Queensland, Australia

Serene

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Location: Rock Pool at Koondalilla Falls, Queensland, Australia

Powerful

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Location: Bournda Beach, N.S.W., Australia

Salt water

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Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia

Fresh water

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Location: Bega River, Bega, N.S.W., Australia

Such a simple compound, yet so important. If it's no longer there...

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Location: North Tura Beach, N.S.W., Australia

Possible things to study....

The Water Cycle
How can we filter dirty water?
Keeping it clean. (looking at ways to reduce pollution)
Pond life. (looking at plant and animal life in ponds or streams)
States of Matter. (looking at water in its forms as solid, liquid and gas and the effects of temperature. Did you know water boils at a different temperature the higher you are?)
Surface Tension. (looking at the effects of detergent on water surfaces.)

 

 

• 10 Comments

Dear Heather and Keira,

I never know when a post or comment from a student or class might prompt an extended comment. Something written makes me recall some information I have read or seen over the years and before long I find a comment growing longer or I want to include photos, videos, audio or links.

In the "How did the Earth begin?", the challenge was one I thought I could meet. Being keen on science and many other things, I had been following theories on the origin of the Earth and the universe. Once I have an idea for a post, I research my facts to try to make certain my thoughts are on the right track then start writing the post. I knew "How did the Earth begin?" would be a longer post because there is much to consider.

Geocentric is a term used to describe the belief the Earth is the centre of the universe and all planets, stars including our sun, and the moon orbit us. From research, I have found many people still believe in geocentrism today. For some, it may be a religious decision, others a firm belief they believe science can support, and for others it's more a matter of not knowing any other way.

We do live on the crust of the Earth. It's the solid part that is our land and the bottom of oceans and seas. Compared to the rest of our planet, it is very thin but I wouldn't have it any other way. If you cut an apple in half, you can see the thin skin (like the Earth's crust) covering the rest of the apple down to its core.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

The inner core is thought to be very hot but solid iron hotter than the surface of the sun. It's pressure keeping it solid. The outer core is still mostly iron but it is liquid and flows around the inner core. Remember, the Earth turns on its axis and this causes the spin and also gives us night and day. Think of stirring a drink. You can see the liquid moving around as you stir.

It's this movement of the outer core that gives our planet a magnetic field and protects us from much of the sun's dangerous radiation. Mars doesn't have this activity so has a weak field. Even if there was air to breath on Mars, we would probably still need special clothing to protect us.

The mantle is semi-liquid and is basically moving hot rock (magma).

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

The mantle movement is known as convection. We can see this effect in boiling water. Below is a video clip I prepared for you. To see the movement of the water, some rice grains were dropped into the water. You can see them move to the side being heated, rise with the heated water then sink back down as the water cools a little. The same thing happens in the mantle. The hot rock (magma) sinks down as it cools a little, is heated near the outer core and rises again. There are many of these convection currents in the mantle not just one big one.

Schools and students have permission to use this video clip for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Sometimes this movement of the magma brings magma to the surface and it flows out as lava. I was on Hawaii (The Big Island) a number of years ago and took a helicopter ride over the Kilaeua and along the coast. Look in the photo below and you see see the lava pouring out into the sea. Kilaeua has had a very active period.

The photo is a scan of an old 35mm slide so the quality isn't the best.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Kilaeua, Hawaii, U.S.A.

Curiosity is a great gift. It's something still driving me to explore new ideas and things. I can see you both have curiosity. I wonder what great discoveries and learning is ahead for you? 🙂

• 7 Comments

Click below for link back to Mrs. Yollis and her class's original post...

Science Stop: A Colorful Science Lesson

Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,

Science is one of my favourite subjects. Okay, you probably know just about any school subject is a favourite of mine. It comes from being interested in so many things but science (zoology) was my study at university before I trained as a primary (elementary) teacher.

Light is fascinating. Light is a form of energy. Our very bodies have energy down to the atoms making us up. It’s the way our senses interact with the energy that allows us to see, feel, touch, taste and hear.

At first I was wondering if the students might try to trick you by using chemicals to make unexpected colour changes. Here’s a You Tube link to show how this might be done.

I can see they were very careful about their demonstrations so you were able to predict what colours would result.

Below is a colour diagram I created for you. There are three primary colours in light (red, blue and yellow). Mix equally any two primary colours and you will get a secondary colour (purple, orange and green).  Mixing different amounts of primary or secondary colours can make all of the colours we see. Black is the absence of light whereas white light has all three primaries (which is why a prism can refract white light to show colours and we see rainbows when water droplets refract sunlight).

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

We use our eyes to see but do we all see the same? I suspect, being individuals with our own eyes, we don’t see colours in exactly the same way as others. I think there are slight differences but we learn what we see is red or blue, etc. If you could see through someone else’s eyes, the world might look a little different. What do you think?

I heard you all say light travels in a straight line. I don’t say light travels in a straight line. I say something a little different if asked…

Light travels in as straight a line as space allows.

The idea comes from Albert Einstein and his general theory of relativity (big words to explain how things work).

Have you heard of gravity? If we jump up, we are pulled back down by gravity. If you could jump high enough, the Earth’s gravity wouldn’t be able to pull you down but it would have to be a massive jump. Einstein’s theory tells us space is warped (bent out of shape) by gravity. While light travels in straight lines, the “lines” in space are bent.

Does that sound weird? I know it can be hard to get our minds around so I used a striped shirt and a round rock (geode) from my rock collection. Look at the picture below.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Can you see how the stripes on the shirt are pulled inwards and the shirt has bent down under the weight of the rock? If light was the stripes, it would travel in a straight line but space is warped (“bent”). We know this is true because, in a total solar eclipse (where the moon blocks the sun), we can see stars slightly behind the sun. The sun’s gravity has “bent” space so light appears bent.

I know the idea is hard to understand but it’s one of those fascinating things about our world. I’m not an expert in science but have fun thinking about it. I always hope I get my facts correct. 🙂

Have a great winter break. I look forward to your shared learning adventures in 2013.

@RossMannell

Teacher (retired), N.S.W., Australia

To see 6D's original post...

Creative Science

Hello 6D,

The chatterboxes look brilliant. I must say I have never thought of using them this way but it's a great way of reinforcing ideas and facts.

When at university, one of my majors was in zoology, the study of animals. We were often looking at the interdependence and adaptations in species so your post started me thinking and that can mean an extended comment is on the way.

Interdependence...

This is an important issue when we look at ecosystems, especially when we look at the way human activity can interfere with systems. What may seem an unimportant plant or animal species may be an essential part of the ecosystem. If it disappears, there may be a flow on effect where more species die out. Here’s a hypothetical example...

Mosquitoes can be a problem so some have proposed spraying to kill them off. Now, suppose there are tadpoles that rely on their larvae for food and spiders that rely on capturing mosquitoes in their web. Further along the food chain, there are snakes that rely on the frogs as food and small birds relying on mosquitoes. Higher still in the food chain, there are birds relying on capturing snakes and small insect eating birds. You see, the interdependence of these species mean the loss of mosquitoes can also cause the loss of other species. Here is a clip on food chains, food webs and energy pyramids…

This is why modern societies carry out environmental impact statements. Scientists hope to be able to identify the harm to species and the environment by the changes proposed. It was a study like this that changed the plans for the development of tennis courts for Sydney’s 2000 Olympic Games.

The green and golden bell frog was rare in Sydney and had disappeared from as much as 90% of its original range but a colony had been found in an old brickpit in the Olympic district. The discovery meant changing the plans so the frog could be protected. They are now thriving in this small area. A link about the frog…

Wikipedia frog information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_and_Golden_Bell_Frog

 A video of the Olympic Park Brickpit Walk:

Adaptation...

Have you ever heard someone say no two people are exactly alike, even identical twins? It’s these differences that can become important. Two animals of the same species may have slight differences. One may be a little faster or better able to catch prey. When times are good and there is plenty of food, there may be no advantage but if there is an increase in predators or less food, the faster, better hunter is more likely to survive and pass on their advantage to their young.

One of my favourite examples is a moth known as the peppered moth in England. They came in two main forms, white-bodied and black-bodied.

The light-bodied form was the most common because its dappled colour better blended into the lichens and bark on trees so fewer were taken by birds but the Industrial Revolution changed this when more and more soot from burning coal settled of everything. The black-bodied forms became more common because the darker moths were then harder to see. Now, with better environmental standards, the white-bodied moth has again become more common.

Wikipedia peppered moth information...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppered_moth_evolution

 A video about the peppered moth

 

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

There's an old saying, "Extinction is forever."

It's up to us to try to protect what we can.

@RossMannell

Teacher (retired), N.S.W., Australia

• 2 Comments

To view Global Grade 3′s original post, click below…

Global Grade 3

The following photos were taken because if a promise in a comment I left.

Hello Global Grade 3,

I promised to photograph and share fossils in my rock collection so here they are. There is nothing too spectacular, not even a single dinosaur although I have something connected to them. You'll find some links on the names of the samples if you want to find out more.

Ammonite

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Ammonite this time it has been cut to show the inside,

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DInosaur coprolite from U.S.A.. Coprolites are fossilised animal droppings.

 Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Fossilised leaf. I gathered this at a rock fall. I found it when out hiking.

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Petrified wood.

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More petrified wood.

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 Trilobite

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 Trilobite

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Kauri wood. This is not a fossil. A kauri log was found in a swamp in New Zealand. It was tested and found to be around 44,500 years old but looks as though it was freshly cut. The quality of the wood and the lack of oxygen in the swampy waters probably protected it.

 

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Shell. This is also not a fossil. The shell was found in a quarry in South Australia. The rocks are thought to be about 30,000 years old.

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Another shell from the same rock deposit.

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Tree fossil. It seems to have come from rock about 220 million years old. If you can see the blacker colour on the front of this fossil, that's coal formed from the original tree. I suspect the tree was covered perhaps because of flood. In time the wood was replaced by minerals. You can see it's reasonably large.

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• 1 Comment

Links to school blog's I visited for the annual International Dot Day (September 15) promoting creativity. Each shared their wonderful dot creations...

Phoenix School on Facebook

A teacher and class in New Zealand

Mrs. Yollis and Class

Class One, Norbridge

Mrs. Ranney and Class

Hello Phoenix School,

"What other materials have I seen used to create dots?" Your question had me thinking where dots exist in nature and the things we do. I'll share a few things...

Firstly, I decided to create a dot design to join in the fun of International Dot Day even if I was a little late to take part on the day. Here is a video clip I made of what resulted.

Schools and students have permission to use this video clip for non-commercial, educational purposes.

How was this done?

Many of you have probably tried folding a piece of paper, cutting out little sections then opening it out to see the pattern. This is how the basic pattern was created. I then scanned the pattern and started working in Photoshop. I copied and pasted the pattern to create a 9 dot design, then 81 dot, next 729 and finally 6,561 dots. To make the video clip, I loaded the patterns in reverse order so the many dots slowly became one.

Have you heard of an art style called pointillism?

Pointillism is an art form where artists use small spots of distinct colours. International Dot Day made me think about this style. Here is a Wikipedia link with information on pointillism...

Pointillism

With pointillism in mind, I again turned to Photoshop. This time I used a photo I had taken of an animal in a local animal sanctuary named, Potoroo Palace. To view this video clip, it's best viewed in full screen. The video shows you where to click to go to full screen.

Can you guess the animal in the photo? At first the dots are large but they become smaller and the animal is easier to see...

Schools and students have permission to use this video clip for non-commercial, educational purposes.

How was this done?

As I mentioned, I started with a photo I had taken. It was loaded into Photoshop. One filter available in Filters under Pixillate is named Pointillise (I use the Australian English spelling in this text). With the photo loaded, I selected this filter then set the size of the dots. I created five dot forms in all. The first you see had 100 pixel size, then next 50 then 25 the 12 and finally 5 pixel size. The last image you see is the original photo.

Did you know the computer screen you are looking at uses small dots?

If you were to use a strong magnifying glass to look at the computer screen, you would see small dots. As in pointillism, small dots of different colours placed close together combine to make the colour look different, e.g red with blue makes purple. Mixing different colour dots in lighter and darker shades can make them appear as a huge number of different colours. This is also true of photos we take using a digital camera. Below is  video showing what happens when you zoom in on the first dot creation in your class slideshow, Anya's beautiful creation...

Artwork creator: Anya of Phoenix School

Schools and students have permission to use this video clip for non-commercial, educational purposes.

How was this done?

With a screen capture of Anya's artwork, I was able to load her creation into Photoshop. I adjusted the view zoom. With each step, I performed another screen capture of what resulted. As you can see, by the final zoom, only one pixel appears and it is only one colour.

Did you know our eyes, in a way, see only dots of light?

When light travels into our eyes, the lens in our eye focuses the light on the retina at the back of the eye. In our eye we have two types of light sensitive cells, the rods and cones. If stimulated by light, each cell sends a message the brain. The brain is able to piece together the information coming in so we believe we are seeing something. That's pretty amazing dot work. Here is link with some information on the eye...

How the Eye Works

Was there dot painting before pointillism?

I am sure dot painting has appeared in a number of cultures throughout history but its appearance in different Aboriginal cultures within Australia interests me. They used, and are using, traditional designs in their artwork. Here is a link to one collection...

Papunya Collection

The Aboriginal people used earth colours in their traditional art, although modern forms use modern paints with many more colours. This is a style of painting I have used with classes over the years. One of our best works was painted on a piece of board measuring about 3' x 2' (90cm x 60cm). I prepared the board by at first giving it a coat of dark red. Many of my class took turns helping me add 100s of small dots until the pattern was complete. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo or the final product. I left it with a school about 15 years ago.

To finish off this post, I have an unusual way of creating a dot pattern. Take a large number of people dressed in assorted colours. Show them where to stand and how to move. Film them from above and you have living dot art. Here is a link to a 1990 British Airways ad using this technique...

This video clip is not mine. It appears on You Tube only.

• 3 Comments

Here is a link to the original post…

http://passtheblog.creativeblogs.net/2012/07/25/our-wonderings/

 

NASA is always a good source of information on space.

I enjoyed reading your questions so much I thought  I would try to find some answers for you. I hope most if not all help but I’m not an expert in astronomy just someone interested in many things. I may update this post as I have time or if someone points out an error I've missed.

 

OUR WONDERINGS

 

How many times could you fit earth on the biggest planet Jupiter? You can fit 1000 earths on Jupiter-Jake

Here is a link to a site allowing you to compare the diameter of planets. Choose your planets then click on “COMPARE” to see. According to this site, Jupiter has a diameter 11.1 times that of Earth, i.e. it would take 11.1 Earths to reach from one side to the other through the middle of Jupiter.

http://sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/messenger/psc/PlanetSize.html

This site compares Earth to Jupiter. You will see Jupiter has a volume 1321 times that of the Earth. That is it would take around 1321 Earths to match the volume.

http://www.universetoday.com/22710/jupiter-compared-to-earth/

In the future could scientists invent a robot that could survive the winds of Neptune or land on the sun?

 That would be something very hard to do. The pressures on the giant planets would quickly crush anything we could currently make. Science fiction stories talk of future attempts to go deep into one of the giants. Maybe one day we might be able to probe deeper.

Did you know in 2003, NASA deliberately sent the Galileo craft into the atmosphere of Jupiter? It was crushed by the pressure. Here is a link from NASA…

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/galileo/

When looking at Sol, our sun, we are talking about incredible heat and pressure. Did you know stars have “life” cycles. They burn their fuel but eventually run out and cool. While they might end up solid, they would still have incredible mass. Here is a link about stars…

http://www.seasky.org/celestial-objects/stars.html

How do astronauts live on spaceships when they are travelling through space?

The earliest astronauts and cosmonauts (Russian astronauts) relied on their space suits to survive. By the time of the Apollo missions to the Moon, the capsules had oxygen supplies so astronauts could remove their helmets but still had to keep the suits on in case of an emergency. Here is a link about the Apollo missions…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_program

These days, the International Space Station allows much greater comfort for astronauts. Here is a link from NASA…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_program

Why does Saturn have so many rings? -Mia   Nobody knows why Saturn has rings but they do know that Saturn's rings are 400,000 kilometres wide. That’s the length from earth to the moon-Jake

It has been suggested the rings could be the debris of a large icy moon that lost its icy shell before crashing into Saturn. Here is a wiki link looking at Saturn and its rings…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Saturn

How do the planets stay where they are? Kaelen. It is all in the way the gravity holds them up but the planets are slowly moving but it is so slow you would think that are stiff.-Billy

Billy has the right idea. It’s the gravitational pull of the sun holding the planets in place just as Earth’s gravity stops us from floating off into space. Here is a link…

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/solar-system

When our solar system was estimated to have started to form about 4.568 billion years ago, the planets and moons were thought to have formed from a solar nebula (cloud of dust a gas) left over from the formation of our sun. It’s thought they formed by accretion. Accretion is where dust or other particles join together. In these very early years, there would have been very many collisions where masses joined to form larger ones. Here is a wiki link about the formation and evolution of our solar system…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formation_and_evolution_of_the_Solar_System

Did you know it is thought our Moon was formed when two of these large masses collided? The debris thrown off in the collision became our Moon. Our Earth was a combination of the two large masses. Here is a link…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_impact_hypothesis

Is there intelligent life on other planets?

I love this question as it’s the same I asked when your age. It is said there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all of the beaches on Earth. We are talking huge numbers of stars out there. I have no doubt many would have planets around them and some planets would be in the Goldilocks Zone.

I like that term. The Goldilocks Zone is the position around a star where it’s not too hot and not too cold for a planet to be capable of supporting life/.

One of my favourite astronomers was a man named Carl Sagan. He was asked this very question. He said with all of the stars in the universe, if Earth held the only life, it would “sure seem like an awful waste of space.”

There is little chance of intelligent life on other planets in our solar system but there is a chance of simple life on Mars or perhaps in the possible water layer of Jupiter’s moon, Europa. Here is a link to information on Europa…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_%28moon%29

Intelligent life? I would like to think we aren’t the only beings in the universe to ask questions like yours. If we were, Carl Sagan would again be correct. What a waste of space.

Remember, even the closest star outside our Solar System, Proxima Centauri, is 4.22 light years distant. A light year is the distance travelled by light in one Earth year. One light year is around 9,460,530,000,000 kilometres. If you were able to drive you family car at 100 kph, it would take you 9,460,530,000 years and that’s to the nearest star. Wiki link on the light year…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-year

Why does saturn have so many rings?-Anahera

Go to the link I provided Mia…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Saturn

Where is the end and beginning of space?  Bridget

Now there’s a hard question. As we exist in the universe, there is no way for us to know what may be beyond the edge of our universe. I have read if we were to travel in space in a straight line for long enough, we would eventually arrive back where we started. In that sense, space would have no beginning or end.

Do any people live in space? -Laura

Men from NASA -http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/home/F_Living_in_Space.html lived in space and said that it was very different from living on Earth. Our bodies change in space. –Michaela

Well done, Michaela. There are people on the International Space Station who spend time living in space. Michaela is also correct about our bodies changing. Here is a wiki link looking at the changes we face in space…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_spaceflight_on_the_human_body

With water having been found on our Moon, we may one day be able to live there but we need to find more water. Here is a NASA link about water on the Moon…

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2162505/More-water-moon-NASA-finds-mile-deep-crater-ice-scattered-quarter-surface.html

Are there any ALIENS in space?-Laura

Alien simply means not born or belonging to here. Our search is on to find life on another planet, our best bet being Mars. All we need to do is find one simple life form, even a bacteria, on Mars to show life exists other than on Earth. Here is a link on NASA’s quest…

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/programmissions/overview/

If you mean like in the movies, we have no proof of life such as this but there are those on our planet who claim to have seen or been taken by aliens. I’m more from the science side of thought and would like to see definite proof.

I go back to an answer above… One of my favourite astronomers was a man named Carl Sagan. He was asked this very question. He said with all of the stars in the universe, if Earth held the only life, it would “sure seem like an awful waste of space.”

Is there any grass on the planets in space?-Laura

Grass is life just as animals and other plants are. We have no evidence of life on other planets as yet but there is a good chance of life on other planets because of how many there are thought to be.

Did you know grasses are thought to only have appeared towards the end of the Age of Dinosaurs? If we go back in time to early Earth, you would find it had no life. Doesn’t that make you wonder what the first life was like?

Abiogenesis is the study of how the first life might arise. Here is a link…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abiogenesis

How was space created?-Laura

One of the leading theories of how space was created is The Big Bang Theory (no the television show). It is thought the universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state known as a singularity then rapidly expanded and cooled. This might have been as much as 13.7 billion years ago. As the energy from the singularity cooled, subatomic particles formed and eventually joined to form the first and simplest element, hydrogen with some traces of helium and lithium. Clouds of these elements would have collapsed under gravity to form stars and galaxies. Here is a wiki link to the Big Bang Theory…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang

As all of this expanded, space came into existence. It makes you wonder where the singularity came from, the moment it started to expand and what was there before it started its expansion. Our universe is still expanding.

Are there any multi coloured planets in space?-Laura

 Yes. Have a look at these wonderful photos and graphics from NASA…

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=NASA+planet+photos&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=EEh&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvnsu&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=zisXUMKHNcKoiAe264DwDg&ved=0CIQBELAE&biw=1513&bih=1233

Is there any water on mars?-Laura

Yes. Here is a NASA link looking not only at the possibility of frozen water but also flowing water…

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/news/mro20110804.html

How many stars are in space?-Josh

In another question I looked at an idea relating to the number of stars in the universe. I had read there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on every beach on Earth. Would you like to start counting? 🙂

 I have read estimates of 125 billion galaxies in the universe. That is 125,000,000,000 galaxies. Now, if our galaxy, The Milk Way, has around the estimated 300 billion stars, that’s 300,000,000,000 and if we assume (probably wrongly) each galaxy were to have similar number of stars, that would be…

37,500,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars in the universe
A link about the number of galaxies…

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/021127a.html

and our Milky Way galaxy…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way

How are black holes formed?-Josh There are many theories to how black holes are created but the most common is when a colossal star with a mass more than 3 times the Sun’s reaches the end of its life gets crushed under its own gravity leaving behind a BLACK HOLE. -Michaela

Great research Michaela. 🙂

The black hole isn’t the remainder of a massive star. It’s the singularity in the black hole that is what’s left of the massive star. Have a look at this link to see an animation of a black hole…

http://www.kidsastronomy.com/black_hole.htm

You can see there is a singularity in the middle. Around the singularity there is the inner and outer event horizon. An event horizon is the point of no return. If you were in a space ship and passed the event, there would be no escaping the gravitational pull. Within the event horizon, not even light escapes making the area within the event horizon appear black from outside.

Here is another link talking about time and event horizons…

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/011024a.html

Are there any animals on the planets in space?-Josh

This is similar to other questions about life. With the likelihood there is life on other planets somewhere in our vast universe, animals may exist on a number of them but they wouldn't be too likely to look like the animals we know. In the movie, “Avatar”, tall, thin, blue human-like beings rode what looked like six-legged horses. What an animal might look like on another planet would be determined by how it evolved as animals on our planet do. If we look at Earth’s fossil record, there were some very strange animals in the past.

How hot is mars?-Billy Mars is actually colder than it is hot. The lowest temperature was minus 60 degrees celsius and the highest 70 degrees fahrenheit.-Josh

More good research, Josh. 🙂

As we learn more about Mars, we are able to better understand its climate and what difficulties might face when they go to Mars to live. Here is a wiki link on the climate of Mars…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Mars

What is beyond space?-Billy

Bridget asked something similar. Here is what I wrote…

Now there’s a hard question. As we exist in the universe, there is no way for us to know what may be beyond the edge of our universe. I have read if we were to travel in space in a straight line for long enough, we would eventually arrive back where we started. In that sense, space would have no beginning or end.

How does gravity make things float?-Billy

It’s more the lack of gravity that would allow things to float. Any object with mass, including you, has gravity but for small objects like us we don’t tend to notice. Mass is different to weight. Weight comes from the effects of gravity on an object. Here’s a hard idea…

 If you were to mass 30kg on Earth, you would have a mass of 30kg on the Moon but your weight only be about one-sixth, i.e. about 5kg.

Have you ever been on a roller coaster and felt that feeling when you seem to rise off the seat as you go over a peak? This gives you the idea of weightlessness. Away from Earth’s gravity, you would float.

How much weight can gravity hold?-Billy

Interesting… As weight depends on gravity, gravity doesn’t hold weight. If you were able to stand on the surface of Jupiter you would be very heavy. You own weight would crush you as our bodies aren't made to stand such pressure.

Why is it black in space?-Billy

On our planet, we have an atmosphere containing gases and dust particles. As light from our sun travels through our atmosphere, it is scattered by what it hits. We see colour .

On the Moon, there is no atmosphere to speak of. Light shines straight down. If you were to look at shadows on the Earth, the scattering of light allows us to see inside shadows. Without an atmosphere, shadows on the Moon are too dark. We can't see inside them.

In space, there is little to spread the light so we tend to see it as black as in the moon shadows.

Is there any life on other planets?-Billy

Check some of the answers I’ve left for others. With all the expected stars and planets in the universe, it would be a waste of space if Earth was the only planet with life. We may first find life on Mars. It is our closest neighbour possibly able to support life and it has water.

How fast can a rocket go in space?-Billy

The first step for a rocket is to escape Earth’s gravity. This is known as the escape velocity. It’s no so much speed as the amount needed to pull out of our gravity. For Earth, it is something like 11.2 km/s while planets such as Jupiter might need 59.5 km/s. Taken from wiki link…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_velocity

 Once out in space, firing rockets can keep accelerating us. They can also use the gravity of a planet to make them go faster. This is known as gravity assist or slingshot effect.

 Here is a link answering your question…

http://io9.com/5786083/what-are-the-fastest-spacecrafts-ever-built

Are there any other universes or planets out there?-Billy

Planets? There certainly are. Astronomers have now identified the existence of planets around other stars.

Universes? That’s another story. For us, the universe is everything we have and we are incapable of discovering anything beyond. In science fiction, there is talk of parallel universes where there might be an infinite number but there is no proof of this idea. Here is a wiki link looking at the idea of a multiverse…

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse

What are the planets/the moon/the sun made of?-Billy  

Every atom of you body and making up the world is said to have once been made in a star. The very basic element is hydrogen. Sun’s burn hydrogen fuel through something called nuclear fusion. From stars, all of the elements we commonly know had their origin. The elements found in planets and moons came from the reactions within stars.

Stars tend to form in gaseous clouds. Take a look at this link. You will see a small picture of the Pillars of Creation taken by the  Hubble telescope. In this area of the Eagle Nebula, new stars are forming…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_formation

How far away is space?-Billy You would have to travel 76 miles straight up to get to space.-Josh

If you look at this link, on the right hand side you will see a graphic showing the layers of Earth’s atmosphere…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth

What is beyond a black hole/milky way?-Billy

The black hole and the singularity creating it is an occurrence in space. If you mean what’s beyond a black hole if you enter, some suggest they are a gateway to another universe. I tend to believe it’s a massive object that would crush us through gravity,

Beyond the Milky Way… The Milky Way is our galaxy and is said to be one of billions of galaxies. You would find little in intergalactic space until you manages to enter another galaxy. As we are no where near being able to travel to the nearest star to ours, journeys out of the Milky Way seem extremely unlikely.

What is at the end of a black hole?-Jake

With the singularity in a black hole not allowing even light to escape, going into one is a one way trip. 🙂

Is there any life on mars?-Jake

Others have asked that question and I have provided links but, in my opinion, there is simple life on Mars. We only have to find it. No, I don't believe there are little Martians running around.

What is at the end of the milky way?-Jake

The Milky Way is just a galaxy, one of billions in the universe. If we were to leave our galaxy, there would be a very long journey ahead of us before we reached the next galaxy. I think the Andromeda galaxy is the closest to our Milky Way. Here’s a wiki link…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromeda_Galaxy

Will they ever send anyone to mars?-Jake

 Yes. There are already people looking into the possibility of sending people to live on Mars but we may go to the asteroid belt first. Here is a wiki link…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_mission_to_Mars

Why do stars only come out at night?  Because the clouds and the sun are in the way and it is not dark. Answer is by Laura (not the question)

Well done, Laura! 🙂

The stars are always there but light travelling through our atmosphere in the daytime prevents us seeing them.

Why does the sun only come out in the day?

The sun doesn’t come out nor does it really rise or set. Our Earth turns on its axis as it orbits the sun. As it turns, different parts of the Earth move into sunlight or pass into night. Here is a link to a You Tube video showing the revolving Earth…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3H5Tlw1Ozo&feature=related

Also, our Earth has a slight tilt to the plane of our orbit. As Earth moves around the sun, the north might have more sunlight and be in summer and on the opposite side of the sun, the south has more sunlight while the north has winter.

Here is a link to a post I made for a boy asking about seasons…

https://rossmannellcomments.edublogs.org/2012/05/23/for-royce-on-seasons/

Why does Saturn have rings?

This question was already asked so here is what was said…

It has been suggested the rings could be the debris of a large icy moon that lost its icy shell before crashing into Saturn. Here is a wiki link looking at Saturn and its rings…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Saturn

Is there more than 1 universe out there?

Billy asked a similar question. Here is the answer I left…

Universes? That’s another story. For us, the universe is everything we have and we are incapable of discovering anything beyond. In science fiction, there is talk of parallel universes where there might be an infinite number but there is no proof of this idea. Here is a wiki link looking at the idea of a multiverse…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse

Can animals survive in space?

 In space, life can’t exist. For animals, they would need spacesuits to breathe and protect them from radiation. If we were dropped into space without a suit, we wouldn't survive.

 

Why does your head blow up if you don’t wear a space helmet? By Zara

What a gruesome question. 🙂 I have seen films showing this. They use the idea of the lack of pressure in space. Our bodies are suited to the atmospheric pressure on Earth. Our bodies hold us together. In space, where there is virtually no atmospheric pressure, our bodies would suffer but I’m not sure about the idea of heads exploding. Here is a link…

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/970603.html

Is there alien life forms out in other universes-Gracin

As I don't believe there are other universes we can experience other than our own, I would say no but I did give a link to Billy looking at the idea of multiverses…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse

Can we ever travel to mars?- Callum

Yes. We have already sent unmanned missions to Mars. Manned mission would be something for the future. Here is a link to Mars missions…

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

How are black holes formed?- Callum

A black hole form when a massive star collapses under its own gravity.

Is there water in space?- Callum

Yes. Comets for example tend to contain water ice.

Why can we not roll the moon- Zack

 I’m sorry, I didn't quite understand.

 

Does every star have a name-Thomas

Many stars simply have code names. SN 1979C was the name given to a star that went supernova in 1979. I was able to see its light at night without a telescope. It is no longer visible without powerful telescopes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SN_1979C

What is the hottest planet-Thomas The hottest planet is Venus with temperatures up to 464 degrees celsius.-Josh

Here is a link looking at temperatures of the planets…

http://www.universetoday.com/35664/temperature-of-the-planets/

How small are the stars- Zack

There is a large variation in star sizes from dwarf to super giant stars. Have a look at this link…

http://www.co-intelligence.org/newsletter/comparisons.html

Is there an order of planets- Brya

Planet order normally looks at a planets location to its sun. For our Solar System, the order is…

 Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Pluto is no longer classed as a planet. Here is a link …

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/

How small are the planets- Brya

In 1930, Pluto was officially discovered and was called a planet, our ninth. In more recent years it has been renamed a dwarf planet. Here is a link showing what a planet now needs to be…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAU_definition_of_planet

You will see it has to satisfy three points…

1. It must orbit a sun

2. It must have sufficient mass to take on a nearly round shape

3. It must have cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit (meaning no other smaller bodies share orbit)

Why do planets have to be spaced out.-Ciara

 If planets are too close to each other, their gravities will interact. They may be drawn together and collide. This is thought to have happened to two bodies in the early Solar System history. On collision, material was thrown into space to become our Moon and the rest made up our Earth.

 

Why do we have to use a spaceships into space why not a plane-Ciara

Spaceships are designed to make life possible in space. Without them, we would not be able to survive the radiation, cold and lack of air to breath. As there is no air and planes need air to fly, they wouldn't work. Planes can fly by their engines forcing air over their wings to give them lift. No air, no lift, no flight.

Why is there no gravity in space-Ciara

In order to have gravity, there must be mass. When out in space away from any large objects we would simply float for an eternity.

 

How do we float when the gravity has stopped-Ciara

Gravity pulls us towards the centre of our planet. When we are too far away, there is no gravity and we can float. If you have every ridden one of those rides where you are lifted high in the air on chairs then suddenly dropped, you can get the feeling of being weightless.

 

Why can’t planets move around, Why do they stay where they are-Ciara

They don’t. All planets, including our Earth, are in motion. They spin on their axes giving day and night and they orbit the sun. Our Solar System is also moving as it circle around the centre of our galaxy, The Milky Way.  Our galaxy is also moving as it continues its journey away from where the universe all began.

We are certainly moving.

Will the sun ever die?-Kurt

 When the sun eventually runs out of hydrogen fuel, it will eventually ‘die’. Stars also have a life cycle. Some end up cooling and grow cold while large stars can end in massive supernova.

Here is a link on the life cycle of the sun…

http://www.universetoday.com/56522/life-cycle-of-the-sun/

How many stars are there?-Kurt Answer:There are thousands of Millions of stars alone in the Milky Way, but nobody knows for sure how many there are in the Galaxy probably millions of millions!-Michaela

Here is an answer I shared with Josh…

I have read estimates of 125 billion galaxies in the universe. That is 125,000,000,000 galaxies. Now, if our galaxy, The Milk Way, has around the estimated 300 billion stars, that’s 300,000,000,000 and if we assume (probably wrongly) each galaxy were to have similar number of stars, that would be…

37,500,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars in the universe
A link about the number of galaxies…

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/021127a.html

and our Milky Way galaxy…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way

Why is the Sun the biggest planet - why can't pluto or earth be?

The sun is a star and not a planet. It is large enough to start burning the hydrogen fuel it contains. Jupiter was not quite large enough. Had it been, there might have been two stars in our sky.

If earth had been the size of the sun, we wouldn't be able to live on it due to the pressure and temperature.

 

Are UFOs real.-Sam

UFO means Unidentified Flying Objects. In that sense I have seen many. I look up into the sky and see something I can't recognise and therefore it is an UFO. If you mean alien spacecraft, many believe they are true and exist. My problem with the idea is the distance they would have had to travel to reach us from even the nearest star to our sun. It would take a huge amount of time so we would need to ask, why would they come?

Do I believe? I don't disbelieve but I have never seen anything I consider absolute proof.

How much gravity is there in space.-Sam

Away from any objects with mass, there is no gravity. Gravity needs objects with mass in order to exist.

Why do we weigh less in space.-Sam

Weight comes when gravity acts on mass. When we are away from our planet, we have the same mass but, without gravity, we don't have any weight.

Are there different types of star and do they have names. Lorie

There are a number of star types. Some have been named but many simply have codes. I calculated the possible number of stars in the universe as 37,500,000,000,000,000,000,000  Imagine trying to come up with names for each. 🙂

Here is a link showing some star types…

http://space.about.com/od/stars/tp/What-Are-The-Different-Types-Of-Stars.htm

Why did they call that group of white stars the milky way. Lorie

Our own sun is part of the Milky Way. Our Solar System orbits the centre of our galaxy where they believe there is probably a massive black hole. If you are out in the countryside away from city and town lights, on a clear night you can see what looks like a cloud amongst the stars. This is the glow of billions of stars.

 

How far apart are the planets. Mason

Here is a link giving information of the distance of each planet from the sun…

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_distance_of_all_planets_from_the_sun

What does  space look like. Mason

Look up in the sky at night. If you were out in space, you would see the lights of many stars.

 

Why is there gravity on earth but not in space.-Georgia  The force of Gravity changes the further you get away from Earth. –Michaela

Well done, Michaela.

 

Why is there water on mars is there life on mars.-Georgia

Now we know water exists, our next step is to find life. With water, there is a chance but don’t expect more than perhaps bacteria.

 

Is there people on mars. Chelsea

From what we know of Mars, complex life like ours never had a chance to evolve.

 

Is there a order of planets. Chelsea.

Brya asked  the same question. Here is what I wrote…

Planet order normally looks at a planets location to its sun. For our Solar System, the order is…

 Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Pluto is no longer classed as a planet. Here is a link …

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/

How did space get made?-Janaya

Laura asked a similar question. Here is the answer…

One of the leading theories of how space was created is The Big Bang Theory (no the television show). It is thought the universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state known as a singularity then rapidly expanded and cooled. This might have been as much as 13.7 billion years ago. As the energy from the singularity cooled, subatomic particles formed and eventually joined to form the first and simplest element, hydrogen with some traces of helium and lithium. Clouds of these elements would have collapsed under gravity to form stars and galaxies. Here is a wiki link to the Big Bang Theory…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang

As all of this expanded, space came into existence. It makes you wonder where the singularity came from, the moment it started to expand and what was there before it started its expansion. Our universe is still expanding.

 

How did space get named? -Janaya Maybe it’s just because there is a lot of SPACE in space. –Michaela

I like this question and love Michaela’s answer. 🙂

 

Is it possible to count the stars, if so how many are there? It is impossible to humans being able to count the stars because there is thousands of millions of stars! -Michaela

Josh asked a similar question. Here is the answer…

I have read estimates of 125 billion galaxies in the universe. That is 125,000,000,000 galaxies. Now, if our galaxy, The Milk Way, has around the estimated 300 billion stars, that’s 300,000,000,000 and if we assume (here probably wrongly) each galaxy were to have similar number of stars, that would be…

37,500,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars in the universe
A link about the number of galaxies…

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/021127a.html

and our Milky Way galaxy…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way

Do the stars move every time they appear? -Michaela

Planets, stars, solar systems and galaxies are all moving. When pour planet rotates on its axis, we have day and night as the Earth’s surface moves around in the sunlight. As Earth orbits around the sun, we have the seasons. With all of this movement, the stars seem to move but it is really us. They are too far for we wo be able to see their movement.

Will and how will we find water-Ciara

Water has already been found on the Moon and Mars. The question now is how much. If there is enough water, people will one day live on Mars and the Moon.

How is a black hole made-Ciara

Josh asked a similar question…

The black hole isn’t the remainder of a massive star. It’s the singularity in the black hole that is what’s left of the massive star. Have a look at this link to see an animation of a black hole…

http://www.kidsastronomy.com/black_hole.htm

You can see there is a singularity in the middle. Around the singularity there is the inner and outer event horizon. An event horizon is the point of no return. If you were in a space ship and passed the event, there would be no escaping the gravitational pull. Within the event horizon, not even light escapes making the area within the event horizon appear black from outside.

Here is another link talking about time and event horizons…

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/011024a.html

Is there life in different universes and if there is are they more intelligent-Gracin

We don’t know of any life outside Earth at this time. It’s always possible there are many more planets with life, hopefully many with intelligent life. What a waste it would be if we were the only planet with intelligent life.

Is there a water supply on different planets-Gracin

We only know of water on Mars but it has also been found on the Moon and on Jupiter’s moon, Europa. A link for Europa…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_%28moon%29

What do aliens look like-Gracin

As yet we haven’t found any so we don’t know. 🙂

 

How do aliens get a supply of food-Gracin

You are looking at something called exobiology, the study of life not on Earth. We haven’t found any life outside Earth yet but it would be interesting to study when we do.

Is there other planets that we haven't discovered yet-Gracin

With so many stars in the universe, the are huge numbers of planets to discover. If you mean in our solar system, there is an area known as the Kuiper Belt where there are many objects thought to be more like asteroids. The Kuiper Belt is out beyond all of the planets. Here is a link…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuiper_belt

How does saturn keep the rings around it stable-Gracin

Gravity holds them in place but they will eventually either fall into Saturn or escape into space.

Where does a black hole lead to? Gracin

Some have suggested black holes might lead to other universes but I think most believe as trip into one is a one way trip. We would be crushed.

• 4 Comments

Hello Year 4,

My classes always enjoyed “Fun with Magnets”, that’s what I called our look into magnetism when I had a class.

I can see by your worksheets in the photos, you had to choose objects, decide what material was in the object, predict what might happen then record your results. This is pretty much the way scientists carry out experiments.

Did you notice not all metals were attracted to magnets?

You tend to find metals must be ferrous (containing iron) to work. I suppose that would mean, if you were to include very small metals filaments (string) into paper, then paper would be picked up by magnets. J

At one school I ran a Double Helix Science Club for children interested in science. Each week we would have a different science activity or experiment to carry out. Here are a few of the activities from the Science Club book I had written. You can click on an image to enlarge it.

 

Schools and students have permission to print and use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

 

 

Schools and students have permission to print and use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to print and use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Schools and students have permission to print and use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Enjoy science, it will help you discover the world around you.

@Ross Mannell

• 2 Comments

Hello Royce,

The Northern Hemisphere (north of the equator) and the Southern Hemisphere do seem to do things in opposites. When one has summer, the other has winter. When one has autumn (Fall), the other has spring.

Did you know the difference is caused by the tilt of the Earth as it spins around and orbits the Sun?

 

 

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.


When it's orbiting on one side of the sun, the angle makes the Northern Hemisphere tilt more towards the sun and so it has summer. Being a little more tilted away, the Southern Hemisphere has winter,

On the other side of Earth’s orbit around the sun, the Southern Hemisphere is tilted more towards the sun and is in summer. The north has winter.

Isn’t our planet amazing?

@RossMannell

I had intended adding video of my helicopter ride over Hawaii. It showed lava flowing into the ocean as well as a view into a caldera at the lava below. Having had my trasnfer device break down, I though I would add some You Tube links of volcanic activity if it's okay for you all to view....

National Geographic also has a short video of their favourite photos of volcanic activity. There is an ad at the beginning.

I hope you all have had fun learning about volcanoes.